Marco's hearing loss, what looks like dementia

[Noah & me (GA)]

This might be long but it's all relevant. I know dementia sounds dramatic, please bear with me. I have a brain injury; multiple concussuions and an ischemic stroke for starters and our previous dog had dementia, this is NOT Munchausen syndrome. It's painful enough knowing I'm not the same person anymore and even more painful to watch this in an innocent animal.

Marco was rescued at age seven and is now fourteen. A non diabetic long hair male whose only issues to now are some minor dental work and his last UTI was three years ago. We know he was abused with a spray bottle (he's terrified if he sees or hears one) and still flinches when I go to pet him so he may have been smacked around. He adjusted to his new life immediatley, gets along with the other cats and a large dog, loves the car, never makes a fuss at the vet and is smart enough not to wander off if he sits on the front steps with me.
His hearing loss is not total and has been verified by a vet. His blood work shows some slight kidney and liver problems not unusual to a 14 year old cat. Dental and GI tract are fine, nothing that could be causing pain and making him unhappy. The rest is conjecture on my part.
This is what Marco has been doing:
The only time he was ever vocal meant "Daddy take me outside" and I did. He'd nibble on our grass (no chemicals) then go 20 feet to a specific spot on the neighbors lawn and nibble on their grass. On quiet days he would walk with me seven or eight houses down the block but always kept me in sight. This was all very routine, Marco is the most street smart cat I've ever seen.
He spends most of his time quietly in our bedroom but for the last month it's only when he comes down the meowing never stops and it's not always by the door. The instant you touch him or pick him up it all stops. He still goes out with me but does some odd things. Large dogs walking by the house ten feet away don't register with him. Maybe he trusts that I won't let harm come to him but it's still pretty odd. His vision is fine.
Now he stops short of the neighbors lawn and cowers under the neighbors shrubs, exactly the spot where we're no longer in sight of each other. That would be a natural place to hide from danger or get out of the rain except it's not raining, no thunder, the neighbors didn't just pull into their driveway. (the neighbors and their child adore Marco) I have to almost drag him from under the shrub and he's only happy when he realizes it's me.
There have been a few times I've seen him between the neighbor's house and the next house staring blankly at the wall and I've had to approach him slowly to take him home. He doesn't make a fuss, he's relieved it's me and that he's back at home.
He does get picked on by the alpha male but it's more posturing, never biting.
Marco goes back this week for some more in depth tests. I've done the spinal tap/MRI thing before on a cat looking for a miracle that wasn't there, that's not what I'm looking for.
What am I missing?

 

[Tina Marie (GA) and Jan]

Hearing loss can look similar to dementia actions in a cat. So, maybe that's the ONLY problem?
Sure hope so for Marco's sake and yours
I also had a dog with dementia . . . she walked in circles and I had to stop her from doing this when she went outside. That was almost 20 years ago.

Have just started reading about dementia in cats. Pretty armed with human dementia understanding. Why our animals too . . .grrrr.

Is Marco still using the litter box ok? Is he a good weight and is he still grooming like before? If those are all ok, it may not be dementia. I am posting now, but will still read more; this has my interest. Kisses for Marco.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

Also have the vet check his vision. It could be a combination of losing some of his vision in addition to his hearing that may be causing him to panic.

 

[JL and Chip]

I’d request a blood pressure check as well as have an eye exam to check for vision loss and detached retinas (even though you say vision is ok, they’re very adaptable and can hide vision impairment quite well). Do his pupils stay a bit more dilated than the other cats even in decent lighting? That would be one clue. My general vet will look in the eyes but I’ve also been to a feline ophthalmologist for more thorough testing/treatment.

Some of those symptoms (vocalizations, clinginess, disorientation) could also be signs of mild seizure activity. It can be to catch/diagnose in cats, but worth consideration, I suppose.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Thanks all. I know Marco is 14 but he's a real daddy's boy and he's my baby. I saw him at a PetValu one day, five minutes later and he would have been gone. The next morning at the shelter he first let me pick him up without squirming, then the woman's jaw dropped when I flipped him over to rub his tummy. When I put him in Cynthia's arms the deal was sealed. Like Jan knowing what dementia looks like in an animal is a painful memory. This is an idea not all vets are on board with but my vet is. She opened on a Sunday morning just for our Border Collie Hannah and the official diagnosis was "the life has gone from her eyes" and it had. It's a really awful thing to see.

Is Marco still using the litter box ok?

He's very private and dignified but will let me watch. No straining and his aim is always good.

have the vet check his vision

blood pressure / check for vision loss and detached retinas

I'll add blood pressure and his eyes to Friday's list. Last week was a just a basic blood panel check, the Saturday vet didn't quite get. On Friday he sees my long term vet who will do what I ask without the "that's not likely" attitude. I really dislike that.
Marco has been much better this week, we've been doing a lot more visual things as well as just touching and acknowledging him. Oddly enough he still hears me when I call him a certain way in a soft voice meaning "outside time!" and you can hear him come running from upstairs. I can deal with all kinds of things right now but don't need another loss to dementia.
If anyone else has ideas no matter how offbeat please join in. And if you or your kids ever have a concussion never let a doctor just give you the brushoff.

 

[Dyana]

As J.D. got older (around 18 or so), I witnessed him go down to the basement (sometimes the bedroom where he couldn't see me) and then howling. I would call him and all howling would cease and he would come back up the stairs happily. He would sometimes go outside and into the bushes and would start screaming like he didn't know where he was. I knew his eyesight and hearing may be going and he might feel frightened. I asked the vet and he said Denamarin that has Same in it was prescribed to off label use for demintia. I started Denamarin and the howling and "getting lost" stopped.

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

hyperthyroid test?
is marco constantly hungry and thirsty but losing weight?

i had the opposite experience with an inherited scaredy cat who spent the first two years with us living under the bed, coming out at night to eat, use the litter box (best count was something over 140 covering up sweeps and it still wasn't covered up), look out the window and sleep on my hip. and then there were eleventy-seven health issues had to be managed. ckd, large cell lymphoma, high bp, constipation ... i'm missing a few. when she became deaf, she wasn't afraid anymore and became a completely different cat. i like to think she had a bucket list. we kept her going comfortably for just shy of a year.

would a leash make marco feel more secure? what about singing so that he always knows where you are outside.

not my best post. i burnt the you know what out of my left hand on the stove earlier. it hurts like ykw.

 

[JL and Chip]

vet said Denamarin that has Same in it was prescribed to off label use for demintia. I started Denamarin and the howling and "getting lost" stopped.

Fascinating. Thanks for posting that; I haven’t heard that before and will definitely have to check it out further! I used Denosyl and Marin (before it was available as a combined product Denamarin) for my dog who went into acute liver failure and also for my cat Charlie who had liver cancer. It’s great stuff.

Denosyl (SAMe, long name S-Adenosylmethionine) is still sold but I don’t think Marin (milk thistle) is available as a separate product anymore. The Denamarin combines them.

I too have dealt with dementia in both people and likely a dog and cat (harder to tell in animals, as you said). I agree … totally sucks.

Please let us know what you find out.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

hyperthyroid test/constantly hungry & thirsty/losing weight

This is all stuff I forgot to mention before, my own short term memory is pathetic.
Marco has been eating the usual amount but at dinner he's got his face in Cynthia's food. That's odd because he has no interest in human grade meat or any other people food at any other time of day. More strange is CJ's food is vegetarian/vegan and if we're all having the same thing he has no interest in mine. No excessive thirst.
Lewis is the only mouser and a savage for smoked salmon and cooked chicken, Daniel goes nuts for cream cheese.
His thyroid will be tested Friday and he has lost some weight. That's more aggravation because I brought that up at his last visit and was ignored. There is no standard "Wellness Test", it's whatever your particular vet decides it is. When Andy had to gain weight in a big hurry he had prescription kitten food and he quickly came within grams of his ideal weight but that was another cat and another problem. Marco had a nap with me today, knew exactly who and where he was.
I'll ask about Denamarin now that I'm seeing my regular vet instead of Teflon Tammy.