Can a cat get dementia? (or something similar)

shelly

Hi all.

I need some help/advice with my cat. If my post seems jumbled its because I'm trying to give you as much info as possible about her.


I have a cat and she's about 15-16 years old. Lately she's been acting strange with traffic that comes down our road. She will just sit or lay slap bang in the middle of the road, which is ok, but as soon as a car comes down the road she doesn't move out of the way like she used to, she just stays put. Cars either have to go round her or the people in the car have to get out to pick her up to move her but other times she will walk away when the person gets near to her. I think she's been lucky so far that its quite a quiet road being a dead end but one day I just know she will meet someone who doesn't care a toss about running her over or they just won't see her once its dark.
I have thought she might have gone deaf or blind or a mixture of both but I have tested those possibilities and she seems fine to me. i.e If she's outside and I open an upstairs window, she can hear me do that so she's not deaf. Also if she's indoors and I put my hand out to fuss her she will rub her face into my hand as she can obviously see the invitation I'm giving her.
She has had a check up in the last 6 months and I was told she's perfectly healthy. Only problem she has is arthiritis in a front shoulder which she's on medication for.
This problem with traffic has only been going on for about 3-4 weeks.

Last week hubby joked he thought she'd lost her marbles after he had to get out of the car to move her. At the time it was funny but now its preying on my mind and I'm really worried about her.
I have thought about ringing the vet but thought he might get me to take her in and do lots of tests which I can't afford right now but would have to if it came to it. Also I guess deep down I'm worried that she truly might have something wrong and need putting to sleep........

So.......can cats develop dementia or something similar and do odd things???


Thanks for reading my post and any possible advice you can give me.

ailuro2

Has she had any change in diet recently or anything added she wouldn't normally eat?
I'd phone up your vet and ask him, it's not something you want preying on your mind, she's obviously at risk.
Could you scoot her with water when she lies in the road, and does she have a reflective collar on?

Purdy_1

I thought my cat was going senile when she started pacing rooms. She would walk around the perimeter (sp?) of a room for hours if you did not pick her up. Unfortunately it turned out she had a brain tumor.
If your cat has dementia then there is not alot you can do. My vet advised me on my cat and said she is simply like a little old lady that gets confused.

I would advise that you keep a keen eye on her, note if she goes off her food, if she cannot recognise people she knows, cannot find her way home etc. It might be that she has just got to that age where she thinks 'sod you, I was here first'.

shelly

ailuro2 wrote:

Has she had any change in diet recently or anything added she wouldn't normally eat?
I'd phone up your vet and ask him, it's not something you want preying on your mind, she's obviously at risk.
Could you scoot her with water when she lies in the road, and does she have a reflective collar on?

Thanks for the speedy reply.

No she has had no change in diet, unless she's stealing food from other cats in the street which would have been happening a long time if she had.

We aren't here all day so I'm not sure I could shoot her with water everytime she does it. Most of the time we see her doing it when we oursleves come home from being out or if I happen to look out of the window.

She doesn't wear a collar at all because she nearly hung herself once trying to get one off, she hates them.

shelly

Purdy_1 wrote:

I thought my cat was going senile when she started pacing rooms. She would walk around the perimeter (sp?) of a room for hours if you did not pick her up. Unfortunately it turned out she had a brain tumor.
If your cat has dementia then there is not alot you can do. My vet advised me on my cat and said she is simply like a little old lady that gets confused.

I would advise that you keep a keen eye on her, note if she goes off her food, if she cannot recognise people she knows, cannot find her way home etc. It might be that she has just got to that age where she thinks 'sod you, I was here first'.

Thanks for the speedy reply.

I know what you mean about the "sod you I was here first"

Also I have thought that if there was something wrong I might have her put to sleep. I know to some that sounds cruel and no reason to do it but I love her dearly and would like to let her go peacefully rather than being knocked down and dying in pain.

ailuro2

It's heartbreaking to have them put to sleep,though.However, she is a pretty good age,
fwiw I put my 14yo cat on a diet because the vet said he was overweight.He lost the weight but later had severe kidney failure and was put to sleep when he was 15. So for a cat of 15/16 I'd say yes,get her checked out, pamper her and let her live out her last days in luxury before she's too old to enjoy it.
If there's nothing found as a cause,perhaps one of those electronic devices that emit a high pitched squeal when triggered-it all depends on the layout of your garden though.
I'd go as far as putting up signs warning drivers of a confused old cat lurking in the road if she won't wear a collar.:D That's cat lovers for you.(The ailuro in my name being short for ailurophile- one who loves cats)

seven-day-weekend

My little Scampi had dementia when she was only eleven. She'd had an overactive thyroid for years, which was treated, but her she was always very underweight and racing everywhere at the speed of light. When she started acting strangely, (going past her litter tray to wee in my bed), the vet said she had dementia - as her metabolism was so fast due to the thyroid problem it had caused a type of premature aging. We had to have her put down and I cried for days.

So yes, cats can get dementia.

Bossyboots

I don't know about cats but both my dogs had dementia before they died.

There is a product called Selgian which your vet can prescribe but I found it didn't make any difference.

Our dogs lived for a number of years following diagnosis and we adjusted our routine and home to assist them. Obviously it is harder with cats but the only real way to keep her safe is going to be to keep her in. If she does have dementia, then it would be cruel to use any avoidant techniques on her, particularly squirting her with water.

shelly

Bossyboots wrote:

I don't know about cats but both my dogs had dementia before they died.

There is a product called Selgian which your vet can prescribe but I found it didn't make any difference.

Our dogs lived for a number of years following diagnosis and we adjusted our routine and home to assist them. Obviously it is harder with cats but the only real way to keep her safe is going to be to keep her in. If she does have dementia, then it would be cruel to use any avoidant techniques on her, particularly squirting her with water.

I know what you mean about keeping her in but I really don't think we could. We have a cat flap in the wall for her so she comes and goes as she pleases and hasn't had to use a litter tray for donkeys years. If we have to take her to the vets we block her cat flap up and she hates it.....she prowls around crying pitifully so I think it really wouldn't work.

shelly

Thanks all for your input. I think I'm going to take her to the vets and see what he thinks.

I can't imagine life without her but if somethings wrong I don't want her to suffer. She's had a good life and I just want to do what's best for her.

patchwork_cat

I would advise that you keep her in when you aren't around and only let her out when you can keep an eye on her and if she tries to commit hari kari by lying in the road move her. In the meantime I think a trip to the vet - our cat when I was a child was about 15 or 16 and did start to behave oddly as he got old. He would like the soil around the Rhodendron's for ages!