Senility?

[sherrylynne]

Mr. Stubbs will be 15 in August, and I think he's starting to become senile. At least where it concerns litter boxes. He refuses to use the ones in the basement now(Watson had been bothering him there), so he's been using the ferret ones on the main level, as well as upstairs. I don't mind at all.
But recently, he'll run upstairs and down, from box to box, crying, before he finally settles on one, and uses it. By this point, he has to go so bad, he pees while standing, which for him is unusual. And this only happens in the evening, never in the daytime. Reminds me of sundowners in Alzheimer's patients.
He has no problems peeing or pooping, just seems really confused about where to go . He eats/drinks fine, is totally on Wellness now, and at his last check up in the late autumn, had no problems, even on the blood panel.
Have any of you ever had this problem with your cats/other pets? I have no problem with the idea of caring for a senile pet, but I'm not familiar with what I should be doing for him.

[Bonkers]

  My two oldest cats are age 13 & 11 and I have not witnessed any signs of confusion in either of them to date. So I have no advice to offer other than I might want to take him back to the vet just as a precautionary measure. I did find a couple of websites that provide info as to what may occur and what to look out for as cats reach their senior years. http://www.fabcats.org/owners/elderly/senility.html    &     http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/diseasesconditionscat/tp/feline-dementia.htm   Hopefully other members may be able to shed some light on this important topic.

[sherrylynne]

Thanks for the links, Bonkers! Mr. Stubbs seems to fit the vast majority of the symptoms. I called the vet, he goes in on Saturday for bloodwork and an exam. I'll let you know what she says.

[Bonkers]

  How did Mr. Stubbs  visit to the vet go???

[sherrylynne]

Well, we won't have the bloodwork back for a few days, but from his exam, and from talking to the vet, she also thinks it age related senility. His urine is fine. Healthy for his age. In reasonably good condition.
Basically just told us that he would need a lot of reassurance when he seems particularly confused. Since we already shut the door when he eats(he goes into one of the bedrooms with his food and a litter box, because he'll eat for a couple minutes, go to his box, then eat, wander, eat), he shouldn't have too much trouble with developing hepatic lipidosis, which she told me is a real concern with this problem. They just forget to eat. By shutting him in, he always sees his dish, and finishes it. He simply forgets that he's already eaten, and cries for more, but will only have a bite or two, because he's full.
I just feel so sorry for the poor old guy when he gets confused. But at least paying attention to him at those times does reassure him. I guess we just take it day by day.

[sherrylynne]

Sorry, forgot to post! His bloodwork came back fine. The vet said he had very slightly elevated liver values(?), but well within the range of normal for his age.
So. We are def. dealing with feline cognitive disorder. If anyone has any tips on dealing with the elderly senile cat, it would be appreciated!

[Bonkers]

  At least now you know that it is nothing physically wrong with Mr. Stubbs. Could part of it be that there are new additions to your family and that it may have caused him to experience some stress? Or did he act this way previously?

[sherrylynne]

I really think it actually started last year. His last best friend, our pitty Mia, had to be PTS, due to cancer. When we walked in without her, he came over to us, stood looking, then turned around, and immediately attacked Watson, quite viciously. Like he blamed Watson for Mia being gone. Psychologically, he's been going downhill ever since.
The extra ferrets really don't seem to bother him. He's usually sleeping when they are out and about anyway. The odd time he isn't, we either keep a close eye on him, or else he goes into my husband's office(where he loves being anyway- settles to sleep immediately) until they are back in their cages.
I'm thinking the fact of losing his only 4 friends(never got along with the others that well) withing a couple of years really has told on him. Mia was the last.

[Bonkers]

  sherrylynne, what makes you think that Mr. Stubbs is not going to be with you much longer?

[sherrylynne]

Sorry, just noticed this post! His appetite is decreasing, his physical condition is deteriorating, and he's sleeping a lot more. This poor cat is so unhappy most of the time that we've decided to just stay with care and comfort this time around. Don't get me wrong- I'd never let him suffer, and he's not ready to go just yet, but it's just a feeling I'm getting about him. It's like he's slowly winding down.

[Bonkers]

   Poor baby.    I know that when my youngest cat Jasper lost his "girlfriend" a couple of years ago he became extremely depressed and that is when all of his food sensitivities started too. I know nothing about feline cognitive disorder but I would say try to keep his environment as peaceful as possible as you had stated he was nervous. Will he play with you? If so, I would spend as much time as possible trying to get him active. Sometimes play therapy can be good for what ails ya.

[sherrylynne]

He'll play the odd time. Not nearly as often as I would like to see, but now that he has rediscovered the great outdoors (only under supervision), we take him out as often as we can. He still spooks fairly easily, but he'll actually stay out for as long as 20-30 minutes at a stretch now before he starts getting just too nervous. At least when he's startled, he still remembers to run for the door!

[LadyJemima]

I'm so sorry, sherrylynne; that must  be hard for  you to see him so confused.  I experienced the same thing with my own dear tabby who passed away two years ago.  She was nearly sixteen and in her last year became increasingly senile.  She stopped using the litterbox (instead she preferred to go in the corner of the basement, which we allowed since it is unfinished and made her happy).  She also became lost (she was indoor/outdoor).  She rarely left the sunny front porch but several times she disappeared and once we found her nearly half a block away in a grove of pine trees, crying her eyes out.  I have no idea if this was related, but it turned out she had a massive tumor.  She went downhill overnight and when we took her to the vet they found a tumor the size of a baseball (we hadn't noticed it because it was tucked under the ribcage).  The vet said it was highly aggressive and probably developed incredibly quickly so I think the senility began long before, but who knows.  I would just make sure Mr. Stubbs has regular vet checkups and if he passes those, then I would say (based on my experience) that his senility is normal.

[sherrylynne]

Thanks, Lady Jemima. Yeah, he passed all his tests . I'm thinking this time, if he starts to go downhill too much, we'll just help him pass. And yeah, it's heartbreaking. We've had him since he was about 6-7 weeks old. He's just generally not happy anymore.

[GreyGhost]

Its a very tough but honorable decision to make. Working in a vet clinic before I fully understand the choices made. I also understand a bit better not to let it go too far. Too many times I had found myself giving fluids to a poor animal for months just keeping it alive. Your thinking is admirable.