I may chat about my books, what I'm writing or reading, or just general thoughts. You may read posts about my cats or just my crazy life in general. Comments are welcome, if anyone wants to interact with me. Maybe we can share war stories, whether it's writing related or just about life in general.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Kitty Alzheimer’s?



Apparently cats can get anything humans can get, including Alzheimer’s.  Who would have ever thought that?  I’ve had many, many cats in my life but none with Alzheimer’s yet. 

Tootie


Tootie, who will be sixteen next month, has been getting lost in the house and meowing loudly a lot.  When I say a lot, I mean a lot.  Sleeping at night is almost impossible at my house, especially with the added fact that hubby has some viral infection that started out as a cold. 

Today I was off work so took Tootie to the vet for an examination.  She seems to be in good shape according to the vet, who gave us the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s (although he says they don’t call it that for pets, but it’s the same thing.)  Hmmm…

Aside from this issue, Tootie eats well and drinks lots of water.  Of course all this water drinking is normal for an older cat, or dog, the vet said, and that she doesn’t have diabetes, which is what I was thinking at first. 



 Raven checking out the new cat box

The new cat box in place with splash guard installed and paper underneath for easy cleanup
 
Well all this water drinking either makes her throw up water all over the house, or pee a lot, which includes missing the box at times.  He suggested we get a lower cat box for her so she can get in and out easier with her arthritis.  We’re giving her herbs for that, which seem to help some.  She can jump on the couch by herself again, which is a good thing (unless she throws up there.)  I find myself cleaning up after this cat a few times each day.  The vet told us as long as she’s eating, drinking, and not sleeping all the time, it wasn’t time to put her down.

I suspect she has a lot of time left because, although she ambles about the house, she can run when she wants too and has her moments of “get up and go.”



 Tootie

I keep thinking, as all of our cats get older, I’ll know what to do by looking at the warning signs of the cats that were here before them.  This practice would probably work except all the cats have all died of something different from each other, at least so far.

That goes for everyone except my boys, Wizard and Ceasar, who were brothers.  They both died of kidney disease.

Tootie

I wonder if Tootie has moments when she knows she’s losing her mind, like my mother.  Or times when she reverts back to childhood thoughts.  I really wish I could understand meows.

6 comments:

  1. That is interesting about cats having memory issues/Alzheimer's. Seems like you have a good plan to try to keep her comfortable in her older age. I know when Koda started going blind, it was so gradual at the beginning we didn't even realize how much vision he had lost until I called him one time and he came running up the hall and turned sooner than the corner and smacked right into the wall. After that I didn't call him like that and I felt so bad!

    They can adapt really well though, can't they?

    betty

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    1. Betty,

      Wow, what a story about Koda. Poor dog. I wasn't aware that animals can have mental issues like memory loss either until I saw the vet today. I know Tootie's hearing isn't as good as it used to be because I can walk upon her and startle her when she doesn't know I'm there. I guess old age is no fun for people or animals.

      Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.

      Sunni

      Delete
  2. Interesting. How does a cat with a memory disorder function? I never heard of this before.

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    Replies
    1. Liz,

      I never heard of this before either so I guess we'll learn along with Tootie as time goes by. So far she still knows where the food and water is, etc. Hopefully, she'll die of old age before all her memory is gone. I haven't faced this issue before.

      Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.

      Sunni

      Delete
  3. Tootie is beautiful. The vet said she doesn't have diabetes which is great, but did the vet check thyroid and kidney values. A lot of cats vocalize at night when they are hyperthyroid. I have 3 cats that have this, all over age 10. It is a simple fix with a pill.

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    Replies
    1. pilch,

      Thank you so much for your expert comments. I appreciate it. I'll have to ask the vet about the thyroid. He said her kidneys were okay. Thank you so much.

      Sunni

      Delete

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Sunni