Dementia in senior cats?

zippychick

Hi all

Wasn't sure what to do or where to start... I have had my kitty Mags for almost 9 years. We have worked out she is around 16 in human years age wise.

She had a heart murmur last September and i nearly lost her. I have since fed her up with chicken and she takes medication twice a day

Lately, she has started "distressed miaowing" quite a lot - almost like she can't find me. You know that miaow they make when they are going to have a furball etc.... .She loves sitting up in the loft and always climbs up the stairs and sleeps up there a lot. When i come home from work -t he past month or two she has started new behaviour. I always shout hello and call her when I come in and she used to come running. Lately however, she climbs half way down the loft stairs and waits and distressed miaows until I go fetch her and lift her down. It's not that she can't get down the stairs - she blimmin well can!

She is an extremely happy cat, great appetite, loves this weather and spends hours just sitting out in the back yard beside my growing veg, or sitting under the deckchair, or sleeping in the stinky shed(and comes in smelling of dirt) :rotfl:

She doesn't do the distressed miaow when she is in the same room as me, it seems to be when she is in a different room or different part of the house.

I think she loves sleeping in the attic as it is so warm up there , especially in this weather.

She uses the litter tray fine - but has sometimes went to the loo in the corner of the living room - again recent behaviour. She would only really do this when her litter tray isn't brand new fresh and clean. Because of her meds she urinates an awful lot so maybe sometimes likes to pee in the living room corner. Years ago she had stones in her belly which means i also give her low PH catfood - but she would have sometimes went to the loo in wrong places - but the vet suggested it was behaviorual .

Sorry, am rambling. I just don't know if I have cause to be concerned.

Anyone any help and advice? She is happiest in my arms, snuggled under my chin, where she will stay as long as i let her.:A

Anyone any experience or advice? I love her dearly and don't know if am overreacting.:o

thanks for any advice.:beer:

Zip

SnowyOwl_2

No, you are not over-reacting! 16 is about the age my Tabitha started behaving the same way - all the wailing nearly broke my heart. It was purely old age with her - I think she was confused about where she was in the house sometimes and started to cry.

I'm sorry I can't offer any specific advice. If you haven't taken her to the vet already perhaps a trip there would be in order to rule out any physical pain, and to find out if the vet has any suggestions about how to treat your kitty. They are such a worry...it's awful when new behaviour emerges but the poor dear kitty can't tell you what the matter is.

gravitytolls

Ditto, vets to rule out water infection etc.

I recall a vet on TV once saying the best way to make tough decisions was by how happy your pet is. If your pet has more happy hours, than unhappy hours, there's not much to worry about, if it's the other way round...............

Sounds to me as if it's the former, so if you can put up with the peeing, try not to worry too much.

zippychick

thanks folks - Snowy I think you posted on my kitty thread last year if you remember when all the drama happened and she took sick

I am 99% sure she isn't in pain - purely because she only makes the noise when she is away from me- almost like she is calling out to me to find where I am. She doesn't come find me though - she just miaows back until i go get her. I thought it might be her hearing but i don't think it is.... or maybe it is . I dunno, am going round in circles

Regards good times vs bad - she is content as a duck in a puddle. It's just the distressed miaow that bothers me. The peeing doesn't even make me cross with her.

She is still a character, up sitting on windowsills, doing cte things like last night pawing my face when she was in my arms. Drinking from a pint glass:p. Very content.

I guess vets it is then. I have started a new job recently and they have been reall understanding at giving me holidays to go to a funeral tomorrow, plus a whole load of occupational health stuff for me. I know that sounds irrelevant and ridiculous but i hate feeling like an inconvenience, and i already do to them. I will ring my vets tomorrow and see if I can talk to Gina as she knows Mags well. The vets is only open 1230-130 and i dont drive so it's not the easiest for me to get there. I just didn't know f i was over reacting by taking her

This is the wee dote in question. Pic one she squished her bum into a shoe box (lol) pic two, sleeping on a dusty dressing table lke a little weirdo !

pic one



pic 2

zippychick

I am very very aware of quality of life and only have her best interests at heart. I just wanted to make that clear. Last year i did nothing but think of this when she was sick. I was so convinced she would need PTS - so it is a miracle i still have her.

I genuinely dread the day bad stuff happens , you know. My heart will literally break, i love her to bits.

SnowyOwl_2

OMG she is soooo good looking!! And yes, I do believe I responded on your previous thread about her.

Now that you mention it, I think you might possibly be onto something regarding her hearing which would explain her being so happy when she can actually see you.

Your vet doesn't have particularly attractive opening hours! Don't they want people to go to them?!? Maybe they could see your girl on Saturday morning if they have surgery then. I know what you mean about taking time off from a new job...I've just started a new job too (only a 2 month temporary one but it's better than nowt) but you couldn't help the fact that you had to attend funerals and had occ health stuff to sort out. If you're stuck with the vet's limited opening hours then you'll just have to be brave and ask for an hour extra at lunch and then make the time up or something. Maybe the vet would let you pick Maggie up (it is Maggie...am I remembering correctly) on your way home from work, then you wouldn't have to go home with her right away after seeing the vet.

paulwf

That is one beautiful kitty

Perhaps her joints are arthritic and she is having trouble climbing up stairs and in and out of litter boxes? Or perhaps she is partially sighted and gets a bit lost? It could just be old age though, some older cats do get into a habit of crying for no particular reason.

As other have said a vet that opens 1 hour a day is a bit odd. My vet has realised that people actually work during the day so they do a morning consultation then use the afternoon for operations and generally looking after in patients then do a late afternoon/early evening consultation so you can go after work.

zippychick

Snowy - congrats on the job. SOmething is better than nothing - I was unemployed for 6 months after being made redundant and it's so unpleasant. yes it is Maggie :j

I know the opening hours seem odd but they do have 2 or 3 other offices (not convenient at all, fortune in taxis) but i will just have to sort something out. They literally only open the vets for an hour close to me, then close, so i can't drop off and pick up.

Thanks for the suggestion Paul - she has slowed down but is perfectly able to get down from the attic stairs - it's just when i come home she waits there on me. Plenty of other times a day she is up and down no problems . The pee thing only happens when her ltiter tray is not spotless - as she urinates a lot, it doesn't stay brand new for long so I just have to keep closer watch on keeping it clean.

She is very jumpy at noises - but im not sure if this has worsened lately - hard to tell since she took sick with her wee heart murmur.

i am convincing myself more and more it's her hearing. I know she can hear me, just not as well as to maybe work out where I am from my voice. I am going to research cats losing hearing and see what i can do to help her. I was talking to her last night and the ears weren't going back as much as they used to, so i can now watch her and see what else I see

madget_2

She's beautiful, zippychick.

I'd always advise anyone to either ring and speak to or visit their vet if they're at all concerned about anything to do with their pet - better to be safe than sorry. Your vet's opening hours are indeed really odd. Hopefully, they're open Saturday mornings, if that would be easier for you? But you could always just give them a ring at first, just to voice your concerns and see what they say.

My last cat went a little senile in her final years. We experienced the same kind of calling from her. They do sometimes seem to get confused and wonder where you are. Perhaps she is also going deaf, like my cat did, as that can lead to the calling behaviour, too. It's sad, but it doesn't yet mean that the end is nigh - it sounds as though she's still happy and has a decent quality of life.

I love the shoe box pic. We have an enormous boy who insists on squishing himself into a tiny, tiny cat bed.

madget_2

zippychick wrote: »

She is very jumpy at noises - but im not sure if this has worsened lately - hard to tell since she took sick with her wee heart murmur.

i am convincing myself more and more it's her hearing. I know she can hear me, just not as well as to maybe work out where I am from my voice. I am going to research cats losing hearing and see what i can do to help her. I was talking to her last night and the ears weren't going back as much as they used to, so i can now watch her and see what else I see

I had to pop out for a while and left this thread open for my return, so missed seeing your post before I made mine.

Yes, I really do think that deafness, or some degree of hearing loss, is a big possibility with her. As you can read in my post, it happened to one of my cats when she was an old lady.

You say that she is jumpy. Just wondering whether her thyroid has been checked recently? An overactive thyroid gland can make them edgy and lead to them calling more. It may not be the case here, but worth checking out in older cats.

zippychick

thanks Madget - that's really sweet. She is very content and absolutely spoilt rotten, im cooking her up some chicken as we speak. She's a hungry wee beggar sometimes

Sorry to hear about your kitty - any pics? I'm a sucker for cats.

Am looking up thyroid stuff now too - thanks. Am not sure what it is - i was having a nap there after the funeral, and was woke by her calling noises - there she was on the lowest step of the attic ladder - which is literally about 5 feet away from my bed . Once i lifted her and brought her in, she was grand, stuck her legs akimbo and started cleaning herself.

I honestly can't fault my vets - they were absolutely fantastic with Maggie , so just because they have sucky opening hours (for my local branch, i don't want people to think I am complaining about them. I will watch her for another couple of days and call the vets and see what the say. I think i can observe her better, now I know i'm not overreacting or imaginining things. Sorry, only awake, can't spell

i really could bore you senseless with pics of her

beside the wee greenhouse

Wanting to get in on my pics of french beans

beside the computer

i really appreciate every single reply and advice /suggestion . Thank you people.