Can cats with dementia offer people with Alzheimer’s disease new hope? Yes, study says

A new study finds similarities between cat and human brains when it comes to dementia, making them a ‘perfect natural model for Alzheimer’s’

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Understanding cats with dementia may help develop treatments for people with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:15am, 16 Aug 2025

Cats can develop dementia similarly to humans with Alzheimer’s disease, say scientists – a discovery that is leading to hopes of a breakthrough in research.

A team at Scotland’s University of Edinburgh have carried out a series of postmortem brain examinations on 25 cats that had, when they were alive, exhibited symptoms of dementia – like confusion, sleep disruption and an increase in vocalisation – in a bid to explore better treatments for humans.

Researchers of Alzheimer’s have previously studied genetically modified rodents, which do not naturally suffer from dementia.

A build-up of amyloid-beta, a toxic protein, was found in the synapses of feline dementia brains. As this build-up is one of the defining features of Alzheimer’s disease, this was hailed as a “perfect natural model for Alzheimer’s” by scientists who worked on it.

A build-up of amyloid-beta, a toxic protein, is one of the defining features of Alzheimer’s disease. Photo: Shutterstock

Scientists hope that these findings will result in a clearer idea of how amyloid-beta may lead to feline cognitive dysfunction and memory loss, as well as offer a valuable model for studying dementia in people.

Synapses allow the flow of messages between brain cells. Losing these causes a reduction in memory and thinking ability in humans with Alzheimer’s.

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