Changing Behavior after 12 years..

[Stevo41]

Hi there,
Backstory:
I have 3-footed, half-tailed tortoise named Sarah. She was a rescue and the business had already paid for the surgeries to save her life when i picked her 12 years ago. She has been the best cat ever. She is a mostly outdoor cat but comes in to eat and sleeps inside when it gets too cold or rainy. Otherwise she loves sleeping outside in our yard. She doesn't venture much and just likes to sit under bushes and watch the world go by. (We have raccoons and Opossum at night and birds and squirrels during the day. (We also have the occasional mouse or rat which she likes to chase). She has never used a litter box and i think finds a place under the house or some other location to do her business. She is very docile and trusting. Loves being held and scratched around the face and neck, especially on the left side where she can't reach because of the amputation.

Anyways, she has always been a quiet cat and would meow rarely. She would also come and go as she likes using the pet door i installed (see photos below). There is always water and crunchy food available 24 hours a day whenever she feels hungry. She has never been a cat who scarfs down food and even if she sees me put out her bowl of wet food, she won't go straight for it and waits til she's ready.

The behavior change that has just started is that she will meow/whine at night to come inside or go outside. This seems to happen every 2-3 hours during the night and i'm concerned her meowing is disturbing the 2 neighbors right next door. She knows exactly where the pet door is and still sometime uses it at night but other times, it's like she wants attention and for me to physically open the house door to let her in or out.

She has just had her latest shots and check up at the vet and all was normal. Everything else about her is normal and a wonderful cat. There isn't any stress in her life or other animals that come by and can only think that there may be some cognitive/mental issue that has started to happen.

Any thoughts or guidance appreciated.

Here is a link to a video i made of Sarah hanging out in the yard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl8jnX0QmEE&t=1s

[fjm]

Did the vet run a blood test panel? One possibility when an older cat shows behavioural changes is hyperthyroidism - it often involves weight loss despite the cat eating as much or rather more than normal, but not always. Once diagnosed it is very treatable, as are many of the other ills that affect older cats.

[Stevo41]

Thank you. I will check. They have run blood tests in the past but unclear if they did it this time.

Steve

[Mollycat]

Second that, an in-depth health check first before looking at behavioural changes.

A lot of things can and often do change as a cat gets older and we often see it suddenly even if change has been creeping up on them for a while.

[Ruth B]

A full check up and bloods is well worth it, and mention to your vet that her behaviour has changed.

I can also think of a few other things that might account for it.

As she is getting older is she feeling less confident in her abilities to defend herself. if she desperately wants to check her territory but doesn't feel safe to do so, would mean she might be wanting you around when she goes out as a bit of back up.

Could she be going a little deaf or short sighted. This isn't easy to check, a cats other senses are so good they can accommodate the loss of one one sense with virtually no sign of it. it can however explain an increase in vocalisation, she can't hear herself properly so her own voice gets louder.

Finally could she be having some pain in her back leg. It has obviously had to take a bit more strain than normal over her 12 years, could she be getting a bit of arthritis in it which could make it hard for her to use the catflap, particularly as she is having ot navigate the stairs soon after.

Even if she has never used a litter tray, it might be worth offering her one inside, either some nice fine grained litter, or even some topsoil in it might encourage her to make use of one. you might then be able to encourage her to stay in at night, which at least might take any worry about her disturbing your neighbours off your mind. Sometimes cats surprise us, I took in my Mothers 17 year old cat when my Mother had to go into a nursing home and was told she wouldn't use a litter tray and preferred to go out in all weathers rather than use the tray provided. I had a tray prepared with the litter my other's used in it, in hope she might use it, but was prepared to escort her out in to the garden if I had to and to buy a bag of topsoil to try and get her to use a tray. When we first let her out the carrier, she was straight over to the tray and it was almost like watching a cartoon, she was digging like mad, with litter going everywhere, but she happily used the tray, and even when she was allowed out, she would come back in to use her tray. it wasn't that she wanted to go out to do her business, she just didn't like the litter that my Mum provider her with.