by Viv Corridor

Created on: June 14, 2007   Last Updated: June 18, 2007

Spaghetti splashed to the freshly cleaned floor. I slipped and nearly fell on my rump, frantically trying to make it to the living room. My husband's shrill shriek of agony still hung in the air like the foul odor that emanates from a multi-cat litter box.

I staggered into the living room. "What in God's name happened?" I gasped. Dear husband perched on the couch, gingerly rubbing his naked thighs below his shorts. "Bob was sound asleep on my lap and he just sunk his claws into me. I didn't do anything! I didn't provoke him in any way! He just clawed me for no reason!" My husband glared accusingly at "Bob," who sat in the middle of the floor blithely licking his tail.

We've been joking for some time now about how "Bob" (names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent) is going senile. At 16, he's more than 80 years old in human years. Believe it or not, the sleep-clawing is the least distasteful of his symptoms.

Veterinary experts agree that many of the problems that slow down older humans occur in cats as well, including senility. Cats can even get a form of Alzheimer's disease. Once your cat is older than eight, she's considered geriatric. Older than 10 and she is at risk for feline senility. Her chances of showing symptoms increase the longer she's around. At 16, Bob is a poster-kitty for living with feline senility.

How can you tell if your senior cat is sliding into senility? Here are some signs:

* Inappropriate defecation If Fluffy was always a fastidious kitty and has suddenly begun dumping her load in the dining room, she may be going senile. Since there are nearly as many reasons why a cat might defecate outside the litter box as there are cats in the country, be sure to have yours checked out by a vet if he/she does this. There may be a health reason, such as a urinary tract infection. But if all else checks out, and especially if kitty isn't even doing his business in the same room as the box anymore, he may be exhibiting feline dementia.

* Sleep clawing This is what our family has come to call Bob's unprovoked attacks. They usually occur while he is sitting or sleeping on the lap of the victim du jour. While purring happily, he will simply stab his claws into whatever is under him, even if it happens to be the flesh of a human he's rather fond of. It's almost as if he's forgotten he has claws. When the victim inevitably screams and flings Bob off their lap, his reaction is either "So sorry, old chap. I completely forgot I had those things." Or,

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