Meowy Monday – Does My Cat Have Dementia?

Even the most predictable cats might change in subtle or noticeable ways as they age, but do cats get dementia? According to the experts, some do. I’ve provided a link to a good article on the topic. Meanwhile, let’s discuss cat dementia.

I’m pretty sure that my Himalayan, Katy, had some level of dementia. I began to notice changes in her when she was fifteen or sixteen years old. The key clue was that she stopped fearing strangers. She was always a hidey cat—she hid when the doorbell rang, until she became elderly, then she became friendly to everyone. It’s like she had forgotten her fear of strangers, and that was a good thing.

What is dementia? According to experts, it’s a cognitive dysfunction illness and it can affect any senior cat. It’s an age-related illness just like kidney disease is for some cats. It usually comes on slowly. Between age ten to fifteen or so, you might notice changes in memory and behavior that may worsen over time.

The cat may be disoriented and you’ll notice changes in their every day habits like sleep, appetite, exercise, and even litter box behavior. The cat might become less playful and some will meow a lot, as if confused or lost.

What do you need as a cat owner of a cat with dementia? Patience. Provide enrichment activities—toys, for example, but don’t make too many changes that will confuse the cat. Provide ramps or stairs where appropriate—for a cat that likes to sleep on your bed, but has developed problems climbing or jumping up there. You may need to provide a different kind of litter box. A younger cat likes to play in the litter—kicking it all over the place, so we use higher sided litter boxes. As a cat ages, however, and arthritis sets in, I like to switch to a low-sided litter box for their ease in entering and exiting. Pee pads might be in order for some elderly cats.

Generally you will change the cat’s diet as she ages. Dietary supplements might also help her maintain her physical and mental health.

Here’s a good article on dementia in cats. If your older cat is demonstrating changes in her behavior, you might want to prepare yourself for what’s ahead. With help and understanding, it can be a beautiful journey for you both.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/can-cats-get-dementia

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Feline Fun Friday — Does Your Cat Have a Favorite Way of Cuddling?

I’d known enough cats in my life to realize a cat-is-not-a-cat, is-not-a-cat. They come in different sizes, colors, styles and purr-sonalities. This is true in the way the cat interacts with you, plays, eats, sleeps, and even snuggles. Some cats won’t snuggle at all, but they will sit close. What is close? While one cat might need to push up against you as you sit on the sofa, another might be happy as a lark simply sitting or lying at your feet.

I’ve had cats that needed to be in the middle of whatever I was doing—typing, reading, cooking… And some of my cats just needed to touch a paw on me. Katy never curled up in my lap. She would sleep curled up around my head on my pillow at night or sit next to me with one paw on my leg.

Lily was always in my lap unless there wasn’t room—I had a book or a tablet in my hands, then she would sit or lay at my feet—always close. And she always slept up against me at night.

Olivia is a bit aloof at times and demanding at other times. She’s either hiding out or she’s purring in my lap. Some cats like certain lap-feels. Olivia prefers that I’m wearing my plush robe for our cuddles or that I toss a blanket over my lap before she jumps up.

I love those cuddle-times with her, but they don’t last long. Soon she’s off playing with her basket of toys and climbing around on her cat tree, trying to engage me in a wild game of toss-the-toys and watch-me-play, jump, climb the walls.

How does your cat cuddle-snuggle?

 

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Paws Up for Wednesday – First Cat in Space Day

Yes, it’s true, a cat has been in space and back. Evidently in the 1960s, the French decided to try launching a cat into space. They chose a pert black and white street cat for this experiment and actually brought her back alive. Here’s that story. By the way, not only was this little cat the first in space, she’s the only cat to make this sort of trip.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/09/first-cat-space-felicette-orbit-humans-earth-atmosphere

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Meowy Monday – Global Cat Day

Today is Global Cat Day—a day, according to the organizers of this observance, for all of us to become cat advocates—to be the voice cats cannot be for themselves, and defend cats as we would any member of our community.

It’s a day to think about and take action to protect cats in the community worldwide. Here’s a website where you can learn more about some of the world’s cats and why they need advocates.

https://globalcatday.org/

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Rags Claws for Clues

I wasn’t able to share the cover for my latest Klepto Cat Mystery yesterday–Book 66. So here it is: Get your copy at Amazon.com. Order an autographed copy at KleptoCatMysteries.com

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Paws Up for Wednesday — NEW Klepto Cat Mystery

Yes, I’m still cranking them out. The latest Klepto Cat Mystery is now available at Amazon.com in both print and Kindle.

Title: Rags Claws for Clues

Description: Rags crusades for cats and kids.

In this lively story the Iveys’ neighborhood is experiencing incidents of petty theft. Cats and kids are the suspects. A few miles away at a cat sanctuary, cats are being exploited and maybe mistreated. Is there a connection between the two? Only Rags knows, but he isn’t talking until a cat whisperer gets his attention and listens to what he has to say. Follow along as Rags digs up some dirt and reveals what could become his most important treasure yet.

Reader Reviews

“I love this woman’s books. They’re fun and they’re funny. She has a real gift for bringing a scene to life, and her character development is great.”

“There hasn’t been a book yet that hasn’t kept me on the edge of my seat and laughing out loud.”

“I love Rags and his human family.”

“There’s never a disappointment in Rags mysteries.”

“This is an awesome series.”

 

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Meowy Monday – How to Leave Your Cat

It’s not easy, is it, to go off on vacation, an overnight business or pleasure trip, or even for a day outing and leave your cat with those wide-eyes and questioning look behind. Of course she has everything she needs for the hours you’ll be gone and you arrange for human company for those times when the hours turn into days. She’s fine—but you’re not. And when you arrive home, expecting a warm, furry-face reunion with your sweet kitty, you feel even worse. Either she’s all over you begging for attention like she’s been abandoned and forgotten or she gives you the cold shoulder for a few hours.

This is not something you consider when you commit to a cat. Cats are adaptable, they say. They can stay happily by themselves for a few hours—even overnight if they have someone checking on them. Heck, some cats hide and sleep most of the day, anyway. So why do they get their nose so out of shape when you slip out for a day or weekend trip?

Is it because we spoil our cats? We work hard to accustom them to a lifestyle with us. And they work to establish the lifestyle they want under our care. One thing cats aren’t good with is change in their routine. When the cat decides to crawl out from the closet or under the bed after a five-hour nap, she wants you right there and available to pet her, tell her how beautiful she is, give her treats, fawn over her. She doesn’t like it when you aren’t in your usual spot eager to give her what she wants when she wants it.

Thankfully, cats are also forgiving (on their own terms and in their own time) and somewhat adaptable to some changes. Yeah, that’s about as far as a cat will go—at least those I’ve known and loved.

Meanwhile everyone with one or more cats needs one or more  faithful and reliable caretakers who can stop in and feed when you’re gone, check to make sure kitty isn’t sick or getting into trouble. The best caretaker will also spend time with your cat(s), play with them, maybe give them a treat and send you pictures to ease your mind that your cat is okay–nose out of shape a bit, but okay.

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Feline Fun Friday – Oh Those Hilarious Cat Memes

Ever wonder what a meme is and where the term came from? Technically, it’s purported to be “a unit of cultural information spread by imitation.” And while we may think so, because the term is so widespread over the internet, it’s nothing new. It’s not, like, ancient, either.

It’s thought that this concept was first introduced in 1976 by an evolutionary biologist in one of his works. The word meme come from the Greek mimema, meaning imitated. I’d say that the internet and cats—cats on the internet—have certainly made the term famous.

I don’t think we care as much about the history or the background of a meme as we do about enjoying the results of the memes people have created. For many of us that’s cat memes in particular. In case you want a chuckle or you have nothing better to do, here are a couple of sites featuring some hilarious and fun cat memes. Have fun.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/laurafrustaci/cat-memes

https://www.rd.com/list/hilarious-cat-memes-youll-laugh-at-every-time/

https://cheezburger.com/1633029/33-funny-cat-memes-that-never-fail-to-make-us-lol

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Paws Up for Wednesday – Stop! Don’t Let Your Cat Smell the Flowers

I went to a large nursery once in search of plants that are not toxic to cats. The nurseryman did some research and found a very long list of plants that are varying degrees of toxic to cats. The list of toxic plants was pages longer than the list of safe plants. So how do our outdoor cats survive? Well, they don’t typically eat plants. It’s the indoor cats that are at the greatest risk. You bring in a lovely prayer plant, amaryllis , spider plant, or philodendron and your house cat will be intrigued. She may dig in the dirt, bat at the leaves, and possibly even chew on them. Cats do love eating a little green from time to time.

A bouquet of lilies, daffodils, or chrysanthemums with interesting leaves and a pretty bow around the vase will intrigue most housecats—the scent, the way the leaves bounce and sway and feel to the paws and the nose. Something like this will certainly get a cat’s attention and get him into terrible trouble if he tries to become too familiar with the bouquet.

I will display a gift bouquet of roses in my house with my cat, or sunflowers, snapdragons, gerber daisies, freesia, if the accompanying leaves are safe—because those flowers are nontoxic. But many other bouquets are enjoyed on our outdoor deck so there’s no chance of Olivia taking a bite of them. Note: I like flowers, so I use fake ones in my arrangements inside the house.

Rule of thumb, if you receive a bouquet, always, always check to find out what flowers and other plants are in it (there are apps for that) and if any of them are toxic to cats.

There are also many common foods we enjoy, but that are toxic to cats (and other animals). To mention a few, chocolate, coffee, grapes, raisins, dairy, onions, garlic, raw potatoes and tomatoes, bread, citrus.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that the cat LOVES raisins or grapes or peanuts. As I understand it some dog food is also toxic to cats. So feed Fido and Fluffy separately if at all possible.

The next time you see a houseplant you just must have or someone brings you a bouquet, be sure to identify the a flowers and check to make sure they’re safe for cats. One way is by using the CatPoison-App.

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Meowy Monday – Woman Returns to her Greek Roots to Save Cats

I was touched by this story on many levels and I think you will be, too. It’s the story of a little girl who had many friends—almost all of them with fur. She spent her childhood loving and caring for the stray cats of her homeland—Greece. Her dream was to be a doctor—a doctor of animals. She came to the states and graduated from veterinary school, keeping her promise to continue helping some of the over three million stray cats and dogs in her home country. Here’s her beautiful story.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/vet-returns-to-greece-to-help-the-stray-cats

And if you have a fascination for Greece and the cat population there, you might enjoy reading of Olivia’s visit to Greece to help a colony of cats. That’s Book 12, It’s All About Olivia.”

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