We have had our cat for two years, he is a rescue of unknown age. He has always been temperamental but we have generally learnt what annoys him. However he seems to be getting worse, and unpredictable, lately I have started to wonder if he is getting dementia if cats suffer from such things? He shocked me at the weekend by biting a visiting child completely unprovoked and has bitten me too, though luckily only inflicts a graze as his teeth aren't up to much. He lies in our hallway and attacks us as we pass!! Also attacks the dog (also unprovoked) and sometimes looks as if he is washing himself but just wipes at the air - very odd. He had a check up at the vet a few weeks ago and his general health seems okay. Any ideas? 

He could have had a mild stroke, that may explain the change in behaviour.

Or maybe he's just getting grumpy in his old age! :)

The most common sign of dementia in older cats is the cat starting to miaow a lot, sometimes during the night, sometimes just wandering around the house miaowing/crying loudly. You don't usually see temperament changes. Rescued mogs unfortunately CAN be very bad tempered without having anything wrong with them.(After all, they can have had all sorts of bad experiences, and won't have been bred for temperament.) One of mine bit my mum so badly she ended up in hospital for 8 days and had to have surgery on her arm -he was ten then and had always been grumpy but one day just had enough and she pushed him too far.

However laying in the hallway and jumping at passing legs, dogs etc that IS just play -but no doubt the play of a cat that wasn't ever taught manners by his mother/siblings (i.e. he doesn't know when he's gone too far), so no doubt removed far too early from the mother. (Almost all moggy kittens are sold/rehomed at 6-8 weeks, but in reality no kitten should be sold earlier than 13 weeks and being taken away too early does often mean temperament problems for life. Try using a waterpistol and spray him when he does it.

The signs of dementia sound like  Jack & he's only 2!   ;)  

That makes sense about rescued cats temperament problems. Our cat has always been rather confused - he will jump on your lap purring like a train and cuddling up close, then all of a sudden hiss and swipe at you! Unfortunately he is just getting worse. The children and dog are often too scared to walk past him in the hall!

The other thing it could be arthritis or just stiffness.  Our old cat used to air lick because she couldn't get at the place she was trying to clean (the bottom of her back in her case).  The arthritis would also explain why he is so grumpy.

Do you live in an area with many cats or has a new cat moved into the area? Areas where there are a high proportion of cats per households, tend to cause much anxiety in our feline friends. It shows itself in many forms and I don't just mean fighting. The strain on cats in an enviroment with large numbers of other cats, is immense. Unfortunately, if this is the case there is very little you can do about it but it is worth taking into consideration. Does you cat have a large teddy that he can take his frustration out on? Might be worth a try :)

Thankyou for that useful information. As it happens he was quite badly attacked by another cat a few weeks ago, and although he is physically better I think maybe the stress has caused his problems to get worse. I guess he could have arthritis or other joint problems too as he is terribly overweight despite our best efforts. Poor thing, I will try offering him a teddy to attack as I pass him in the hall!!

We had a cat who loved to sit on the top landing and bat you as you went up or down the stairs!
Not dementia just a game he enjoyed. 

Karen

Feliway plug in can sometimes help stressed cats, though it didn't make any difference to ours (according to my mother as the cat lived with her).