Cat with dementia often gets lost at home — consoled by dad everytime she screams

A pet nanny from Boston shared how her husband cared for their cat, stricken with Feline Cognitive Dysfunction, and also asked users to “never settle" in finding a good partner. Julie loves taking care of cats, so much so that she started an online pet sitting business in the South End of Boston. She goes by @southendpetsitting on Instagram, and on February 15, she published a video of her husband’s vulnerability with her cat. In which her husband carried their cat like a baby and gently swayed his body to soothe and relax their 18-month-old feline, who “screams and cries” whenever she gets lost. 

The video has garnered 9.3 million views till now and is the biggest hit of her page for the year 2025. Feline Cognitive Dysfunction (CDS) is dementia in cats, according to NIH. The data showed that a quarter of cats get diseased with dementia between the ages of 7-14. More than half showed symptoms after turning 15, and 88% showed symptoms after reaching the age bracket of 16-17. More like Alzheimer’s in humans, the cats also lose their memories and become disoriented and lost. 

Julie's cat is 18 years old, and her screaming is a symptom of her disease. As per this study, among all the 37 cats that were tested, the majority showed increased vocalization as a common symptom for CDS. The symptoms shown in the cats are not unique or specific to cat dementia, so a proper vet checkup is required before confirming that a cat is diseased with CDS. For instance, symptoms related to chronic kidney damage, hypertension, and hyperthyroidism are the same as dementia in cats. Research has shown that a clinical and physical examination must be thorough. However, with no cure in sight, it is hard for owners to see their cats suffering. Herein comes the question of who the pet lives on for — the parent, or themselves? 

This transformation must be hard for Julie as well, given the profound love she has for the felines. Nobody wants to lose their favorite pet to an incurable, degenerative disease — especially not something that plays around with memory. Julie, however, seems stronger than this. She's posted an innumerable number of stories on her social media page and proudly calls herself a cat nanny who runs her business on the belief of equally loving her clients’ cats as much as they do. It was in 2010 when Julie bought a small condo in Boston, and since then, she has been taking care of neighbourhood animals. After a decade of loving animals, she realised that this is her calling. And in 2021, Julie started, officially running her business and has "nannied" for several cats and dogs from the South end of the city. She described that "it was the best decision she ever made," and that becoming a full-time pet care professional comes from a great devotion to "responsibility and reliability.

You can follow her @southendpetsitting on Instagram for more details about her business.