Expert: Dear Tabbi - 9/16/2009

Question
My 13 year old cat has started humping my husband's leg!! She has been spayed yrs ago. and the only thing I can figure is maybe a reaction to my son moving out!! Plz help

Answer
Leslie,

At 13 years old your cat is approximately 68 years old. At that age (like humans) things start giving out, including the mind. Cats can get a form of kitty Alzheimers which can cause them to behave in a bizarre manner, such as the leg humping.

Elderly cats also do not take stress and change as well as a younger cat and your son moving out may have upset her, especially with the activity involved.

When she starts the leg humping, try to distract her and get her mind off of that behavior and onto something else. Try food or, if she still plays, distract her with a toy or a pet laser light. I would not scold her or make her believe she is doing something wrong, because she's not and that will just confuse her.

I would suggest that you take her to a vet that specializes, or is knowledgeable, in geriatric cat care and their conditions (not all vets are which can be detrimental to an elderly cat). She should have an 'older cat checkup' to check the function of her thyroid, kidneys, and liver, and bloodwork. As a cat ages this checkup should be done about every 6-8 months. In doing that, a lot of age-related problems can be caught early. They can be given treatment or medication for any health issues that can continue their quality of life and ease any pain...and give you more time together.

Being prepared and knowledgeable about elderly cats will make things easier for the cat and for you. I am including some very good links about elderly cats. Copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar:

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

http://www.2ndchance.info/oldcat.htm

Don't ever get upset at her for getting old and the irritations that it may cause you. Give her lots of love and affection as she ages. Her behavior is probably as confusing to her as it is to you. She needs to know, besides the fact that she is loved, that everything is still OK in her world. Remember, as I do, when you want to get upset at an elderly cat for some behavior...that someday you may wish the cat were still here doing that behavior!

Tabbi