Expert: Jessica - 1/10/2011

Question
my cat is 16.5 years old, and i've had her since she was a kitten.  about a month ago, i returned from out of town (she was cared for by neighbors as usual) to find her hidind, hissing, growling. since then she has been hissing/growling/fighting with shiny surfaces, reflections, and things only she can see. she's on anti-anxiety meds which barely help calm her anymore, and she spits out as much as she can of her meds. she's barely using a litterbox. love her like my child, and am literally at wits end, witnessing her struggle. am looking for advice and other care for her in chicago.  please help.

Answer
Hi Sarwat,

Sorry to hear your kitty is going through such a hard time.  Because she’s spitting out her medication, you may want to talk to your vet about having her medicine compounded into a transdermal gel.  This is a cream that gets rubbed into the skin, typically on the inside of the tip of her ear.  The medication is absorbed through the skin, so there is nothing to spit out.  

However, I wonder if your kitty might be suffering from Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS) rather than strictly an anxiety disorder at this point.  CDS is much like human Alzheimer’s, and unprovoked fear and aggression are a large part of the behaviors that come along with the condition.  Your kitty is also exhibiting the most common behavior – failure to use the litter box.  Disorientation (walking in circles, staring at walls, getting “stuck” in corners or wandering aimlessly), depression, excessive vocalization and an interruption of the sleep/wake cycle are also signs that a cat may be suffering from this condition.

It’s not quite understood what causes CDS, but it’s suspected that amyloid (a protein) build ups in the brain may be to blame.  It’s felt by most that cats have been under-diagnosed with the condition, because people tend to dismiss the cat’s behavior as normal moodiness.  But this condition is being diagnosed and treated more and more as awareness increases and our cats live longer.

Although CDS is a progressive disease, many cats show improvement on a medication called Anipryl, a drug that has helped dogs with CDS for years.  In many cases, cats experience relief of their symptoms.  In most, the progression of the disease is at least slowed.  Some cats are also helped by a supplement called NoviSAMe.  I recommend you have a discussion with your vet about trying your kitty on the NoviSAMe at least (this is a natural supplement which is also beneficial to the liver), and see if it might be appropriate to try her on Anipryl considering her symptoms.

Best of luck!

Jessica