Older Cats

Question
I have two cats.  A male 16 and a female 14 yrs.  The female is not demonstrating this trait yet, but my sisters 16 yr old female Siamese is -
What is happening is in the middle of the night, my male might wake up and just start screaming at the top of his lungs.  He is deaf these days - I believe this because he used to come to me when I called his name and these days I can walk into a room and startle him quite a bit if he doesn't see me come in.  Does one have to do with the other?

Why is he behaving this way?  Is this common in older cats?  Is there anything that can be done to stop it?

Thank you.

Answer
Debbie,

Your male is approximately 80 years old in human years, and your female is approximately 72 years old. At that age you can expect age-related issues to surface.

A deaf cat will 'scream at the top of his lungs' at night because, one, he cannot hear himself so he tends to meow loud, the same as a deaf person will talk loud; two, a deaf cat relies on vibrations to know where everyone is and at night when 'his people' are asleep, there are no vibrations which causes the cat to become disoriented, frightened, and confused which will make him cry. He is basically saying "where is everyone?"; and three, he may have arthritis or pain which is more pronounced at night, or when it is cold, which may be causing him to 'cry'.

Do not get mad at him for behavior he can't help. The changes in is body are just as confusing to him as it is to you. He needs your assurance and love now more than ever. You may want to keep a litter box in the bedroom and keep the cats in there with you at night.

You should take both cats to a vet that is knowledgeable about geriatric cat care and their conditions (not all vets are which could be detrimental to your cats) for an "older cat checkup" to check the function of their kidneys, thyroid, liver, bloodwork, etc. If he has arthritis he can be given pain medication to make him comfortable thus increasing his quality of life.

Being prepared and knowledgable about elderly cats will make things easier for the cat and for you. I am including some very good links about elderly cats. Copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar:

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

http://www.2ndchance.info/oldcat.htm

Tabbi