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Sullivan, also known as Sully, a Boston terrier, began behaving oddly at age nine. He would poo inside the house, circle the kitchen island and bark at nothing.<\/p>\n
At first, his human Bridget Allen thought these acts were part of normal ageing. One day, though, Sully didn\u2019t return home from a nearby bush area he knew well. Allen\u2019s son found him wandering by a creek, filthy and acting confused.<\/p>\n
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Experts believe dementia in cats and dogs is more common than reported.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>iStock<\/cite><\/p>\n A short time later, he fell off the bed while sleeping and urinated on the floor. \u201cSomething wasn\u2019t right,\u201d recalls Allen, a retired high school English teacher from the US, about Sully\u2019s behaviour in 2012.<\/p>\n Her veterinarian said it sounded like \u201cclassic\u201d dementia. \u201cI felt like I had been kicked in the gut,\u201d Allen says. \u201cI had no idea that dogs could develop dementia.\u201d<\/p>\n They can, and so can cats.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all know that Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other dementias are among the most common conditions humans can encounter as they age,\u201d says Stephanie McGrath, associate professor of neurology at Colorado State University\u2019s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. \u201cWhat people don\u2019t realise is that our pets \u2013 dogs and cats \u2013 can get it, too, and it\u2019s probably also very common.\u201d<\/p>\n Experts aren\u2019t sure how many companion animals suffer from dementia. Estimates range from 14 to 35 per cent of the pet dog population age eight and older, according to one study. Another study suggests nearly one-third of cats ages 11 to 14 and 50 per cent of cats 15 and older are affected. Many experts believe these numbers are probably conservative.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is highly, highly underreported,\u201d says Gary Landsberg, a Canadian veterinary behaviourist and veterinary scientific director of CanCog, an animal health research organisation. \u201cOwners need to realise that signs might be mild or subtle, so they might not have any concerns about them.\u201d<\/p>\n For pet parents trying to determine whether their cat or dog has dementia, \u201cknowing their pet\u2019s normal behaviour is important,\u201d says Margaret Gruen, associate professor of behavioural medicine at North Carolina State University\u2019s College of Veterinary Medicine. \u201cYou\u2019re really looking for a change over time.\u201d<\/p>\n Among cats, an increase in vocalisation, meaning more crying or howling, is an obvious and frequently reported sign.<\/p>\n \u201cWith cats, there is excessive vocalisation and disorientation and changes in interaction with humans or other animals, such as hissing and swatting,\u201d says Starr Cameron, clinical associate professor in small animal neurology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison\u2019s School of Veterinary Medicine, who studies cat dementia. \u201cSome cats are up all night and vocalising. They go outside the litter box or can\u2019t find it.\u201d<\/p>\n Informing a vet early about any changes in a pet\u2019s behaviours is important because the pet may have a medical condition different from a cognitive disorder that could be treated, Landsberg says.<\/p>\n Many conditions, such as arthritic pain, cancer, hearing or vision loss, hypertension and chronic kidney disease, can prompt symptoms that mimic dementia in pets and must be ruled out before diagnosing a cognitive disorder, experts say.<\/p>\n \u201cMy 18-year-old kitty Momo has always been a vocal kitty,\u201d Cameron says, \u201cbut when she was 15 or 16, I noticed she was vocalising more.\u201d Cameron suspected Momo had dementia.<\/p>\n Momo \u201cbecame grumpier with the other cat and the dog. She was moody,\u201d Cameron says. Blood tests, however, revealed hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid. Momo was treated, and \u201cnow she\u2019s back to Momo,\u201d Cameron says.<\/p>\n An animal can also have physical ailments and dementia concurrently, \u201cjust as an elderly person with dementia can have other age-related medical problems,\u201d Landsberg says.<\/p>\n Scientists are studying pet dementia to help companion animals and their humans cope and to better understand human brain diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cDogs are good natural models. They can develop deficits similar to humans,\u201d says Evan MacLean, director of the Arizona Canine Cognition Centre at the University of Arizona. \u201cAlso, they can be studied more easily because they have shorter life spans than humans and can show subtle signs as early as age seven. These insights can help in learning more about the disease in humans.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers are analysing post-death brain tissue from pets, including one study that compares samples from dogs who had dementia with those who did not, to better understand \u201chow the dog brain ages,\u201d says McGrath, who is conducting the study. \u201cWe are also trying to understand when dogs who are healthy agers become dogs afflicted by dementia.\u201d<\/p>\n Scientists are also studying blood and spinal fluid samples to learn if animals and humans with dementia have the same specific proteins or biomarkers indicative of cognitive decline. The findings could help diagnose pet cognitive disorders.<\/p>\n Some research already has found evidence of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brains of ageing dogs and cats. An abnormal buildup of both of these naturally occurring proteins, a hallmark of human Alzheimer\u2019s disease, can disrupt nerve cell function.<\/p>\n McGrath is also testing three drugs in dogs \u2013 cannabidiol, rapamycin and trazodone \u2013 to see if any of them has an effect in preventing, slowing or reversing the disease.<\/p>\n Consult your vet and make sure they rule out other medical conditions.<\/p>\n Ask your vet about treatment, including medication, supplements, diet or other interventions. Also ask your vet about certain foods that, some experts say, may support brain health. They may require vet authorisation.<\/p>\n Keep pets on a routine, as \u201cthey may have trouble coping with changes,\u201d Gruen says.<\/p>\n Improve their environment. Provide ramps to avoid steps. Put down a yoga mat or area rug on a slippery floor. \u201cSome dogs may stop entering certain rooms to avoid a hardwood floor,\u201d Gruen says. \u201cIt\u2019s important to find ways to maintain their activities of daily living, just as we do with humans.\u201d<\/p>\n Enrich their environment. \u201cTeach your dogs a few new commands and reward them,\u201d Landsberg says. \u201cGive them brain enrichment toys. Put treats in toys that roll around, so they have to find them.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep up their social interaction, \u201ceither with other pets or humans, and play with them,\u201d Landsberg says.<\/p>\n Reduce stress. Special stress-reducing plug-in diffusers are available for both cats and dogs.<\/p>\n Encourage exercise. Exercise during the day can help animals sleep better at night.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is typically a chronic slowly progressive disease, with lots we can do,\u201d Gruen says. \u201cThere is no reason why a pet with cognitive dysfunction can\u2019t enjoy a good quality of life for some years.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s unknown if cognitive disorders in pets can be prevented.<\/p>\n Some experts think exercise may help, as it does in humans with dementia. One recent study suggests that exercise reduces the risk in dogs, though MacLean, the lead author, points out that it was not conducted over a lengthy time period.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can say there is a relationship, but not necessarily a cause and effect,\u201d MacLean says. \u201cRegardless, exercise is good for everything, so it\u2019s safe advice that giving your dog exercise would be good on a lot of levels.\u201d<\/p>\n After Sully was diagnosed with dementia, and other medical conditions were ruled out, the vet suggested that Allen \u201ctake him home and love him up. You\u2019ll know when he\u2019s had his fill of this life\u201d. She did just that. Two years later, after his symptoms worsened, Allen decided it was time to let Sully go.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like the essence of him was no longer there,\u201d she says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe he would want to live like that if he had the choice. As painful as it was, I felt giving him peace was the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\nSigns of cognitive decline in pets<\/h3>\n
Common signs of pet dementia<\/h3>\n
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Medical conditions that mimic dementia in pets<\/h3>\n
Studying pet dementia<\/h3>\n
What to do if you suspect cognitive decline in your pet<\/h3>\n
Can cognitive decline in pets be prevented?<\/h3>\n