Has my cat becoming senile?

I have a 12 year old cat that I rescued at 3 weeks old. He has spent all of his life as the alpha critter in the house and since he was the first critter in the house and for the longest time had contact with only dogs he too thinks that he is a dog and the others defer to him.

He has never been a needy cat. He has never been fond of petting and would never sink so far as to sit in your lap. Now however he not only has to be in physical contact with you all the time, he will knead you for hours if you don't make him stop.

Is this regressive behavior or is he becoming senile?

reply to post by SpiritoftheNightSky

Has my cat becoming senile?

I think it may be you who is senile

As for your cat, it all sounds pretty normal behavior. If it gets too annoying I will more then happily dispose of it for you though. Me no likey the cats.

reply to post by LiveForever8


It is possible that senility will be knocking on my door in the future and I agree that this is normal behavior for most cats but this behavior is new for mine so I have to deem it unusual.

It is not so much annoying as it is puzzling. As I said before it is fairly easy to get him to stop and he just plops down in my lap which is also something new. For 12 years he has been independent and aloof. Suddenly he has become a needy lap cat. Just wondering if others have had this occur.

reply to post by SpiritoftheNightSky


Would you consider it senility if you exhibited a new warmth toward someone you've known for all your life?

I don't think it's senility.. sometimes cats, or at least cats that I've lived with, mellow, become more attached. Our old boy, two years before he died took to stretching on his back next to my leg for a stomach rub, whereas a year prior to that would've clawed me to pieces for even touching his stomach.

Another more worrisome possibility: Last week I was very sick. Both our cats -- who normally are affectionate at times, but never lay on me -- elected to treat me as a cat couch. Did they (a) know that I was sick and chose to be closer to me (b) noted that I wasn't getting up a lot and an extra bonus I was warmer than usual so decided to capitalize on their new sauna (c) perhaps thought they were or actually were helping in some unmeasurable energy way or (d) merely an extention of ongoing quirky cat behavior? I can't say. I know that it gave me some measure of comfort to be lounged upon, and it couldn't have been real comfortable for them with my moaning and squirming and coughing and such.

Short answer......... like all good friendships and relationships, enjoy, laugh with and love each other, for they're sometimes gone too soon, with fond words unsaid.

It could be anything that's changed in his life, if he was top cat in your house do you know how he related to any other cats in your area?

Quite often if an older cat, even more so for a tom, get's knocked off his pecking order by a younger stronger cat then his confidence will be knocked... He may of just lost his first cat fight.

Or similarly he could of had some incident scare him and shake his confidence, a run in with a fox/dog? A stumble and fall? close call with a car?

Somehow I think he's been moved out of his comfort zone by something.


I will edit.... Just to scare you! Muhahahahaha

The tortoiseshell and white cat spends its days pacing from room to room, rarely spending any time with patients except those with just hours to live.
If kept outside the room of a dying patient, Oscar will scratch on the door trying to get in.

When nurses once placed the cat on the bed of a patient they thought close to death, Oscar "charged out" and went to sit beside someone in another room. The cat's judgement was better than that of the nurses: the second patient died that evening, while the first lived for two more days.

 

Dr Dosa and other staff are so confident in Oscar's accuracy that they will alert family members when the cat jumps on to a bed and stretches out beside its occupant.

"It's not like he dawdles. He'll slip out for two minutes, grab some kibble and then he's back at the patient's side. It's like he's literally on a vigil," Dr Dosa wrote.

Linkypoos



[edit on 1/2/2010 by Now_Then]

reply to post by Now_Then


I think you are right. I have noticed that his leaps are not as smooth as they used to be. He used to be able to bound like a heat seeking missile from the floor to the middle of my bed but now he often barely makes it up and has to claw his way partially up the side.

I also agree with Argentus and I have been enjoying the new bonding experience. I just have to get used to him grabbing my leg when I roll over at night. He does not like having his pillow taken away. He does not like to have to reposition himself when I change position so I have to listen to him grumble for a spell. He is a very vocal cat.

Originally posted by SpiritoftheNightSky

I have a 12 year old cat that I rescued at 3 weeks old. He has spent all of his life as the alpha critter in the house and since he was the first critter in the house and for the longest time had contact with only dogs he too thinks that he is a dog and the others defer to him.

He has never been a needy cat. He has never been fond of petting and would never sink so far as to sit in your lap. Now however he not only has to be in physical contact with you all the time, he will knead you for hours if you don't make him stop.

Is this regressive behavior or is he becoming senile? I have had many cats over the years. He/she sounds like a normal "smile when you say that"
Your cat is far away from senile. Unlike a dog, if your cat likes you, he will let you know. If he dosen't, boy will he let you know

On a serious note if your cat stops grooming, missing the litter box, or stops eating, thats a very bad sign.

My stepdad had the cat from Hades. Meanest son of a gun you ever saw. The walls were carpeted (guess to make the stereo sound better??) and that cat would hang at face level just waiting for some victim to come in the door.

When I lived with them for a while when the cat was older, it was a different cat. Right around 10-12 years old he mellowed out and was actually affectionate. It may just be something about aging that mellows them. Sparky would also knead and drool when you pet him.

reply to post by Mountainmeg


I guess they are more like us then we realize. I was full of spit, fire and vinegar when I was a young one and I too have mellowed out in my old age; much to the astonishment of all that really know me.

That doesn't mean that the dregs at the bottom of the barrel can't be stirred up under the right circumstances.