What can I/ should I ask the vet?

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Taking my cat for vaccinations so will be at the vet and I've noticed that she’s maybe not right (I think)

It's hard to put my finger on it. She’s 9 and looks really healthy, but I’ve noticed an increase in meowing/ yowling at night (and through the night). I’ve wormed her recently. I wonder if her eyesight is not what it was - sometimes she settles if I turn the light on for a little while. I wonder if she’s checking were there still.

Is there anything I could/ should ask about? She’s not young, but not old. Her coat is shiny etc, but doesn’t always seem herself at night. (But it could just be due to not wanting to go out as much in the day, so being more restless at night)

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Although she is fairly young for it these are possible signs of dementia. It's certainly worth asking the vet about it. normally it just means she will need a bit more reassurance about where you are and be less confident outside so may need an escort.

Arthritis is incredibly common in cats of that age - our vet told us that something like 80% of ten year old cats have arthritic changes, it's just cats disguise pain so well that it's often impossible to tell.

Ours was diagnosed with arthritis at 8 - he was struggling to jump and get in/out of his litter tray and did vocalise a bit more. He's now having metacam everyday and is doing so, so much better.

Otherwise as PP said, dementia is a possibility (though she's very young) or even deafness - the loud shouting could be because she can't hear herself otherwise.

Thank you. This helps me to begin my conversation with the vet and show that my gut feeling might not be totally off that there may be something there.

She has a really bad tooth. Going to get that sorted and go from there (could explain fussiness around food - calling / being hungry at night).

Her eyes seem ok and responsive, but she wasn’t tracking thinks (could have been too distracted at the vets?

I don’t know what to do about her teeth. 'Brushing' has not gone well (damages my relationship with her). She was exclusively wet food fed, but I did start feeding mix of wet and dry 'tooth' feed. I don’t want to feed just dry due to urinary tract health. She had dental work (teeth cleaning) 2 years ago, I had hoped to avoid this. There were no signs of pain and I feel bad that she needs to get this done again already.

I bought a dental paste, but she’s not keen. Will try plaque- off now.

My cat recently had 6 teeth out. She must have been in a lot of pain. Not that I'd have guessed.

A lot of the time, dental issues in cats and dogs are nothing to do with what the owners have or haven't done - it's just luck with a good dollop of genetics.

You could feed five cats on exactly the same diet for ten years and have five very different outcomes - so don't worry about it being something you've done or that you could prevent going forward.

You can get seaweed powders to go in their food to help keep teeth clean - I pay about £10 for a tub off Amazon - it should last about six months for just one cat. You put a bit in with their wet food once a day. It may not be a cure but they're not exactly expensive and won't do any harm, so it's worth a go IMO. We use it for all our cats as well as our dog.