Both of my last two cats got dementia. They would experience sundowning, get confused, get lost in the house, my very quiet grey cat got very vocal and my uber vocal siamese would talk non-stop and not in a siamese-y kind of way, but in a lost help me way. One of the ways I was able to tell something was not right was the tone and pitch of their “voice”. It changed when they started with the sundowning.
Both boys were very sweet and loving until the very end, but you knew something was not right.
Grey cat lived to be nearly 20 and Siamese cat lived to be 16. I had the grey cat since he was a kitten and I adopted the siamese at the age of 6.
Yes, having your cat crying in the hallway and when go to see what’s wrong, they see you and the crying stops with just a couple little “there you are” mews. I didn’t understand what was happening the first cat it happened to. It was just weird until I figured out he was lost in his own house. When my sisters cat started it I told her to leave a couple lights on because seeing where they are seems to help.
I’ve only had one cat with it. We had her euthanized as she would scream all night and there was no calming her. I tried lights, music, taking her to bed with me and the vet did bloodwork. She sounded really distressed and progressively got worse over time. My other cats mostly died from cancer.
oh boy…my poor Jack has started this. The waking at odd hours during the night, the yelling off and on during the day, the howling for food, and has just started doing the looking lost thing. I would love to leave a light on for him but I need to get some sleep - my house is too small to leave a light on anywhere, plus I think the light from my neighbor’s house is enough. Plus, he has decided that sleeping on my face or on my neck is what he wants to do and I feel bad for pushing him off - it’s been hot and stuffy in my house lately, I don’t need a fur collar or face mask lol - he is in renal failure and I don’t suppose I have a boatload of time with him. I took him to the vet for a general check up and mentioned this to him and he basically blew me off. I know they have doggie alzheimers meds, why not for cats? are they out there?
My sure to check thyroid and renal function. After that, I’m not sure there is much more you can do, unfortunately. Gabapentin or mirtazapine (appetite stimulant) might help maybe 
Lions Mane Mushroom has been known to help with dementia in cats and dogs. I wish I knew this years ago when my senior lab was getting confused, walking in circles and always seemed lost at night. Poor boy.
I have been giving this to my 3 year old dog since she was about 6 months old (in a multi mushroom cap) for all of its health benefits. It can’t hurt at least! I take them as well.
I may see if I can find that. Poor guy. I know he is 18 but he’s always been one of my smartest cats so to see him starting to lose himself is very sad.
He’s also in renal failure so that does not help the issues.
Our family cat growing up developed dementia. He went downhill pretty fast. Most of his symptoms were manageable except for the eloping. He never went far, but it was a problem. He was an indoor/outdoor cat and we lived in a log cabin. He would climb up the side of the house using the log ends, get onto the roof, and then wail in terror because he couldn’t figure out how to get down. Required ladder rescues multiple times a day because you’d bring him down, settle down on the porch with him, he’s asleep, he’s snoring, go in to get a glass of water… come back out and Fred is up the roof again.
My older Himalayan has some episodes, but they’re extremely predictable and only occur when he’s been very stressed during the day. With the vet’s encouragement, we manage this with gabapentin to help him sleep through the night, and the next day he’s fine. We assume it is his CKD. He’s on Solensia and that does have a risk of dementia symptoms. If his mental status does worsen with age, I’m not sure we’ll know if it’s his kidneys or Solensia-induced or dementia for other reasons, but the general strategy for managing his well-being will probably be the same regardless.
