I answered this question on the Quora website: My cat is 21 years old. About 2 years ago he started walking around the house meowing as loudly as he can. It is disturbing at 2AM. If I yell at him, he will give a soft mew, and stop. Any ideas?
From my observations over a lifetime of being owned by cats, framed this: I think kitty is getting a bit senile and is not sure where he is, until he knows where you are. He’s looking for reassurance he is safe, and Home.
Both of the Siamese boys (Tiger and Fonzie) my in-laws had made it to 23 years. Tiger was older by 9 months. Toward the end they both exhibited that same behavior.
Two of the girl cats my wife and I have had, both regular moggies, made to a little over 21. Neither Calamity Jane Grey nor Miss Teia Honey did.
Like with people, it depends on the individual.
I think with the girls, they were mentoring younger cats we had adopted.
When Calamity’s sister Queen Victoria and friend Cerridwen passed within a couple months of each other, we adopted 3 girl kittens over the course of the next year and a half. Calamity adopted them as if they were her own kittens. Calamity and her sister were 17 1/2 when Victoria died of a heart attack in her sleep. Cerridwen died from kidney failure a couple months before.
Those three came to be Teia’s housemates after Calamity passed on. Kestrel, Hildiekatt and Chesapeake were younger, but had congenital conditions, which became fatal, leaving Teia alone.
After a few months, we adopted 2 boy kittens, Cooper and Buff. Teia adopted them within weeks. She was 17 years their elder
For the girls, they had a supporting society of other cats to keep them engaged.
Tiger and Fonzie only had each other. Tiger was the elder and passed first. The uncertainty was much more for Fonzie, as his society was gone.
From my observations over a lifetime of being owned by cats, framed this: I think kitty is getting a bit senile and is not sure where he is, until he knows where you are. He’s looking for reassurance he is safe, and Home.
Both of the Siamese boys (Tiger and Fonzie) my in-laws had made it to 23 years. Tiger was older by 9 months. Toward the end they both exhibited that same behavior.
Two of the girl cats my wife and I have had, both regular moggies, made to a little over 21. Neither Calamity Jane Grey nor Miss Teia Honey did.
Like with people, it depends on the individual.
I think with the girls, they were mentoring younger cats we had adopted.
When Calamity’s sister Queen Victoria and friend Cerridwen passed within a couple months of each other, we adopted 3 girl kittens over the course of the next year and a half. Calamity adopted them as if they were her own kittens. Calamity and her sister were 17 1/2 when Victoria died of a heart attack in her sleep. Cerridwen died from kidney failure a couple months before.
Those three came to be Teia’s housemates after Calamity passed on. Kestrel, Hildiekatt and Chesapeake were younger, but had congenital conditions, which became fatal, leaving Teia alone.
After a few months, we adopted 2 boy kittens, Cooper and Buff. Teia adopted them within weeks. She was 17 years their elder
For the girls, they had a supporting society of other cats to keep them engaged.
Tiger and Fonzie only had each other. Tiger was the elder and passed first. The uncertainty was much more for Fonzie, as his society was gone.