I think my cat has Alzheimer's (seriously)

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My cat has been doing this for a good couple of months now, he will come up to me wanting food, (he will stand in front of the cabinet where we keep the food) so I check his bowl and if it is empty I will give him more. But then one minute later he comes up to me again and goes to the cabinet. So I pick him up (keep in mind he is a FAT 20 lb. cat) and carry him to his bowl where he will eat and then a couple of minutes later come back to me and then the cabinet again and we repeat the process! It is so strange, he's almost 14 years old! My other cat just looks at him like he is a total idiot!

How old is he?

edit oh wait nvm lol you said already...


Anyway, hes pretty old for a cat, probably about "his time" soon

I wonder about that too, I have had him since he was a kitten, but he gets regular check ups at the vet and she says he is doing just fine, other that his weight of course. He eats a SENIOR cat food hairball control diet, but he is not as active as he used to be. I don't know what I will do when he goes on to "kitty heaven" the kids will be so upset!

I have a 20 year old dog that I tend to in the same manor. Its
often difficult to determine what he needs. Lately I theorise he is acting strangest when he wants water.

Well chances are they will experience worse heartbreak as they get older, and they will be really upset now but I think they might benefit from it as well. I mean, if anything it will help them become stronger, and able to deal with this kind of pain. The way to learn is through experience.. Not to mention the poor thing must be suffering not only from the different pains of old age but also from his weight, the humane thing to do would to send him to his last visit at the vet.

take your kitty to a different vet for a thorough exam. it could be something as simple as a thyroid malfunction, which can be treated quite inexpensively with a little pill every day. a vet who sees a 20 pound cat and says he's fine is a little "suspect" in my book.

you'll want to get that excess weight off the kitty as well - you might switch to a food for overweight cats. i've had very good luck with the purina brands. but check with your vet first, to make sure there's nothing that would preclude feeding an off-the-shelf brand. ask your vet for a complete geriatric panel of bloodwork for kitty. be sure they include blood sugar levels, in case diabetes is at play here. your kitty, unless it's a really large boned cat, should weigh around 10 pounds.

fourteen is old, but not all that old for a cat that's kept indoors. i volunteer at a cat shelter where we have many felines past age 20 - vet care and food quality have greatly improved the longevity of the species.

good luck!

Wow, the Polish must be really healthy, around here youll reach 80 if your lucky

Maybe he thinks you're hiding something better in there than what you're giving him, and if he tries again he'll get something different.

Kinda obvious to me but I could be wrong.

Take this anecdote. My grandfather, wise but stubborn, gradually increases the times he calls you as he gets older. It's his way at tugging at your attention as he nears the end of his life, because that's what people do when they feel they got few years left to enjoy the ones they love...even if it means steering them towards a nervous breakdown (after calling them a hundred times over the course of the day).

Your cat may need a neurologist, but I'd bet more on the possibility that he just wants more attention, and he manipulates you (however cats know how to) to get his way.

Old people and animals have a funny way of reminding us they're there and that, for better or for worse, they need more of us.

I admit, he probably is starved for attention, since the kids he doesn't get it the same as he used to. My husband does a lot with them though, I kind of take care of the kids and he does the cats. Sounds strange but for the most part it works.

Maybe he is getting a little senile or maybe just wants your attention.

probably, he (and the other one) are deathly afraid of the kids however, and they stick to me like glue! They spend a large majority of the day in bed with my husband (he works night shift) I see them mostly in the morning and at night.

Fourteen is not especially old for a cat. I had a Lynx point Siamese who lived to be 20. There are a lot of explanations for cognitive dysfunction in cats. A vet visit is in order.