our neighbours cat is around 13yrs become quite thin and acting strange.. he has decided he wants to live in our house!!.. he sits at the front door continually and cries ..if he hears me in the dog area he jumps up on the fence and has jumped down wandering into the kitchen screaming loudly..wanting food.

Problem is he has done it 3 times now when the dogs are around and they have pinned him in the corner...

Today it happened again I screamed like a banchee bringing my son and my OH who was in bed on night shift running down the stairs thinking I was being murdered... >grin< good job I did scream as it distracted the dogs and he jumped back up on the fence.
When the dogs see him at the front of the house they ignore him but at the back they go mental...
My dogs are fine with cats we have had 5 cats together over the last few years and are down to 1 male, who is around the same age as neighbours cat, they sit together on the drive like old men!! but when I call my cat in he runs up to come in too ... neighbour has 3 other cats all quite a bit younger than this one...

Had a chat to the neighbour a few weeks ago regarding the situation , she said he is constantly hungry, been wormed ,and other than  the obsession with our house he seems fine ,he has been to the vets.I know he is well looked after and much loved so only thing I can think of is that he has some kind of senility ....
I told neighbour that I was going to put  a bowl out the front and put a bit of food in it through the day (she works) to keep him from entering the back of the house I also spray the hose in his direction if I see him making moves to jump down but it doesnt deter him... neightbour says she understands and shouts him in but he runs out the cat flap right back to our house. Seems to be more  of a problem for me than them, until my dogs get him then it will be my fault I expect..

I have known him since he was a kitten... and am petrified he will be hurt by the dogs....after all its thier territory .. what also worries me is if they go in a frenzy they may attack each other... OMG I always see the worst.

Any of you cat owners know if cats can become senile and the symptoms. or any ideas to deter him as its driving me bonkers....

Roni ~

Don't know about senility at 13. Its getting on but not overly so. the constant eating has got to mean something. I would want full bloods done, if he were mine, kidney function, thyroid etc. Do you know whats been done at the vets.

I've known senile cats but they are a lot older 18/19 and they do act a bit bizarrely, staring at walls and meiowing at them but being always hungry is not a symptom I've noticed.

I would get the neighbours to get him tested for hyperthyroidism-- sounds like he has some symptoms to me, e.g. increased appetite, more vocal than usual, and acting out of character. If he is hyperthyroid there are pills which can help stabilise him, but eventually he would be better to have either one or both thyroid glands removed, which shouldn't be a problem at his age if he is otherwise fit and helathy. Leaving it untreated could have serious cosequences.
If he is hyperthyroid his behaviour should go back to normal with treatment, but if he isn't, and if your dogs are fine with their own cats perhaps you could bring him in and introduce him properly to them so that they see he is "family" not prey?

Mmm when I suggested having bloods done at the vets they said he has been the vets and they are happy with him. I will mention it again and include Hypo t , I would not be happy with him as he is , my old boy has  had his teeth out a few months ago because he lost a bit of weight and now he looks fab.... cost us over £200 quid but I suppose not everyone can afford to do it ..maybe thats the case and she wont say :(

> if your dogs are fine with their own cats perhaps you could bring him in and introduce him properly to them so that they see he is "family" not prey?

That was my thought too.  You could take him over and the neighbour could give you his food.

I look after a lot of cats that have thyroid problems.  Most are on tablets and they are very vocal.  I have had one in today who has had the op to remove it, which is unusual but the owner couldnt get tablets down him in any way shape or form without a battle!  They are constantly hungry but do suffer from weight loss too.

We also look after a few senile ones. some are just vacant looking for a short while and some just sit and stare at the wall. Our Vet told me that they do tend to suffer from the same sort of senality as humans so I would guess that too is a possibility. :)

It sounds to me like the cat either has an over active thyroid and/or diabetes. My cat had both and was absolutely starving all the time. I imagine the hunger over rides the fear of your dogs. The cat needs to be thoroughly checked out at the vets. Mine had to had tablets daily for the thyroid problem and twice daily jabs for the diabetes, but I kept her going for nearly 3 years.

we have had 5 cats together over the last few years and are down to 1 male, who is around the same age as neighbours cat, they sit together on the drive like old men!

Aww...... that brings back memories of my old house when we shared a drive and the neighbourhood cats all used to sit together like that. It could just purely be that because he is friends with your cat and the other cats he lives with are younger and he does not bond with them as well, so he is adopting your cats territory too. Cats do bond closely. :-)

He could purely have decided in his mind that he wants to live with you so is making you aware by the meowing, feeding and coming in. Some cats are happy to move out and in somewhere else. :-)

I know my cats always went in the houses of their cat friends used to watch them sometimes follow them in through the windows and vice versa although my dogs always chased out a cat 'visitor' particularly a black cat which never got the message even when one of my cats would even attack it, it always wanted to come in my home still, they just don't give up.

Your best to never feed him in your house, even at your front door as he will still come cry for you to feed him, even if you feed him outside his own home he will still come and get you to do it, so avoid doing any bowl fill ups yourself, (even if going senile he will still know who feeds him) I would make sure that the owner puts a bowl outside herself for him during the daytime of dry food and water. (So flies don't get to any meat) 

If he is locked out of the house (do they have a cat flap) then maybe he could have an outdoor kennel, pet shops sell them for cats with the food near that and he may not feel the need to come to your home if he has somewhere safe to go. Even if he can get in the house, he may not like the other cats.

Hopefully even if he is not well, he will get the message that he can not move in with you. :-)

Have they said what his water intake is? If its more than normal, could point to diabetes. Definately a case for blood work.

well today... sitting in the living room on the laptop with the dogs lying around suddenly they all jumped up and ran up the hall, I looked thinking it was our own cat, there was the  neighbours cat sitting by the front door .. I leave the back open all day with this lovely weather for the dogs to do as they please and he must have sneaked in ..thankfully they all just stood around him looking... no barking I told the dogs to leave and they walk off >grin< opened the front door and he ran out.
Getting really fed up with this ..its out of my hands I cant force them to do anything . I will broach the subject re blood test again .. but think its falling on deaf ears...

Am going to stop giving him any attention and spray him when he attempts to jump down .. once the weather becomes colder hopefully he will stay at home.

one of my cats,a rescue, so not sure of her age,but she was with us 14 years,seemed to go a little"odd"last off,suddenly became super friendly,and would follow people about,and demand fusses off total strangers-she also started to go"visiting"to the extent,a nice chap and his little girl came to the door to ask if they could adopt her!,I said She was a little too old to rehome!She had some funny little ways,like when my partner at the time would be eating his dinner from a low table while watching the tv,she d sit under it,and every now and again,youd see a hooking paw rise up from the farside,seeing what it could pinch!

that sounds about right ... :)