by Frank Will

Created on: January 12, 2010

Senility in cats will occur to every cat as they cross into their golden years, but this is a condition that is much deeper than just being geriatric. It is most often associated with what is referred to as FCD, or Feline cognitive dysfunction. All cats will slow down as they age, their habits will change, as well as their behavior. But as they reach the senile part of their life span, there are several signs and symptoms that you will start to see.

Senility is often described as a pathological condition that is represented by several behavioral signs and symptoms that are very abnormal for your cat. They will be totally out of character and as a result, seem to be totally out of context for this loyal friend of your for so many years.

There is no one signal sign that is an absolute proof, but rather several signs that will start to accumulate in cluster like affects and as they start, they will grow in the number of signs. There are very few actual reported studies about senility in cats, but it is estimated that between the ages of 11 and 15 over 50 percent of all cats will start to show at least one sign of senility.

As your cat reaches the 16 to 20 year barrier, it is estimated that over 80 percent of all cats will start to show these signs. But what is very interesting, is that cats seem to age much more gracefully than dogs do. Dogs will show very similar symptoms, but usually much earlier in their lives.

Signs:                                                                                                      

Senility in cats will not show any one sign first, as all cats are as individual as each of us, so there is no real documented order of these signs, but there is some consensus that among the following signs will be the first to appear.

Disorientation:

One of the first signs of senility in cats is disorientation. Once this starts, it grows in frequency and there will be times when you will not even recognize your cat. They will appear as if they

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