kitty dementia?

I think this topic has been brought up before but since it has just recently started in our herd...is it possible for a cat to...well..."lose it"? Our Oatmeal is about 10, give or take a few (original street stray so no real idea on age). Other than a strange supposed seizure moment a good 10 years back he has always been the healthy one of the herd. I think this started late last fall but he has started "crying" a lot...I say crying but it isn't a "i'm in pain" type of cry. I almost think it is a "where are you" cry as when I answer he not only quiets down but comes right to where I am. It is almost as if he needs confirmation of where we are, he can't find us on his own. He has become very lovey with my husband in the morning, sits on his lap after he eats breakfast and just purrs and purrs...every so often, maybe 3 times over the past 4 months, he will start to jump up on something that he has jumped on millions of times, and he misses. I think he has even tripped over his own paws a few times. But again it is a very rare thing. He still gets the crazies and just zooms all over the house, and has boxing matches with a few of the other cats, eats normally...any ideas out there? :confused:

It could be kitty dementia. I know that as my RB Storm aged, he would also start crying for no reason at all. At first I thought that he was in pain but he just seemed to be very confused or lost. I would talk to him and this seemed to help to calm him down. It's so hard to watch our animals age.:( Hopefully whatever is causing these things with Oatmeal isn't anything too serious. Maybe you should bring him to the vet for a senior check up just to on the safe side.

Could he be going deaf? Check his hearing - sometimes older cats lose hearing and then get lonely because they don't hear anyone around!

My 18 year old Elan, who came to live with me a month ago suffers from dementia. He also has cataracts. I keep a night light on for him at night. It's all about age.

yes sadly our feline friends do suffer from dementia too, my friend had a cat with it and she howled all the time,not sure much you can do about it, but i am sure the vet can give you advice.best of luck.

My RB Puddy had dementia in the last months of her life. She didn't cry but she would sleep only on the bathroom sink countertop and she also peed in that sink, too. Then later she would only sleep in the bathtub. However, I had been administering subq's every day and someone (can't remember who) told me about the B vitamins and to inject them right into the fluid bag. The very first day I did that, Puddy's dementia disappeared. I don't recommend administering the B vitamins directly in a shot, though, b/c my vet told me that it's very painful b/c it burns and that you'll never be able to do it again b/c your cat will not allow it. Talk to your vet, though, and see if it comes in liquid form that you could mix in w/food or a pill form that you can pop into Oatmeal's mouth. It's amazing how fast it worked for Puddy. Good luck. It's heartbreaking to see our beloved furkids age.