My cat's erratic behavior is getting worse

[stephanie junca]

Hi there,

I posted back in November about my cat. He is getting weirder.

Just a little bit ago I experienced one of his weird manic episodes that I will try to describe.

I came home from work a little bit ago and was eating a snack at the dining table before doing some chores. My dogs (we have two) were napping after being outside playing for a bit. Then, Spock, my cat in question here, came yowling out of his napping spot in my crafty room upstairs. He tried getting into my lap which I didn't let him because he tries to eat my food if I am eating anything... I was eating cheese too which is one of his favorites. He laid down in the chair next to me and napped for 5 minutes. Then he jumped up all of the sudden and ran over to drink water from one of the water bowls I keep around the house. Then he ran upstairs again and I heard him using the bathroom. He ran back downstairs and drank more water from the same previous bowl (again we have several around the house because of his extreme thirst). Again, he ran upstairs and pretended (?) to use the litter box. Ran back downstairs yowled some more and jumped into the window and then down again. Went again to the water bowl to drink... this is in a matter of less than 20 minutes. Then, he went over to our basement door which we usually have a cat door open on but my husband closed up recently because Spock keeps peeing in random spots down there even though we have a litter box there at easy access. He keeps furiously hitting the door cover now which I have to pull him away from. Then, he came and laid down in the chair next to me and passed out.

So, perplexed!

I know some people may have not read my previous post so I will list what diagnostics we have done with the vet: we have run several blood tests (3 in the past year and a half) with a focus on thyroid, kidney, liver and diabetes levels without anything out of the ordinary coming up; we have taken him to the vet for exams 3 times in the past year and a half without anything showing as weird; fecal and urine not showing anything; my vet said he has dementia so I have tried using feliway diffusers, a whole variety of calming supplements, cosequin to see if maybe it was joint pain related, calming collars/sprays, changing his diet, etc, etc. I am just at a loss with this cat.

His behavior with the other pets in the household is getting weird too. Our other cat tries to initiate play with him sometimes and he will play with her for maybe a second and then run away and try to get into my lap, so my other cat just has given up most of the time. They used to play several times a day together. Spock also attacks our dogs out of nowhere, so they are on the defensive with him now. Our super calm boy started growling at him when he gets near him which was really bizarre to experience. This dog couldn't hurt a fly.

And, lastly, my husband and I get annoyed with him a lot because he does all of these weird things all day and night. He bites us a lot. Just last night we were watching a show on the couch and Spock was sitting in my husband's lap and he bites him hard on the hand which caught him off guard.

I do believe my vet's diagnosis of this being dementia but I just don't know what else to do to make this situation bearable. He is clearly uncomfortable and is looking for relief by looking for water or running to the litter box or running to look for a lap or doing this that and the other. My husband thinks that he is getting close to end of life which is possible as he seems to be 15 or so. Has anyone ever dealt with erratic behavior like this and what have you done? Really would like help. Thanks

 

[LTS3]

I thought TCS had an article about dementia but the closest I could find is this: What To Expect As Your Cat Ages – TheCatSite Articles

There are threads on dementia if you want to search for those and see if anyone else had a situation like yours.

Has your vet suggested Prozac or any medication to calm the cat down? You can try to see if a veterinary behaviorist has any ideas.

 

[ArtNJ]

As LTS3 asked, did the vet discuss medication? Seems like something to mellow the cat out would likely make the cat happier and make its final days more pleasant for everyone.

 

[FeebysOwner]

If all of his tests are coming out with good results, end of life is not necessarily in the equation. However, you can't rule out dementia - NOR can you rule out some sort of pain. Something else to consider.

I have also come to realize that when vets say everything is normal, it is only because the blood work numbers are within range, or only slightly out of range, not taking into consideration that they are changing to denote an issue. A lot of vets also think some numbers can get out of range because the cat is aging. Cats can have 'normal' blood work, and not be normal for them.

How are his eyes (vision), and ears (hearing)? Changes to these can also 'befuddle' a cat.

There is no better advocate for a cat, especially one that qualifies as 'geriatric' (which your cat does), than their owners to know the specifics of blood work, compare the results from one test to another, and look for trends that vets often don't look for. It is amazing how 'eye opening' it can be to know what the blood work numbers mean and to see the changes in order to get a better idea about what could be the possible explanations.

 

[stephanie junca]

Thanks for your responses!

I have been considering asking our vet to see if Prozac would help as I saw online recently it is an option for elderly cats with dementia. I will bring it up to them. As for bloodwork levels, the vet is usually pretty good about letting me know if anything is within range but elevated or low for that matter. We take 4 pets to them and they have always pointed out anything even minutely out of the ordinary with their bloodwork mainly because I always ask.

Spock's hearing seems to be fine and his vision is ok. We have noticed in the past 6 months or so that his eyes have more of a cast to them. It's like the green glow they get when it's dark but it is a constant for him although not as vibrant of course if that makes sense. His eyes remind me of when my old lady (my profile pic - *RIP Paprika*) was in her last year and her eyes had that look.

I was surprised late last night to find all the water bowls dry around the house. I change/top them up every day. His litter habits are intense too. I scoop the boxes every night and it is crazy how much he pees. I know the two cats litter habits very well and can tell who is doing what. I am just always amazed in the amount of pee clumps I scoop every day. Not even my old lady who died of kidney disease would pee this much. I feel like I am just always surprised or amazed or shocked or honestly weirded out by Spock. If only he could talk and tell us what is going on in there.

 

[Nebaug]

Can you find cat only vet? Drinking that much water has to be related to something unless your cat has OCD .

 

[stephanie junca]

Can you find cat only vet? Drinking that much water has to be related to something unless your cat has OCD .

Hi there, I was curious as I had not seen one near where we live and sure enough there is a cat-focused clinic 10 minutes from us with really good reviews! Spock is due for his annual check-up so I will take him there next for a second opinion.

I agree that him drinking so much is not normal, but I wonder if it is a part of the dementia. It does seem as though he almost forgets that he drank water. We will see if the cat-focused vet finds anything out of the ordinary. Thanks.

 

[ArtNJ]

If nothing else, the cat specific vet will be able to tell you how close the cat is to drowning itself. Remember, every year or two some human idiot drowns themselves having a drinking contest. The stomach can only hold so much, and then the overflow prevents the lungs from working properly. I haven't heard about someone with dementia or another medical condition drowning themselves, but its surely possible, and I've no idea if its easier or harder for a cat to drown itself than a human.

 

[furmonster mom]

My first instinct, with the water consumption and peeing, would be to check the kidneys.

I’m assuming you haven’t changed his food up? A food with too much sodium might cause similar issues.

The random zooming and biting makes me think he might be dealing with something painful, which blood tests might not necessarily pick up on. Not to sound the panic, but I’ve had two cats in the past where we found internal growths in weird spots.

If he does indeed have dementia, additional issues could be making it worse. I imagine it would be like a never ending panic attack. Even if no other issues are discovered, I’d ask about anti-anxiety meds for cats (if they exist).

 

[stephanie junca]

Hi all, writing an update here. I was finally able to take Spock to a cat focused vet. We did xrays and blood work plus a sonogram. They found so many things going on with him that the vet told me she doesn't even know at this point what to focus on. She said he has kidney disease now, IBD that has potentially advanced to become lymphoma because of the thickness of the walls of his intestines, and he potentially has heart disease as he has a very loud heart murmur. He also has pretty bad arthiritis. The bloodwork results will be back in a couple days so she said we can decide on a game plan then and sent me home with some meds to hopefully make him feel comfortable. My husband and I talked this over afterwards and we both think he is suffering too much at this point to go on. But, I wanted to hear others opinions. Do you think there is any chance we can really help him in any way to just prolong his life a little more or is it more humane to give him rest?

We were pretty distraught after this but we both had a feeling he had a lot going on already. We've just been snuggling him a lot tonight.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello, thank you for including us in your thoughts.

I personally think that putting him through all the treatments, more vet visits etal with that extra complication of arthritis, isn't going to give him quality of life.

Spock is one incredible tough little man.

 

[furmonster mom]

Oh my, that is a lot to deal with. No wonder his behavior was so erratic.

I know it’s overwhelming, my first thought would be pain management and kidney support. Unfortunately, the other ailments are most likely going to overwhelm his system. So my thoughts would be to try and get him a bit more comfortable for the time he has left.

 

[stephanie junca]

Thank you both for your comments. It's been tough today, but I do think now that the decision to let him go would be the most humane thing to do.

 

[ArtNJ]

You are the best judge of whether the cat has any quality of life, and your opinion seems well founded given the symptoms and medical conditions. Hopefully, you have a vet that can talk about such things, and not one of those upsell upsell big business animal hospitals, but if you don't, trust yourself and don't be pushed around. I've found that if you do a careful and thorough inquiry, the upselling drops away and even the animal hospital vets will be honest about things.

 

[stephanie junca]

Thanks agin for your kind thoughts. Spock went over the rainbow bridge yesterday. He was barely eating at all the past few days and just laying in a ball on the floor of one of our rooms most of the time. We could tell it was time. It's been a tough 24 hours. My way of coping is cleaning, so I have cleaned my whole house! I also have been spending extra time with our other kitty who Spock was bonded to. She seems mostly ok right now. Although I did find her hiding in a weird spot this morning so I lured her out with snuggles and treats. She has been hanging out with us all day.

RIP Mr. Spock. I know he is laying around in a sunbeam with my other old lady, Paprika, who I lost 4 years ago.