Recently I have noticed my 15 year old cat doing things he has never done, i'm just wondering if he is going mad?

The other day my mum found him sat on a dining chair which he is not allowed to do and hasn't done since he was a kitten but we didn't think anything of it!
Then while I was sat on the floor he tried to climb onto my knee. He has never been the type of cat that ever wanted nursing or anything like that and has never once sat on my knee or anyone elses so i started to wonder if he was going mad due to his age!

He has also started to eat the dogs food (and he never eats anything apart from his own cat food), even though he had got food in his own bowl! He ate a chip with ketchup on, bread and butter (that he stole from my cousin while she was in her baby walker!)

He's hardly in the house anymore and when he is he eats then goes upstairs and gets under one of the beds!
I know to most people none of these things will seem strange but its just not like him!

Can cats go mad? Or is it more likely he is more or less ready to leave us and go to that better place up in the sky?

........my 15 year old cat........he's hardly in the house anymore and when he is he eats then goes upstairs.........

Sounds like a teenager.

Hmmm has Jaberwocky been near your cat?:hihi:

Seriously it could just be old age catching up - I guess you may just have to compensate and re-assure him that it's ok and allow him some lee-way with rules. Worth a health check at the vet to ensure he's ok though and that there isn't anything medically wrong.

Sounds like a teenager.

Well there are enough of those in the house so he will be out on his ear if thats whats up with him! :D

I think i'd rather he was going mad!

Hmmm has Jaberwocky been near your cat?:hihi:

I dont think so :suspect: but my cat does stay out all night so maybe thats who he's with! :D

known several old cats and although non have had major personality changes some did go a tad aphasic. they can go a bit senile and get lost in the home. my present cat is sixteen and sleeps a lot and seems generally content but there are times when she'll mewl like shes terrified and we have to shout to her. the mewling is kind of like panic, think shes lost and alone but when she hears a familiar voice she either settles down or comes for a stroke. suspect going a bit funny aint so bad if you got friends.

they say pets are like there owners,LOL and if the saying is true i better watch out all my animals where insane.hope the little feline is ok.charlie

is it male or female,just noticed its a he so his obviously male.

This sounds familiar to me. My mum's first cat went senile and also had strokes in his last year or so - he lived till 22 but was part Burmese who are known for their longevity. Like in humans, strokes affect the vision and walking usually.
Our current cat Cirrus is a similar age to yours - he was a farm cat and as he was growing up we hardly ever saw him. Now he is very much a house and lap cat - goes in strange places, is very vocal a lot of the time and is in and out of the house non-stop i.e as soon as you let him out he wants back in and vice versa.
Vet said it may be senility but that is not necessarily bad, just the ageing process. He seems content and is not in pain but it is the beginning of the slippery slope so we are just patient and enjoy him while we can!
I know one day I visit home and he will not be there :confused:
So make the most of him and do what you can to keep him content. You may have a few years left yet!

I have to say Natzz that your moggy sounds like he's suffering from a bit of memory loss (a relatively common age related thing with cats).

If he can't remember what food he likes then he'll try anything- the one thing you need to be careful with is that he doesn't start eating things that actually aren't food (cat litter, soil, that sort of thing).

You may find that if you were able to watch him when he's outdoors that the reason why he's out a lot is because he can't remember how to get home again. It happened with a neighbour's cat for a few years before he died- you'd find him screaming his head off on the doorstep, which was followed by him getting terribly confused when he didn't recognise the inside of your house when he got in there. He'd scratch and bite as you tried to pick him up to take him home, then when you got him there he didn't want to know you- because he now recognised people and places he knew.

Try to keep him content, and do the best you can to let the neighbours know that he may be getting a bit forgetful. A trip to the vets could be worth a try to see if there's anything they can suggest too.

are you sure he is not a she and the cat isnt pregnant,i know we had a cat who we called a him till that started doing strange things and then got fatter and had kittens,but the pet shop who charged us £45 told us it was deffinatly a tom

He's 15 though- would be very unlikely to have a litter of kittens at that age, even if he was a she.

We did have a 12 year old mum at the Shelter quite recently, but she was defnitely in the unusual.

:loopy: :) is there a chance that you yourself could be pregnant?cats also tend 2 act strange when a woman is,just a suggestion

My cat, Blossom eats bread and butter!

It wont be good for her at all but if I leave a plate with a sandwich I didnt finish or something, she'll lick all the butter off, and goes mad for it!!

Hope he's ok, Natzz

I've got one who's a bread and pastry freak too- but she's been like that all of her life. Unusual to get a taste for it in later life though.

I've got one who's a bread and pastry freak too- but she's been like that all of her life. Unusual to get a taste for it in later life though.

:hihi: yes, pasty aswell!

And peas, sweetcorn, potato, cheese, marmite! I swear they think they're human!

One of my friends has a cat who eats everything from salad to garlic bread and crisps. Not your average cat!

My idiot steals and eats donuts.

One of my friends has a cat who eats everything from salad to garlic bread and crisps. Not your average cat!

:hihi: got a mad image of a big fat cat tooking into some Cheese & Onion Walkers lol.

Bless, dontcha just love em!

Thanks for the help and advice guys, I know there must be something wrong, I just wondered if it was a sign of him getting ready to pass on!

And I know he's not pregnant as he has been snipped, and im guessin they would have told us at the vets if he was really a lady cat lol
And just to add i'm not pregnant either :hihi:

I'm gonna keep an eye on him and I think I might start writing down the strange things he is doing (because I cant remember em all) incase I take him to Vets!

Thanks again guys

:hihi: yes, pasty aswell!

And peas, sweetcorn, potato, cheese, marmite! I swear they think they're human!

My cat Basil tends to like everything but actual cat food! (she's a jelly/gravy licker.) She loves aforementioned sweetcorn and if i've left the takeaway bag out ready to go in the bin - I've caught her snaffling the curry juices from the tray. Her favourite bakery item is doughnuts but if they are over a day old she rejects them. As a result she had to have her teeth descaled two times as a young cat but then i discovered dentibits and they've made them so much better as at least she chomps them.

Going back to senile old cats, my cat Nicky who is 20 (resides at my grans) definitely changed personality last year. She's also going from tabby to a light ginger colour on the main part of her coat. She's gone from a non fussy quite timid and quiet cat to this noisy old lady who demands your attention. She also likes to sleep in a clean litter tray full of litter rather than her soft bed. She's also been wandering off for two days at a time and coming back filthy like she's been in a coal shed. My gran then cleans her up but she comes back in the same state the next time! She's still a fussy eater though!

when i was pregnant my mother-in-laws cat came to sit on my knee. She was normally very anti-social and wouldn't normally come anywhere near me, or anyone else for that matter.

my cat has been acting very odd lately. he meows for food, even though there is some down for him, and then if i give it a little stir, he will eat it! - or sometimes, if there is no food down for him and i put some down, he just walks off and leaves it for the fat cat next door to come and pinch.

Going back to senile old cats, my cat Nicky who is 20 (resides at my grans) definitely changed personality last year. She's also going from tabby to a light ginger colour on the main part of her coat. She's gone from a non fussy quite timid and quiet cat to this noisy old lady who demands your attention. She also likes to sleep in a clean litter tray full of litter rather than her soft bed. She's also been wandering off for two days at a time and coming back filthy like she's been in a coal shed. My gran then cleans her up but she comes back in the same state the next time! She's still a fussy eater though!


Aw just reading my post nearly two years on. We lost Nicky that winter, she went out and simply didn't come back.:( Thinking back she'd probably got the memory loss thing as she'd got completely doddery. :(
Basil and Ted still going strong and still as faddy as ever.

One of my friends has a cat who eats everything from salad to garlic bread and crisps. Not your average cat!

Not to be recomended as GARLIC (along with onion and leek) is poisonous to cats.

Other poisons include tomatoes, chocolate, grapes, raisins

Not to be recomended as GARLIC (along with onion and leek) is poisonous to cats.

Other poisons include tomatoes, chocolate, grapes, raisins

I know that, you know that- do you fancy trying to explain that to the cat?

I never realised onion was poisonous, my animals have had left over Sunday dinner with onion gravy for years (till I saw the new poster in Highfields last week).

I didn't realise all those were poisonous either. Have to stop ordering mine their Vegetable Dopiaza takeaway then!

I didn't realise all those were poisonous either. Have to stop ordering mine their Vegetable Dopiaza takeaway then!

apparantly 1 ounce of onion can be fatal !!!