Dementia in dogs...any advice?

dave and claire · Graduate

Dementia in dogs...any advice?

tootsmazza · Enlightened One

Age is a very sad thing to see in our pets. When my cat Toots was 17 she developed what the vet called 'cat confusion' aka alzheimers. If she was asleep when I left the room and woke to see I had 'vanished' she would wail until I called 'I'm in the bath' or, more usually at 4am, 'I'm in bed'.
She also for the first time ever wandered out the front gate and up the street - something she never ever did when in possession of her full faculties because we lived on a main road at a bus stop. I once found her sunbathing on the pavement and when I went out and said what are you doing she got up and started wandering up the street away from the house.
I was reminded of the old lady who wanders off unaware of where she is and found myself in tears as I picked her up and carried her home.
It was sad to see but all I could do was ensure she was comfortable and keep her routine as simple as possible.
There came a point when I realised my girl - the psychotic nut who attacked anyone and everything cat, dog, human, whatever, who wasn't me - was no longer there.
Its a common thing with old cats, apparently, I don't know about groos.
If you have a good vet, like I have, you will ask them to be honest and trust their guidance.
My vet was exceptional with Toots, she gave me my options and told me the ups and downs of things like steroids.
I am sure there are a number of GAL members with experience of older greys who will have suggestions , this is just my experience and I hope its not too depressing!
At the end of the day I have many years of wonderful memories of my cat and accept old age is a part of ownership and comes to us all

.
Marie

feldandjack · Guru

My old lurcher suffered from dementia. After he had been at the vets (blood tests and stuff) I was told there was nothing physicaly wrong with him. I took him home but he got worse, howling at nothing and acting terrified as if there were fireworks going off. I returned to the vet to be told "nothing physical, but he has got dementia" then it all made sense. He was given drugs that humans use for epilepsy (to slow down brain activity) the vet phoned me 48hrs later and asked how he was, I said he wasn't any better, but the tablets may need time to work. The vet told me the dose he was on should have had him out cold and I should think long and hard about how he is feeling cry

No happy ending I'm afraid but it made me realise how awful dementia must be for humans. Jack wasn't too bad during the day but when it got dark he got VERY scared. I hope Molly has a better time of it, she doesn't sound too bad. Your doing the right thing keeping things familiar for her. Let us know how things turn out.
I wish I had been told Jack had dementia after the first vet visit, It never occured to me that he had dementia and no one thought to tell me. The second vet assumed I had been told after the first visit and couldn't understand why I had done nothing. furious

weejake · Master

Rufus has had a couple of "turns" I posted about this before but he was very scared and confused and seemed to have no idea where he was. It was beyond dreadful, he's okay now and has been for a while now but am dreading that this may be a sign of things to come.. Not sure what you can do, Rufus has been put on heart meds but not sure if it related.. He's on Vetmedin 5mg