We have an older cat been in our family all its life. She is a Calico and
about 18.
Mostly at night she will wander the house making a strange and loud meow
(almost like cats sound when they are mating or fighting). She will stop
meowing when she sees us. Then a few minutes later starts again. I have
seen her in a dark corner meowing like this too...like she is lost.
She will purr after some attention and seems to have an appetite abiet not
as much as when she used to and does seem to be much more picky about what
she will eat. She is also drinking from the toilet lately which she has
never done before (an on one occasion fell in in the middle of the night,
that screech I do recoginize!).
She is deaf now too (this happended slowing after a teeth cleaning...dont
know if related to deafness).
Any thoughts about whats up with her? Is she suffering from some sort of
feline dimensia or alzeihmers?
thanks for any thoughts
MaryL - 09 Nov 2003 22:22 GMT
> We have an older cat been in our family all its life. She is a Calico and
> about 18.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> thanks for any thoughts
Your cat is a senior citizen now, and you say she is deaf. It's also
possible that her vision may be impaired (did your vet say anything about
cataracts?). All in all, I would guess that she is becoming disoriented and
is simply crying out in an attempt to locate you, just as you surmised.
This is not necessarily dementia. Give her lots of extra attention and take
measures to avoid accidents. For example, try to keep the toilet lid closed
at all times because you said that she has already fallen in once. That
could be a real tragedy if she fell headfirst and could not get herself
reoriented. I also think a visit to the vet is in order and a full panel of
blood work, just to check for any medical problems.
Good luck with your baby.
MaryL
Alison Perera - 09 Nov 2003 22:23 GMT
> We have an older cat been in our family all its life. She is a Calico and
> about 18.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> thanks for any thoughts
Definitely get her checked out for kidney disease. She might be a little
senile, but I am mostly worried about her low appetite and high thirst.
-Alison in OH
Laura R. - 09 Nov 2003 22:41 GMT
circa Sun, 9 Nov 2003 13:43:51 -0800, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
Jakes452 (jakes452@aol.com) said,
> We have an older cat been in our family all its life. She is a Calico and
> about 18.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> thanks for any thoughts
1. Get her thyroid checked- the yowling is a classic symptom, as is
weight loss.
2. Get her checked for CRF (chronic renal failure) and diabetes.
Laura

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