Will this fix the problem or make it worse?

Carl has become a night kitty. I think he got his time clock back to instinctive "cat time" while we were out of town over Christmas, and then we had our neighbor's cat howling outside our door for a week (that was fixed, thankfully I convinced the owner to keep the loud kitty inside). So we have been really trying to play with him before we go to bed for as long as he will let us (he isn't a big toy chaser) to try and get him back to his usual day time revelry. It isn't working. He has the worst night freak outs, meowing, jumping on the bed, attacking our feet, sitting on the nightstand in my face meowing loudly...

We are talking about getting either a second cat or cat-friendly dog to keep Carl company. I think he is a little lonely, and as soon as we move to our new house (yet unfound), we will have room for another creature.

So my question is...will a second cat keep Carl company and decrease his meowing, or will be now be two loud night kitties instead of one?

Hard to say... two of our kitties chase each other across our bed starting at 5:00 AM every morning. If we close the door, they scratch at it relentlessly, then tear across the bed anyway.

Do you know if Carl is dog-friendly?

Another kitty (or dog) would probably give him more exercise, so maybe he'll be more tired at night.

I would also get the new kitty (or dog) before you move, if possible. Moving them together solves a myriad of territory problems, in my experience.

Cheers, from
SwampWitch

How soon before bed does he get dinner? If ours have an early dinner, they're more likely to get up and race around in the middle of the night. But if they get a late dinner, around 8 or 9, it's not so bad.

Hmm it's hard to say getting another kitty or doggy to play with could go either way. They could become playmates and tire each other out so they don't make noise at night, or the new guy could become a partner in crime, and help your current boy keep you awake all night