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Julian will be 14 years old next month. I know his birthday, unlike the rest of my cats. I got him from a friend, who got him from another friend who has his mother. So they were there when he was born: Oct. 8, 1995.

If the old saying is true that says one year for a human equals seven years for a cat , he'd be 98. Cats can live into their 20s in human years, and I know Julian has a few good years still left in him.

Once a cat turns 10, they are considered a senior. Which could mean any number of things, mainly depending on the cat itself. Due to his senior status, I've been watching what he eats, and his yearly vet visit is more complex than the others; more tests and more pokes with the needle.

I didn't notice Julian's age until about three years ago. As the only cat in the house, I had nothing to compare his actions to. It wasn't until Abbey arrived, that I noticed how slow he moved compared to her. He didn't play as much, and slept a lot more than her. His lack of energy was a large reason I got Apple. Abbey needed someone to play with.

Lately he's been slow going down and up the stairs. He'll bolt up the stairs sometimes, but mostly, he's the last one downstairs in the morning, and the last upstairs at night.

I've also noticed he's been using other objects as sort of a step to get to higher perches. He'll jump up on a chair, then up to the top of the couch. Or he'll jump up on the toliet (the lid is always down) before he can jump up on the sink. I kept telling myself he was being smart and not wasting energy. But I couldn't deny fact the other night.

He ALWAYS sleeps next to my head in bed. Never a night goes by that he won't jump up on the bed and curl up next to me. Yet, Tuesday night, he couldn't jump on the bed. He did this sort of little bounce,  missed the edge of the bed, and landed back on the floor. He meowed at me, so I picked him up, put him on the bed, and he curled up and went to sleep.

I've put a stool next to the bed, and he's been using that to jump on the bed. I guess Julian is finally getting to that age where he's gonna need a little extra help.