My senior cat has dementia, falling, and incontinence. What can I do?

Sounds like your cat has something affecting her nervous system and it is pretty severe. He nerves innervate the eyes, influence her stance, her gait and also her mentation (ability to be aware of her surroundings). Several things can affect the nervous system including toxins, chemicals, liver shunts, primary brain stem lesions and tumors, and severe liver disease. I would highly recommend taking her in to your vet for baseline bloodwork and radiographs to start. Her lab work findings will help them pinpoint what is going on with her internally so that you can best help your furry friend. There really isn't much you can do for her at home until you know exactly what is going on with her and then get the vet to prescribe medications to help her condition. I hope she feels better soon.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. The falling over may be due to weakness or possibly neurological disease. That can also be why she is sleeping more. Urinating in unusual places is almost always due to a urinary tract condition such as an infection, stones, among other possibilities. I recommend that you have Sophie evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery! 


This sounds more like a respiratory infection. Losing bladder control happens also when the cat all of a sudden cannot breathe for a second. Make sure you wipe the discharge off her nose and take her to a vet (pet ER) tonight. The wobbly walk is very concerning.

I'm sorry this is going on with Precious but she needs to see a vet. The most common issues we see with older cats are: 1. diabetes 2. kidney disease/failure 3. hyperthyroidism Any of those can cause her symptoms and all are treatable (to an extent). All can be ruled out with simple blood testing. The best one she could have is hyperthyroidism - it is not expensive to diagnose or treat. Of course it may not be any of those and she could have something else going on entirely. First step is you need to know what the diagnosis is. I don't know what prices are in your area but an exam and bloodwork is probably right around $200. All you can do is call around for prices and see what you can work out. Some humane societies these days have low cost services so maybe check with them.

I strongly recommend you source urine collection cat litter and submit a urine sample for analysis to rule out crystals, infection, inflammation or diabetes all of which can aggravate incontinence. Acupuncture may help if no medical complications are identified

CJ really needs a vet visit when you can manage it. In older cats hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease are possibilities and require bloodwork to diagnose. The good news is many of the conditions can be treated or managed but you need a diagnosis in order to determine the best treatment. Some areas may have low cost clinics or many vets accept Care credit http://www.carecredit.com/apply/ I would contact local humane societies to see if they can offer any suggestions. Some have programs that may help with vet bills. Good luck and thank you for using PetCoach.

I'm so sorry that Cleo is having these problems. Since you mentioned that she is hyperthyroid, I would be sure to check her thyroid level and her blood pressure. If either is high, it could be responsible for the behavioral changes that you are noticing. I would also recommend checking a urine sample since urinary tract infections are common in older female cats to make sure that isn't playing a role in her sudden changes. Cleo is certainly an older girl and not eating as much is certainly a worrying sign, but I would make sure there isn't any treatable explanation for her recent behavioral changes. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.