Twiddle cats-are they worth a go?

[Kitten71]

Hi, has anyone had any experience or success using a Twiddle Cat? I don't know whether to buy one for my dad as he is constantly fiddling around with his hands. His favourite thing is to pleat his trousers and we've lost count of the number of drawstrings he's pulled out of his jogging bottoms. He also likes to shred paper tissues but if we give him other things to occupy his hands, he puts them to one side and carries on fiddling with his trousers. I think a real cat would be excellent for him, but it's not practical for my stepmother to have something else to care for too, and what's to say we wouldn't end up with a cat that didn't like sitting on a knee for hours on end? I'm keen to try something new so any opinions or suggestions would be greatly welcomed

 

[Kitten71]

By the way, my dad has Lewy body dementia.

 

[Cloverland]

My dad has Lewy Body dementia and lives with 2 cats but apart from knowing they are there he does not have anything to do with them so I don't think having a pet will work. He will do the hand movements you describe usually we can recognise the movements to do with his work, he was a skilled worker a Miller (bearings etc very precise work). It is common for this type of dementia to make movements with their hands.

Give your dad more drawstrings it doesn't do any harm, I gave my dad tissues when he went into action, he would fold them then unfold and fold again. There is nothing you can do except let him tear tissues or pull drawstrings to him it is whatever he thinks he is doing.

Perhaps his medication might need a review.

 

[jaymor]

My husband has Alzheimers and spends hours pleating and rubbing creases in his trousers. He also pulls his trouser legs up over his knees.

The rug he has over his knees has become his comfort blanket and that is continually scrunched up, smoothed out and scrunched up again.

 

[halojones]

Hi kitten, unfortunately fiddling with the hands is part of the dementia, and can be another problem to try and manage..What is a twiddle cat? My mum always has a piece of tissue that she picks at,and her nails....Others have suggested different things on here, like a box of buttons to sort out? its difficult to know what would help with your dad? I have found that if I give mum something to do, she will only do it if I do it with her, if I don't, then she will go back to the tissue and nail picking...I hope you can find some distractions for your dad...x

 

[jenniferpa]

I know other people have used this sort of thing with some success. It's a pity they are so expensive, otherwise I would suggest giving it a try.

You could have a look in a store that sells baby/toddler toys for something similar at a cheaper price.

 

[rajahh]

My husband has Alzheimers and spends hours pleating and rubbing creases in his trousers. He also pulls his trouser legs up over his knees.

The rug he has over his knees has become his comfort blanket and that is continually scrunched up, smoothed out and scrunched up again.

The psychiatrist at the memory clinic used to rub the creases in his trousers the whole visit!

 

[Izzy]

My husband has Alzheimers and spends hours pleating and rubbing creases in his trousers. He also pulls his trouser legs up over his knees.

So does mine. Well not hours but he does do this. He's only recently started to pull his trousers up over his knees.

I'd never heard of twiddle cats. I've just googled them. They're not cheap! I wondered of any day centres or care homes might have one you could borrow to see if your dad would take to it.

For anyone else who doesn't know what it is here it is -

 

[ceroc46]

My Mum has moments when she's fiddling, or bunches her clothes up.

I bought one of those baby toys that have lots of different textures and sounds from a well known supermarket beginning with A! It was only about £6.

 

[LYN T]

Unfortunately Pete is too poorly at the moment to 'twiddle' but I remember it well

I used to give him magazines to tear up-he used to religiously pleat the paper and put it in his pocket. Then we progressed to plush type toys-he used to rip the seams apart and take out the stuffing-but it kept him busy

I had to take the eyes out of the toys (he never noticed) because I was concerned that he would pull them out-by that stage everything was going in his mouth.

Take care

Lyn T

 

[CollegeGirl]

I've been wondering about buying mam a cushion something like this:



from ebay but am hesitant. I think from mam's point of view it's worth a try in the sense that it just might encourage her to sit still and fiddle, instead of constantly pacing and moving the furniture around (there again it might not!).

However, everything else I've tried, such as making a rummage box, a noticeboard with removable photos, a lovely cuddly throw, a chunky personalised jigsaw, a soft teddy bear - dad has put them all away out of sight in a cupboard (apart from the noticeboard) so she doesn't get the chance to pick them up and fiddle with them.

I'm not sure why he's done this. My idea was to have the things lying around so that she could pick them up as and when, but that's not going to happen if they're in a cupboard.

Perhaps they just didn't work at all, and he's just tidied up, sick of seeing them? Perhaps she got angry about them? Perhaps she threw them at him? I just don't know.

I keep telling myself that I'm not the one living with her, that it's easy for me to suggest these things and then walk away, it's dad who has to implement them and for all I know they might cause more problems rather than solving them.

I've suggested doll therapy several times and he is resistant to that idea because he thinks it's demeaning, plus he worries that mam would think a doll was a dead baby and be distressed - fair point.

Would he be insulted it I bought a cushion? I just want to help, do something to help. Most of my ideas backfire however.

I bought some lavender room spray because the consultant suggested it might calm mam down - it made dad sneeze uncontrollably, and mam complained about the 'weird smell'. Another tenner down the drain.

Sorry, I've rambled, as usual.

What to do about the cushion? They're about £25.

 

[rajahh]

some years ago GORDON,s brother visited with his wife, and she e mailed me on their return to their home implying I was not stimulating GORDON enough. She gave me suggestions.

Trust me I was UPSET!!! I cried a whole day reading and re reading her e mail. I replied in stinging tone but put it into draft and after a week I deleted it.

I think if your father is putting all your attempts away that there must've a reason for him doing this and I personally would not offer any more suggestions.

They can one across as criticism, and carers feel inadequate enough .

I understand your desire to help but feel you should justbe there and only respond if your father actually asks for help

 

[Grace L]

My husband had VaD and went though stages of 'picking'.... pretty much anything, but not his nose !!
If I sat next to him on the couch, and had jeans on... he would reach over and pick at the seam on my jeans.
I would lift his hand and and move it away, and he would leave it a minute, then go back.


Have you thought about activity baby-type toys?
I've just looked at a Large Activity Ladybird form the ELC (other shops available) .
It's only £8.00 , so it if doesn't work, not too much money wasted.

My husband didn't like picking noisy things.... but the activity toys might work for you.

 

[Tin]

Like everyone here, similar problem for mum, she used to remove buttons from all her clothes and pull out strings from joggers and then sometimes cutting things up. with a very small budget I visited local charity shop and bought lots clothes with lots of buttons and drawstrings, also got friends to 'donate' their old clothes to me and everyday I would bring out a few pieces, told mum she was doing it for charity and with my supervision she cut up a lot, creating rags.

 

[CollegeGirl]

some years ago GORDON,s brother visited with his wife, and she e mailed me on their return to their home implying I was not stimulating GORDON enough. She gave me suggestions.

Trust me I was UPSET!!! I cried a whole day reading and re reading her e mail. I replied in stinging tone but put it into draft and after a week I deleted it.

I think if your father is putting all your attempts away that there must've a reason for him doing this and I personally would not offer any more suggestions.

They can one across as criticism, and carers feel inadequate enough .

I understand your desire to help but feel you should justbe there and only respond if your father actually asks for help

Hi Jeanette, and thanks for your wise words, which I totally understand. The thing is, dad does ask for my help and ideas. He often asks me to research things for him and is always grateful for what I do. He's desperate for something to stop mam pacing. Perhaps it's simply that these things don't work and eventually get tidied away. I will be careful, though, because the last thing I ever want to do is criticise him when he's the one at the coal face so to speak, and I'm one step removed. I try to be mindful of that.

 

[rajahh]

Have you asked your father whether any of the things worked . Or which worked best. It might give you more ideas. Jeannette

 

[Kitten71]

My dad has Lewy Body dementia and lives with 2 cats but apart from knowing they are there he does not have anything to do with them so I don't think having a pet will work. He will do the hand movements you describe usually we can recognise the movements to do with his work, he was a skilled worker a Miller (bearings etc very precise work). It is common for this type of dementia to make movements with their hands.

Give your dad more drawstrings it doesn't do any harm, I gave my dad tissues when he went into action, he would fold them then unfold and fold again. There is nothing you can do except let him tear tissues or pull drawstrings to him it is whatever he thinks he is
Perhaps his medication might need a review.

Unfortunately they won't give him any medication due to a heart problem he has. Apparently the dementia meds will affect that. I might give him foil sweet wrappers to keep his hands occupied as he always used to enjoy making them into shapes. Anything is worth a try as we are worried that he gets bored. Thanks for the suggestions

 

[CollegeGirl]

I have done, yes, but he just says they haven't worked. I suspect there's more to it (like maybe she gets angry about them for instance) but he doesn't want to tell me, thinking he's protecting me, maybe.

Or maybe it's as simple as he says.

Sorry, I seem to have hijacked Kitten71's thread!

 

[Kitten71]

My husband has Alzheimers and spends hours pleating and rubbing creases in his trousers. He also pulls his trouser legs up over his knees.

The rug he has over his knees has become his comfort blanket and that is continually scrunched up, smoothed out and scrunched up again.

My dad was like that with his dressing gown when he was in hospital. He wrapped a blanket up in it. He made a very neat parcel, bless him

 

[Kitten71]

Hi kitten, unfortunately fiddling with the hands is part of the dementia, and can be another problem to try and manage..What is a twiddle cat? My mum always has a piece of tissue that she picks at,and her nails....Others have suggested different things on here, like a box of buttons to sort out? its difficult to know what would help with your dad? I have found that if I give mum something to do, she will only do it if I do it with her, if I don't, then she will go back to the tissue and nail picking...I hope you can find some distractions for your dad...x

Hi, yes, we find the same. Things keep his attention for the time we are with him but left to his own devices, he's fiddling with the material of his trousers. It just seems so boring for him but he lacks the ability to tell us what he would like, so it's just trial and error really. The twiddle cat is a multi sensory thing with beads and ribbons attached which might be nice and comforting to have sitting on his knee. Unfortunately they come with a fairly hefty price tag but it just seems a bit more dignified to have something like that instead of a child's toy, especially if people call round to visit. We took him out in hid wheelchair and left him wearing his slippers. He didn't say anything at the time but days later he said he'd felt a fool. Imagine how bad we felt! So that's why I'm wary of child's toys. It's just super difficult to get it right!