How can you tell if your old cat-about 18 is getting dementia.Hearing seems to be fine-can hear my chi rattling a can around in the kitchen. Reflexes seem to be fine-recently saw and killed a grasshopper I didn't even see. But occasionly seems to have old age moments like for a few secs seems to be ? what is it I want to do.
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For Old Cat Owners Only-dementia
- Thread starter caro123
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C caro123 - Cats are very like people in this respect - age-related dementia manifests itself differently in every one. My two twenty year olds are different - Lance is sharp as a razor, and frankly, so is Peanut 99% of the time, but now and again he'll leave his spectacles in the fridge just like the rest of us. He'll get up on the counter and forget - just for a few seconds - that he got up for a drink, or he'll get out of bed, walk a few feet, and then meow for Moo Shu, who'll be behind him, still lying in bed. You only see it but seldom, because the whole thing takes only but a moment, but if you're attuned to them, you'll notice it now and again.
Don't let it worry you over much - my Dad's Siamese developed a little bit of the "car keys in the freezer syndrome" just about at your cat's age, and it never seemed to progress beyond a few seconds of, "where did I put my tail?" She went on nearly a dozen more years never showing any downslide at all.
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C caro123 - Cats are very like people in this respect - age-related dementia manifests itself differently in every one. My two twenty year olds are different - Lance is sharp as a razor, and frankly, so is Peanut 99% of the time, but now and again he'll leave his spectacles in the fridge just like the rest of us. He'll get up on the counter and forget - just for a few seconds - that he got up for a drink, or he'll get out of bed, walk a few feet, and then meow for Moo Shu, who'll be behind him, still lying in bed. You only see it but seldom, because the whole thing takes only but a moment, but if you're attuned to them, you'll notice it now and again.
Don't let it worry you over much - my Dad's Siamese developed a little bit of the "car keys in the freezer syndrome" just about at your cat's age, and it never seemed to progress beyond a few seconds of, "where did I put my tail?" She went on nearly a dozen more years never showing any downslide at all.
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I agree with 1Cat, this sort of stuff is probably reasonably normal in an elderly cat. What I saw in my elderly Pearl cat who had serious dementia due to CNS issues was more extreme.
Probably the biggest "tell" was her crying. She'd sort of lose track of where she was, and where I was in relation, and just plant her butt and start crying. Yowling really loudly and sadly. She might have been only 15 feet from me and simply had her back turned, but she wouldn't stop until I entered her line of sight. At first I thought she was being sassy, but I quickly realized she didn't know where I was, despite her vision and hearing being fine.
In addition to that, she was sometimes confused by her litterbox. She knew where it was (usually...), but sometimes didn't exactly know where her butt was in relation to it. She almost seemed to sort of forget what she was doing in the middle of it, or start walking even as she was still going.
Her grooming seriously fell off, despite the fact that she should have still been limber enough to do it. She had slight arthritis in her hips, but so mild that even just a supplement was enough to loosen her up. Her poor grooming couldn't be explained by mobility limitations.
We were able to make a decent improvement in her memory and other symptoms with treatment, but unfortunate she did ultimately wind up dying when treatment stopped working. I still miss her so much.
Pure dementia, with no associated illness, is actually pretty uncommon in cats. Usually, dementia symptoms are caused by some other issue, like my cat's neuro problems, or it's confused for sensory decline. It does happen, but whether it's pure dementia or caused by some other disease, the symptoms are more extreme than these sorts of "keys in the fridge" moments. I wouldn't worry too much. Old kitties can just get a bit forgetful, just like older humans, and usually it's not necessarily a sign of serious memory issues.
Probably the biggest "tell" was her crying. She'd sort of lose track of where she was, and where I was in relation, and just plant her butt and start crying. Yowling really loudly and sadly. She might have been only 15 feet from me and simply had her back turned, but she wouldn't stop until I entered her line of sight. At first I thought she was being sassy, but I quickly realized she didn't know where I was, despite her vision and hearing being fine.
In addition to that, she was sometimes confused by her litterbox. She knew where it was (usually...), but sometimes didn't exactly know where her butt was in relation to it. She almost seemed to sort of forget what she was doing in the middle of it, or start walking even as she was still going.
Her grooming seriously fell off, despite the fact that she should have still been limber enough to do it. She had slight arthritis in her hips, but so mild that even just a supplement was enough to loosen her up. Her poor grooming couldn't be explained by mobility limitations.
We were able to make a decent improvement in her memory and other symptoms with treatment, but unfortunate she did ultimately wind up dying when treatment stopped working. I still miss her so much.
Pure dementia, with no associated illness, is actually pretty uncommon in cats. Usually, dementia symptoms are caused by some other issue, like my cat's neuro problems, or it's confused for sensory decline. It does happen, but whether it's pure dementia or caused by some other disease, the symptoms are more extreme than these sorts of "keys in the fridge" moments. I wouldn't worry too much. Old kitties can just get a bit forgetful, just like older humans, and usually it's not necessarily a sign of serious memory issues.
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