One of my cats, Patches, is 13 years old. He has hyperthyroidism, and kidney disease. He is on medication for the hyperthyroid and eats special food for the kidney disease. He’s had several checkups, in the past couple months. The Dr. said he’s as in good of health as can be expected for his condition.
Lately, he has been acting very strange. He just keeps walking around in circles, for no apparent reason. He never used to do this. It’s strange. Right now as I am typing this, he keeps circling the perimeter of the room. He has been acting this way for about a month. He seems to be doing this progressively more as time goes on. Any ideas why he’s circling?
Dammit. I hope to heck he isn’t slowly dying. I can’t help but have it cross my mind, though. It’s tearing me up right now. I can’t bear to think of losing him. He’s been with me his entire life, and I have been with him, nearly half of my life.
I shouldn’t have clicked on this thread, becuase now it’s bringing back memories of one of my cats who was 16 when she died, which at the time represented more than half my life.
Have you checked your cat’s vision? You can do a simple test by dangling a thread to the right and left of his head to see if his peripheral vision is intact. He might not be walking across rooms because he can no longer see more than a few feet and needs the walls as references.
Then again, maybe he’s just looking for his car keys.
I had a cat that lived to 22 so hopefully Patches will be tearing up the couch for years to come.
The vision theory brought up by Bryan (sorry I can’t work out how to do bold) sounds a good idea to me, but have you thought of calling your vet and asking them over the phone. They might tell you not to worry or might ask you to bring him in for a check.
This happened to my cat too, when she was aged 16. One morning I went to work, and when I came back, she was behind the washing machine, walking on the spot with her head against the wall. I took her out to the living room, and she walked round and round and round, and the only time she stopped was when she had her head surrounded (e.g. in a bucket, or under my duvet). She even walked over the edge of the stairs (I caught her) with no awareness of height.
I took her to the vet, and he reckoned it was brain damage caused by a blow to the head, or a stroke. She’d been like this for three days, and hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in that time; nor had she urinated or defecated. She was put down that day.
Get your cat to a vet. Since the kitty has been doing this for a month, I doubt that it’s as severe as what happened to Fluffy. But prepare yourself for bad news. Sorry to be so gloomy. Good luck.
It’s awful to know something is wrong with your pet, but the search for answers is so difficult. Too bad cats can’t type. Or talk.
It sounds to me like your kitty has had a minor stroke. Is she eating, drinking, and using the litter box? That’s the first indicator that something is wrong. Give her her favourite treat and see how she reacts. Trust your instincts. And get thee to a vet!
Let us know how it goes, and if you need any support, just post!
I had a cat that did this when he was a kitten, but of course he also fell off of things for no good reason and walked into walls. thevet could find no good reason for this and he is ok now- he occasionally falls off of things still, but no more circling the room or walking into walls. Now the dog just chews on his head and they are both happy
This happened to my 11 year old Golden Retriever. He would pace continuously and get stuck in corners. We came home from dinner one night to find him stuck behind the couch. This progressed rapidly and he did not eat or drink anything for the last week of his life.
The vet initially diagnosed a back problem…huh? It turns out he was in kidney failure. Get him to the vet now.
It hurts like hell to lose your best friend, but it hurts worse seeing them in pain.
I’ll see what can be found out and done. Thanks for the info.
One of things that is really bothering me too, is that Patches’ brother, Buddy, is in perfect health. Buddy still acts like a very young cat. They are from the same litter, same age. I know Buddy is going to miss his brother if Patches has to be put down. The last time Patches had to stay at the vets, Buddy seemed to be aware that his bro was missing. Arrrgh.
I can’t talk about this anymore for awhile. I’ll let you all know, in due time, what the results are. Thanks for your empathy and sympathy. I’m going to go hold Patches now.
Sounds like a stroke and as disturbing as it looks to you to see your cat acting this way, it doesn’t sound like she is suffering. Especially if she has you to hold her.
Sorry to hear about your kitty The circling sounds like a neurological symptom or maybe a pacing-in-discomfort thing—you should definitely get a vet to check it out.
I hope to heck he isn’t slowly dying. I can’t help but have it cross my mind, though. It’s tearing me up right now. I can’t bear to think of losing him. He’s been with me his entire life, and I have been with him, nearly half of my life.
