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2023 Author: Alex Livingston | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 11:39
Why i older cats show more and more agitation and irritability? As they age, cats often suffer a decline in their cognitive functioning. Cognitive decline, referred to as feline cognitive dysfunction or FCD, affects more than 55% of cats between the ages of 11 and 15 and over 80% of cats between the ages of 16 and 20.
Memory, the ability to learn, awareness and perception of sight and hearing can deteriorate in cats with FCD. This deterioration can cause various behavioral disorders and increase their anxiety and tendency to react aggressively.
Some effects of aging indicating cognitive dysfunction in your senior cat could be related to behaviors linked to anxiety and increased irritability and restlessness, more vocalizations especially at night, reversed sleep cycles.
If your furry little one is showing these changes listed above, the first step is take him to the vet to determine if there is a specific medical cause for his behavior.
Restlessness and nocturnal wakefulness
The sleep-wake cycle of a cat can be compromised by the FCD. However, as with most symptoms of FCD, there are also many alternative reasons for the increased nocturnal activity. For example, cats who sleep more during the day may become more restless and active at night.
THE sensory changes, such as vision or hearing loss, can affect the depth of the cat's sleep and prompt it to wake up and wander around. Ask your vet to do a full examination to identify medical problems that could be causing restlessness and discomfort. At the same time try to restore normal sleep hours and your cat's wakefulness.
Anxiety can also cause increased restlessness at night. A distinct feature of geriatric anxiety, in fact, is that it can manifest itself as night anxiety. It could be the anxiety of being separated from family members (sleeping) or worrying about wandering around the house in the dark.
Your cat could keep you awake by calling and walking into your room, purring near your head and giving you paws to ask for attention. FCD anxiety can improve with drug therapy: You may want to consult your veterinarian and also a certified animal behaviorist to see if the medications will be helpful.
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