cat behaviour in elderly cat of 18

[Sammy]

Hi all
My cat is 18 and looks like he has Dementia.

Can cats get dementia????? Does anyone know.

Im not taking him to the vets as Im scared they will put him to sleep.

Basically he is old, is still skitzy when he wants to be, dosent go out so much, but wants to eat all the time and then throws it all back up again, he has lost so much weight its untrue. He follows us around like he wants to be fed constantly, and also scrastches at every door to go out even though they are already open!!!!
If any of us are holding anything he thinks we have food.

He is not in any pain as I would know if he was, apparently he is 88 in our years.!!!!!!!

Any help or advise welcome. xxxx

[Tedsmum]

Your cat is doing well to get to 18!
Yes cats can get dementia, it is quite common.
I would suggest you no longer let him out though as it is easy for them to get lost and confused. They can also develop weird habits like trying to eat cat litter or gravel when they are old.
I would suggest that the ravenous appetite could be lots of things, kidney disorder or thyroid problems.
I would recommend the vets and dont worry, they cant just take your cat and put him down without your permission.
If he is that hungry then I would suspect there is some reason for it.
Meanwhile I would feed lots of little meals of easily digestable food like chicken and fish. Dont give big meals as this will be more likely to cause vomiting.
My cat is 13 now and she is completely nuts, she looks like a 2 year old and I really hope I still have her when she is 18!

[raffaella]

Hi I just did some research on the net,there are lots of info..yes they can get dementia but one of the signs is that they 'forget to eat'..it doesn't seems the case with your cat..I would take him to the vet..I have a cat but is only 4 years old..good luck!

[gsdlover4ever]

I have a 18 year old cat too, I have had her since I was 4 years old.

She can get rather confused at times and can be very clingy, she "calls" for me a lot.
Especially if I am on the PC and not paying her attention... such a drama queen lol

When I take her to my OH's house for the weekend, we have to leave a light on for her, as she gets very upset.

I got zyklene from the vets, which seemed to help her calm down. But it is expensive at around a pound for one capsule

I bought a pet remedy plug in de-fuser, which is cheaper than the feliway and DAP de-fusers... It also seems to help her.

She is constantly hungry and doesn't seem to put any weight on, she only weighs 2kg... but she has always been a petite cat. I feed her several small meals a day... basically whenever she is hungry.

When was the last time your cat was wormed?
Does he get fur balls?

[Sylvieliz]

Agree entirely with the above post may need worming or have a furball.
Mine is 18 and he has three small meals a day groomed frequently to try and prevent furballs. He does have a litter tray indoor now although a window is always open for him during the day. We live in a bungalow.
Would actuarially take him to vet and let him have a good feel round. He cannot put your cat to sleep without your permission. Whats his coat like is it dry and are his eyes runny. If he will let you check his teeth. Could be something quite simple. Yes cats can get dementia Mines got it which is why I do try to keep him in as much as possible. He does sleep a lot anyway.
Good luck with your cat 18 is a good age. Let us know how you get on.

[jayne5364]

My little old girl was 20 when we had her put to sleep last year. She used to vomit often so we changed her to wet food. She'd lost a lot of teeth and didn't crunch biscuits any more. She used to call for us if we weren't in the room and got quite upset if she was on her own. She did lose a lot of weight near the end. We'd had her since she was 6 weeks old.
Right up until the end she would jump up on the bench to get her food no problems and as still very agile. Then one morning she jumped down well just never got up. I called the vet and made an app for a couple of hours later for her to be PTS. I felt that at 20 she was too old to be poked around when I'm sure her days were almost over.
It does sound like dementia and is pretty common in cats. Just take steps to keep her safe. Always being hungry...maybe check that out with the vets.

[Billy Sitch]

Yes, cats can get feline dementia.

You will need to take him to the vet for blood tests to find out what is really wrong, with regard to the vomiting, but tedsmum has given you a choice of probable causes.

[GSDOWNER]

Originally Posted by jayne5364

so love this pic xx