Cognitive Dysfunction
Excessive vocalization in older cats
The Scaredy Cat Hospital
480-990-2287
www.scaredycats.com
(Courtesy
of Cornell University Feline center)
According to the latest American Veterinary Medical Association
census figures, about 82 million cats currently reside in U.S. homes, up from
71 million in 2001. Much of this impressive increase, no doubt, stems from the
pleasure that a growing number of people derive from having a cat around the
house. But the dramatic population increase may also be attributed to the fact
that cats in general are living longer nowadays than they typically did in the
past. As a result of improved home care, better nutrition, advances in
veterinary medicine, and so forth, it is not uncommon for a cat to live to the
ripe old age of 20 or 21 years—the equivalent of age 96 to 100 in a human.
There’s a downside to this good news, however. As cats grow
older, they, like humans, become increasingly susceptible to the onset of
disorders associated with aging. As the years go by, their organs gradually
function less efficiently, for example, and the potency of their immune systems
naturally declines. Among the most troubling, and in some respects most
baffling, of age-related feline disorders is cognitive dysfunction, a puzzling,
progressively debilitating condition whose signs resemble those associated in
humans with Alzheimer’s disease and senile
dementia.
The behavioral signs of cognitive dysfunction tend to become
clearly noticeable in cats that are 10
years of age or older. The signs include spatial disorientation;
wandering away from home into unfamiliar territory; lack of interest in
playing; excessive sleeping; altered cycles of sleep and wakefulness; long
periods of staring blankly into space or at walls; indifference to food and
water; urinating and defecating outside the litter box; and seemingly
unprompted episodes of loud vocalizing, frequently in the middle of the night.
Some of the bizarre behavior may be attributable to the gradual
impact of a long-standing physical condition that worsens as a cat grows old or
to diseases commonly found in older cats. The pain of arthritis, for example,
can intensify over the years and cause a formerly athletic cat to slow down
dramatically as the years pass. Kidney failure
may impact litter box behavior by causing excessive urination and soiling of
the litter box, causing some fastidious cats to find alternative
places to eliminate. Arthritis may also hinder a cat’s ability
to get into the litter box in time. Night-time vocalizing is relatively
common in hyperthyroid
cats or cats with hypertension,
and hypertension can also cause retinal detachment and blindness, leading to
anxiety and confusion. Progressively painful periodontal
disease can discourage the cat from visiting its food bowl with the
same enthusiasm it showed at a younger age.
The signs of cognitive dysfunction may also be traced to a neurologic
disorder, according to Alexander de Lahunta, DVM, emeritus professor
of anatomy at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “If I’m
examining a cat,” he says, “and it acts as if it’s in a world of its own,
doesn’t respond to me, paces in a circle, or gets itself in a corner and just
stays there, I’ll consider that to be a prosencephalon problem.” The
prosencephalon, he explains, includes the largest portion of the brain, the
cerebrum. This area controls a cat’s response to its environment, its vision
and hearing, and such vital functions as sleeping and eating.
Anomalous behavior stemming from that part of the brain,
explains Dr. de Lahunta, can be caused by a variety of physical problems, such
as tissue inflammation, tumors, trauma, or a metabolic disease. If magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid fail to reveal a
physical problem in the brain, says Dr. de Lahunta, then the problem is
something that is probably best treated by an animal behaviorist or veterinary
psychiatrist.
After other potentially causative conditions, such as
hyperthyroidism and kidney disease, are ruled out, a veterinarian may prescribe
an anti-anxiety drug, such as fluoxetine, to allay some of the alarming
signs of cognitive dysfunction. (A drug called L-deprenyl has proved successful
in improving brain function in dogs but has not yet been approved for use in
cats.)
Animal behaviorists note that cat owners can play a significant
role in delaying the progress of feline senility and its accompanying
disabilities. Among their suggestions: feed an aging cat a diet rich in vitamin
E and antioxidants, substances that are believed to retard the effects of
aging; avoid bringing another animal into the household whose presence might be
stressful to the cat; and make sure that litter boxes are conveniently
accessible, with low sides for easy access. If the elderly cat is having
trouble going up and down stairs, provide ramps as needed throughout the house.
And be sure to take the cat to a veterinarian for routine checkups so health
problems are identified in their early stages, when they are most treatable.
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