Cognitive Assessment and Health Concerns for Cats

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First NameLast Name

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Date*

Date

Pet’s Name*

Age*

VOCALIZATION

	Does not occur or is not applicable	Occurs once a month	Occurs once a week	Occurs once a day/night	Occurs more than once a day/night
Vocalizes more than usual during the day or evening (meows or yowls)
Vocalizes more than normal during nighttime sleeping hours (meows or yowls)

INTERACTIONS

	Does not occur or is not applicable	Occurs once a month	Occurs once a week	Occurs once a day/night	Occurs more than once a day/night
More clingy/seeks more attention/more interest in being petted
Hiding/sleeping in unusual places
Less interest in being petted
Irritable or aggressive with family members
Irritable or aggressive with housemate pets
Less interest in greeting family members
More aloof/seeks less attention

SLEEP/WAKE CYCLE

	Does not occur or is not applicable	Occurs once a month	Occurs once a week	Occurs once a day/night	Occurs more than once a day/night
Asleep more than usual during the day
Awake more than usual during the night
Paces/wanders at night

HOUSE SOILING

	Does not occur or is not applicable	Occurs once a month	Occurs once a week	Occurs once a day/night	Occurs more than once a day/night
Urinates inappropriately in the house/outside the litter box
Defecates inappropriately in the house/outside the litter box
Urinates but seems unaware
Defecates but seems unaware

DISORIENTATION

	Does not occur or is not applicable	Occurs once a month	Occurs once a week	Occurs once a day/night	Occurs more than once a day/night
Appears lost/wanders between rooms without purpose
Paces back and forth excessively or circles
Stares into space or stares absently at the floor or walls
Stands in corners
Gets stuck under or behind objects
Doesn’t seem to recognize family members or housemate pets
Doesn’t seem to recognize or is startled by familiar objects
Walks or bumps into doors or walls
Has trouble finding treats dropped on the floor
Less interested in or less reactive to sights and sounds
Has trouble finding food or water bowl

ANXIETY

	Does not occur or is not applicable	Occurs once a month	Occurs once a week	Occurs once a day/night	Occurs more than once a day/night
Increased anxiety when owners are away/doesn’t like being left alone
Increased fear of new places/locations
More reactive to sights and sounds
Agitated or restless during the day or evening
Agitated or restless during nighttime sleep hours

ACTIVITY

	Does not occur or is not applicable	Occurs once a month	Occurs once a week	Occurs once a day/night	Occurs more than once a day/night
Less or no interest in play or toys
Less or no interest in play with housemate pets
Less or no interest in self-grooming
Less or no interest in exploring
Exhibits repetitive behaviors (excessive grooming, licking inanimate objects)

LEARNING AND MEMORY

	Does not occur or is not applicable	Occurs once a month	Occurs once a week	Occurs once a day/night	Occurs more than once a day/night
Seems to have forgotten trained commands or routines, verbal cues, or name
Difficulty learning new commands or routines
Decreased focus/hard to get and retain pet’s attention

ADDITIONAL HEALTH CONCERNS

	Does not occur or is not applicable	Occurs once a month	Occurs once a week	Occurs once a day/night	Occurs more than once a day/night
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Constipation
Straining to urinate
Straining to defecate
Vision loss
Hearing loss
Hair loss or thinning
Decreased appetite
Decreased water consumption
Increased appetite
Increased water consumption
Hesitant to jump up or down from favorite spots (couch, bed, table, cat tree)
Hesitant or unwilling to use stairs
Limping
Hesitant or unwilling to use scratching post
Weakness or sluggishness

Resources for Cognitive Assessment Checklist

Cˇerná P, Gardiner H, Sordo L, et al. Potential Causes of Increased Vocalisation in Elderly Cats with Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome as Assessed by Their Owners. Animals (Basel). 2020;10(6):1092. Published 2020 Jun 24. doi:10.3390/ani10061092

Landsberg GM, Denenberg S, Araujo JA. Cognitive dysfunction in cats: a syndrome we used to dismiss as ‘old age’. J Feline Med Surg. 2010 Nov;12(11):837-48. doi: 10.1016/j.jfms.2010.09.004. PMID: 20974401.

Salvin HE, McGreevy PD, Sachdev PS, et al. The canine cognitive dysfunction rating scale (CCDR): a data-driven and ecologically relevant assessment tool. Vet J. 2011 Jun;188(3):331-6. doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2010.05.014. Epub 2010 Jun 12. PMID: 20542455.

Sordo L, Gunn-Moore DA. Cognitive Dysfunction in Cats: Update on Neuropathological and Behavioural Changes Plus Clinical Management. Vet Rec. 2021 Jan;188(1):e3. doi: 10.1002/vetr.3. Epub 2021 Jan 12. PMID: 34651755. Woodruff D. Cognitive Dysfunction and Related Sleep Disturbances. In: Gardner M, McVety D, eds. Treatment and care of the veterinary geriatric patient. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2017;57-76.

Cognitive Assessment and Health Concerns for Cats

Client Information

Pet Information

Resources for Cognitive Assessment Checklist