Malta’s ageing cats are getting dementia: 8 warning signs every owner must know

**Cats get dementia too – here are the eight signs to look out for**

Valletta retiree Maria Camilleri first noticed something was off when 17-year-old Tigger strolled onto her Sliema balcony and forgot how to use the cat-flap he’d flown through for a decade. “He just sat there, meowing at the glass, as if the door had moved,” she recalls. “My son joked that Tigger was ‘becoming forgetful like nannu,’ but the vet’s diagnosis was no laughing matter: feline cognitive dysfunction, the cat version of dementia.

With Malta’s feline population ageing—thanks to better vet care, indoor lifestyles and the island’s 365-day sunshine that keeps arthritic joints warmer—local clinics are reporting a sharp rise in “senior moments” among the island’s estimated 120,000 pet cats. “We’re seeing two to three new suspected cases every week,” says Dr. Rachel Pace of the Central Vet Clinic in San Ġwann. “Owners often blame the heat or attribute yowling to ‘il-mqareġ tal-għada’—the devil’s antics—when in fact the cat is disoriented.”

Here are the eight red flags Maltese cat lovers should watch for, according to the island’s vets and the Malta Feline Welfare Fund:

1. **Night-time vocal concerts**
If your usually quiet tabby suddenly starts belting out arias at 3 a.m., it may not be the neighbour’s fireworks from last festa. Pace explains: “Sundowning— increased anxiety after dark—is common in cognitive decline.”

2. **Forgetting the litter-box location**
A cat that has always used the rooftop sandbox but now leaves “surprises” on the vintage Maltese tiles is sending a signal, not acting out.

3. **Staring at walls or the television test card**
“Clients tell us ‘qed jħares fix-xemx,’ he’s staring at the sun,” laughs Dr. Gabriel Caruana in Gżira. “But vacant gazing can indicate brain changes.”

4. **Disrupted sleep–wake cycle**
Cats are naturally crepuscular, yet an elderly moggie that prowls all night and crashes during the day could be experiencing feline Alzheimer’s.

5. **Reduced appetite or forgetting meals**
In a country where many owners dish out leftover rabbit (fenek) stew, a senior cat walking away from its bowl is noteworthy.

6. **Getting lost in familiar territory**
Tigger once leapt from Maria’s third-floor flat to the neighbouring priest’s roof, a stunt he’d performed since kittenhood. One July afternoon he froze mid-tile, terrified, until Maria coaxed him down. “He looked at me like ‘where am I?’” she says.

7. **Altered social interaction**
A lap cat that now hides when grandchildren visit for Sunday lunch, or conversely a loner that suddenly clings like limpet, may be confused rather than moody.

8. **House-soiling despite clean facilities**
Vets urge owners to rule out UTIs common in Malta’s hard-water areas, but if tests are clear, dementia is a prime suspect.

**Cultural note**: Black cats still carry folkloric baggage—some village festa hawkers sell coral “ħarsa” charms to ward off bad luck. “Owners delay vet visits fearing neighbours will say ‘qed jinkorja,’ the cat is cursed,” says Carmen Delia, coordinator of the SPCA Malta education team. The charity now hosts “Senior Cat Saturdays” in Birżebbuġa, offering free cognition screenings and dispelling superstition.

**Community impact**: Maria formed a Facebook group “Malta Senior Kittizens” which counts 3,400 members swapping tips on ramps for traditional stone stairs and night-lights to help cats navigate dim, thick-walled farmhouses. “We even organised a ‘dementia-friendly’ cat show at the Valletta Waterfront—no flashing cameras, soft traditional għana music instead of loud DJs,” she beams.

**What owners can do**: Puzzle feeders made from recycled FenekCo rabbit cans, nightly brushing sessions reminiscent of village “għaqda” camaraderie, and, most importantly, vet-prescribed diets rich in omega-3 and antioxidants. “We import therapeutic brain diets from Sicily; customs gives us funny looks, but it’s worth it,” notes Pace.

**Conclusion**: As Malta’s cherished cats live longer, dementia is emerging from the shadows of superstition into the daylight of veterinary science. By recognising the eight warning signs and swapping old wives’ tales for modern care, the island can ensure its silver-whiskered residents spend their twilight years chasing sunbeams—not lost in the dark.