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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / July 2005Old healthy cat howling early morning -- owner can't stay awake during day!
I see that his has been posted and discussed a lot, but I've not seen much in the way of solutions... Our cat is 18 years old and just got a clean bill of health. No kidney failure, no hyperthyroidism, etc. The only thing the vet noticed was that her stool is pretty hard. At his recommendation we started mixing metamucil in with her food and it seems to be helping. No matter what time of the day she uses the little pan she will always come running out and cry a few times. She has started howling at night. Sometimes she'll start the night out in the bedroom with us but then eventually goes out into the other room and starts crying. If we call her she'll usually stop for about an hour. If one of us sleeps out on the couch she won't cry. As far as we can tell her eyesight and hearing are OK. She usually doesn't start until it starts getting light out in the morning (sometimes as early as 3am), so I don't think the suggestion I've seen about leaving a light on will help. My instinct tells me that she's looking for us and wondering why we're not out and about the apartment. The crying is getting more frequent lately and it's difficult for us to sleep. We've tried feeding her right before bed, but no change. When I get up in the morning she is very glad to see me and follows me around and sits next to me on the couch. When I go to poor a cup of coffee she will always eat some of her dry food, which is on the floor next to where I am standing. When I move away she will too. Could this be food related? We have no other pets and it is a small apartment. Thanks. It could be from hearing loss or from dementia. Can you try leaving a radio or TV on for her and see if that helps? Glad physical problems were ruled out by the vet. Gail >I see that his has been posted and discussed a lot, but I've not seen much >in the way of solutions... [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > Thanks. > I see that his has been posted and discussed a lot, but I've not seen > much in the way of solutions... [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > next to where I am standing. When I move away she will too. Could this > be food related? We have no other pets and it is a small apartment. When my sweet cat began this at about age 18 the vet said she might be getting a little senile. She died at age 20. When she howled I just went to get her. She slept with me, and never did it in the middle of the might, though. She was just ... getting forgetful and wanted to know where I was. > When my sweet cat began this at about age 18 the vet said she might > be getting a little senile. She died at age 20. When she howled I just > went to get her. She slept with me, and never did it in the middle > of the might, though. She was just ... getting forgetful and wanted > to know where I was. and unfortunately for some odd reason she will rarely stay the whole night in the bedroom. She always feels the need to go out into the living room. We've tried going to get her when she does this but she doesn't stay long. That helps make it more frustrating. > > When my sweet cat began this at about age 18 the vet said she might > > be getting a little senile. She died at age 20. When she howled I just [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > living room. We've tried going to get her when she does this but she > doesn't stay long. That helps make it more frustrating. Why not close her in the bedroom with you with her box and food for the night? That is what I eventually did with my girl. She seemed to like it. >>>When my sweet cat began this at about age 18 the vet said she might >>>be getting a little senile. She died at age 20. When she howled I just [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > for the night? That is what I eventually did with my girl. She seemed > to like it. There are some other complications that this would bring, I think. For one, I tried this with her sister years ago and as soon as I closed the door she would start scratching at it just, I think, because she didn't understand why it was closed. The other reason is that, although she always stands in the litter box when she uses it, her extremities sometimes hang over the side when she is going, and the bedroom is carpeted... Any other ideas? > >>>When my sweet cat began this at about age 18 the vet said she might > >>>be getting a little senile. She died at age 20. When she howled I just [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Any other ideas? No. I think you should try the above, and see if it works. Put the box inside a larger plastic storage box such as one of the "under-the-bed" storage boxed one can find. She is old and you probably will not have her much longer. Give a little. > > >>>When my sweet cat began this at about age 18 the vet said she might > > >>>be getting a little senile. She died at age 20. When she howled I just > > >>>went to get her. She slept with me, and never did it in the middle > > >>>of the might, though. She was just ... getting forgetful and wanted > > >>>to know where I was. My Sookey-Boo does this every night, many times a night, I just call out his name and say, I'm here, He comes to my bed and curls up with me. He just needs reassurance. My friend often hears me call out to him and I don't remember it, so we figure I got so accustomed to doing it, that I just do it in my sleep now. But, I agree with Mary, Sookey-Boo is old too, and he'll pass the bridge in the next year or two so if waking me is all I need to worry about right now, then I'm a very lucky person to have a cat that loves me so much that he wants to be sure I'm here for him :) One day he won't call for me with his yowl, I'll miss him greatly, but I'll have every yowl he does now to remember... its worth the waking. > My Sookey-Boo does this every night, many times a night, I just call out his > name and say, I'm here, He comes to my bed and curls up with me. He just [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > yowl, I'll miss him greatly, but I'll have every yowl he does now to > remember... its worth the waking. We're also glad that Buggy is still with us, and in fact shows no real signs of aging other than having less energy to play and jump on counters, but assuming she'll be with us for a couple more years then she and I are going to have to come up with a compromise on sleeping hours otherwise she'll probably outlive me! Thanks for everyone's advice. > > My Sookey-Boo does this every night, many times a night, I just call out his > > name and say, I'm here, He comes to my bed and curls up with me. He just [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Thanks for everyone's advice. Good luck. I know it must be annoying. Remember that cats are "Extreme Stoics--" designed to hide illness and discomfort. At 18 she is getting more fragile than you may think. (Though I surely did not want to hear this about my Gnarly girl!) > I see that his has been posted and discussed a lot, but I've not > seen much in the way of solutions... [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > food, which is on the floor next to where I am standing. When I > move away she will too. Could this be food related? Yes it could. Have you changed her food? My KiKi howls when I start giving her treat food. This last time it took weeks before she started howling. Also, she might need more attention. Kiki is also female and getting older. She responds positively to an increase in attention. Good luck. > Yes it could. Have you changed her food? > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Good luck. I don't quite understand. Do you mean she howls when you do change her food or when you don't? Until last year she was a wanna-be indoor cat but banished to the outdoors by my step-father. When we stayed there and let her in she also cried at night. Since rescuing her we have changed her food to Iams and give her some canned food every day, but since she cried before any of this change occurred, I don't think that is the reason. Since her change in living environment last year she has gone from getting zero attention to lots and lots of attention (my wife loves cats). I think she's doing OK in the attention area. In fact she is in her usual spot on the couch between me and my wife as I type this. >> Yes it could. Have you changed her food? >> My KiKi howls when I start giving her treat food. This last >> time it took weeks before she started howling. >> Kiki is also female and getting older. > I don't quite understand. Do you mean she howls when you do > change her food or when you don't? She starts howling when I give her treat food. This last time it took longer than I expected. > Until last year she was a wanna-be indoor cat but banished to > the outdoors by my step-father. When we stayed there and let > her in she also cried at night. Since rescuing her we have > changed her food to Iams and give her some canned food every > day, Same here. Last time I bought a large box of the cans. Her stomach is sensitive. Of course it's up to you, but you could test easily enough by feeding dry only and water for a month or so. Sounds strange to me, but that is the appearance. Naturally she howls for more fun food, but sometimes it is annoying because it seems to be for no reason. It really seems odd. It might be a longshot, but what have you got to lose. > I see that his has been posted and discussed a lot, but I've not seen > much in the way of solutions... [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > Thanks. Do you have night lights up? That may help her not feel so "lost". > Do you have night lights up? That may help her not feel so "lost". Since she doesn't start howling until it starts getting light out I don't think this is it. > I see that his has been posted and discussed a lot, but I've not seen > much in the way of solutions... [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > Thanks. How's her blood pressure? Helen > How's her blood pressure? > > Helen I don't know but the vet gave her a clean bill of health. > > How's her blood pressure? > > > > Helen > > I don't know but the vet gave her a clean bill of health. Not particularly reassuring IMO. Very few vets even have the equipment to check bp, let alone do it. And hypertension is a common cause of howling at night: http://www.felinecrf.org/symptoms_treatments_index.htm#H I'd ask the vet if bp was checked, and if not, I'd ask them to do it or to refer you to somebody who has the equipment if they do not. HTH Helen |
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