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My elderly cat is driving me insane. She wants to go out, she wants to come in,she wants to go out again. She forgets she's eaten, what's wrong with her?

7 replies

SylvaniansKeepGettingHoovered · 30/03/2015 16:35

Could my cat be suffering from dementia? She is 17yrs old (I've had her since she was a kitten) and I don't know how I can help her, and I'm struggling to cope with her behaviour. It can't be nice for her but it's also quite hard-going for me. She seems so oddly behaved these days. Actually her odd-ness has been gradually getting worse over the last year and it's only now I've realised how bad it is. I suppose she should see a vet but my cat hates going to the vet, she's so old it feels mean making her go there. She's been healthy all her life and never needed any procedures or anything.

We don't have a cat flap (never had one) so the cat sits by the door waiting to go out...so I let her out, and she wants to come straight back in, then changes her mind and wants to go out again, in again, out again. She just doesn't settle down. Eventually she'll go upstairs to sleep on my bed but it's horrible seeing her getting so confused and not knowing what she wants, and I'm getting stressed when she's around, I find her behaviour makes me tense and it's awful but she makes me so on edge.

Another problem is her food - she seems hungry, but then doesn't eat the food, and sometimes it's like she forgets that she's already just eaten. She'll hang about for food when she's only just eaten. It's so frustrating, for her and for us.

Oh and she poohs all over the lawn now, which she never used to do. That could just be old-age though.

Does anyone have experience of cat dementia? I wonder if that's what this is. And is there any point taking her to the vet for this.

OP posts:
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MollyMaDurga · 30/03/2015 16:42

I'd get her urine tested, see if her kidneys are working properly. So yeah, check her out.

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chockbic · 30/03/2015 16:46

I think thyroid problems can make them hungry. In any case yes to the vet.

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Sparkletastic · 30/03/2015 16:50

Yes very likely dementia. Our elderly cat behaved exactly like this. Had to put her down when she seemed to become permanently distressed and incontinent.

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SylvaniansKeepGettingHoovered · 30/03/2015 17:05

Chockbic she's not actually hungry though, she often ignores the food in the bowl but is hanging around the kitchen as though she wants food.... she eats some food and then walks away, and then comes back to the kitchen for more, but ignores what's there. I can't explain properly but it's almost like she forgets there is food in the bowl. Her eyesight is fine though.

Sparkletastic I'm dreading her becoming distressed and incontinent. I'd say she's not at that stage yet because she has control of her movements (she doesn't pee/pooh indoors thankfully) but she often seems confused or kind of 'lacking something'. I didn't even realise cats could suffer dementia but now I'm starting to twig

Molly I'm a bit scared of taking her to the vet, as she's 17 and I worry the vet will say she need to be put down. I don't know whether it's me that has to make a decision to have her put down or whether the vet just decides for me.

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GRW · 30/03/2015 18:41

Has she lost weight recently? If so it could be a sign of hyperthroidism or kidney disease. My now 18 year old was diagnosed with an over active thyroid gland a year ago. It is not uncommon in elderly cats. The symptoms were restlessness a bit like you describe, weight loss, occasional vomiting and a bit like your cat constantly wanting food but eating only a bit at a time. Your vet would probably want to do a blood test to check for this and other things. My cat is now on lifelong medication and doing well. I'm sure the vet wouldn't suggest putting her to sleep without investigations, and would only do that if you both felt it was best for her.

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ChocolateEggFace · 30/03/2015 18:49

My 17yo cat forgets he's eaten.

DH comes downstairs in the morning, feeds cat and goes to work. I come downstairs, cat asks for food, I feed him...guess what, he's not that hungry because he ate a couple of hours ago. Same thing happens in the evening...I come home, feed cat. DH comes home a couple of hours later, and the cat tells DH no one has fed him.

Cat is slowly putting on weight, funnily enough.

Then there's the yowling. God forbid we go to bed while he's out in the garden, and comes in to find us all gone to bed and the house dark. And yowling in the morning while walking around my bed, rather than just jumping up.

It's probably a good idea to take your cat to the vets for a check up, OP...we left it too late with girl cat, and she suddenly went blind. Sad

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negrilbaby · 31/03/2015 22:23

My old cat (died in October aged 19ish) was like this a couple of years ago. We also had pooing in the middle of our bed if she ever got into our room!.
The vet suggested I tried a Feliway plug-in as a last resort. It worked wonders. She really seemed to calm down. The vet suggested the dementia might have been making make very anxious and the Feliway seemed to alleviate this. It certainly gave her an extra year - and made her much easier to live with.

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