Feline dementia?

[Pippity]

Does anyone have any experience of this?

My cat is 14-ish. She's always been vocal, but about six months ago she started just standing in the middle of my flat and bellowing until I stand up and show her where I am. She stopped sleeping on my bed at night at around the same time, and tends to wake me up at about 4am by yelling until I pick her up and put her on my bed.

Is she just getting lazy and demanding in her old age or could she be losing it a bit?

Obviously, if I'm worried about her health I should take her to the vet but that's easier said than done. This is a cat who has shrugged off a general anaesthetic and needs to be handled by two nurses in kevlar gloves to get her vaccinations. There's no way she can be examined without serious drugs being involved.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

It does sound like she is in the early stages of feline dementia. I have a 17 year old who started displaying similar traits last year. She wakes up very confused especially if it’s dark and doesn’t stop howling until I talk to her. Once she hears my voice it seems to bring her back to reality and she settles down and goes back to sleep. I haven’t taken mine to the vet, she’s a good weight, eats well, knows where the litter tray is and is still really agile. It’s all part of them getting old so if your cat is healthy in every other way I wouldn’t even try to take her given her aversion to vets.

 

[Pippity]

Sadly, voice doesn't work with mine because she's deaf, so it's a case of frantic waving, flicking lights or actually going and getting her. (Deafness is nothing to do with age - she's white with blue eyes.)

As long as she carries on being physically healthy and otherwise happy, I guess we'll just trundle along. It's a shame I'm going to be moving house soon, because I suspect she'll struggle with that.

 

[Umbongo]

Animals can definitely become anxious, disorientated, confused etc as they get older.
It can also be a sign of something else. In an older cat, hyperthyroidism or renal failure are quite likely. Does her sight seem ok? Blindness could be another potential cause and is commonly a result of high blood pressure in cats.

I would recommend a vet visit and blood test in order to rule out anything obvious. If your vets are unable to handle her to get a blood sample, then speak to them about some medication to help calm her before her vet visit such as gabapentin.