Cats and Alzheimers, who knew?

[stomachmonkey]

Have 4 of the furry critters.

Turok the big Tomcat has a hyper thyroid condition that he has been on meds for. The thyroid problem causes him to lose weight. Big problem for cats since under a certain weight they just kinda die. The meds have a side affect. Curbs his appetite so he does not eat as much as he should so the weight battle has been a difficult one.

We are considering radiation therapy which is arduous but will cure the thyroid condition.

Then there is Casey, she was on Prozac a couple of years ago due to stress. Then a Mastectomy last year and about 6 months ago we noticed she had gone stone cold deaf which was a bit of a blessing in disguise. She no longer gets stressed when the house is full of screaming 5-10 year old kids. In fact she now lays in the middle of the mayhem blissfully unaware of the din.

Lately she cries out, wails, extremely loud. At first we thought something was wrong and we'd run and find her. But every time she seemed to be just fine so we kind of got used to the new behaviour.

So this morning my wife is on the phone with the Vet discussing the radiation treatment for Turok. Casey wails and the Vet asks who that was. My wife explains it's relatively new behaviour and Casey seems fine.

Vet responds, it's Alzheimers, they get disoriented and cry out and when you go to them it reassures them, brings them back to reality.

Who knew?