Bootser will be 17 years old in July. For the last several years (yes, years) she has been meowing at night. We put a night light in the bathroom and that seemed to quiet her down a little bit.
They get fed around 5:00 in the morning (when DH gets up for work during the week) and then again at 3:45 in the afternoon. Bootser is a puker, meaning that two or three times a week, she will throw up her meals. She's been to the vet and there's nothing wrong. She's been on a variety of foods from crappy food to premium food....she throws it all up. So does her litter sister, Whisper. We think it's a genetic thing. Other than that, Bootser is very healthy, but she is very thin. (She just went for her geriatric physical last month and was pronounced healthy.) Whisper was recently diagnosed with CRF....she has been put on KD canned food. And yes, she throws that up, too.
Anyway, Bootser has decided now that 5:00 for breakfast isn't early enough. And she's started to meow around 4:00. That gets the other cats started in....Ms. Pepe and even BooBoo are meowing now right along with her. I cannot tell you when the last time was that I've really had a good night's sleep. We used to be able to shoo all the cats out of the bedroom and shut the door. Since Mollipop joined our family, she sits outside of the bedroom door and either claws at the carpet or bodyslams the bedroom door, crying. She wants in the bedroom, but as soon as she comes in, she wants back out. It's a vicious circle and to be honest? It's very wearing.
During the week, Bootser starts in around 4:00, sometimes even around 3:30. Meow, meow, meow, meow. Then Pepe meows, usually followed by BooBoo. Whisper is next. Mollipop is awake, by that time, and while she doesn't meow or anything, SHE plays with the stuff right under the bed. God help us, if we have to go to the bathroom around 2:00 or so...b/c as soon as we so much as even roll over in bed, Bootser is right there. And when that alarm goes off at 5:00? Dear lord, what a madhouse! It's a daily thing, that just never, ever stops. I've gotten to the point where I absolutely hate mornings on weekends. And afternoons. It's simply crazy.
DH and I started taking turns getting up and giving them breakfast on the weekends. The problem is that once I'm awake, I'm up. I feed them at 5:00, but if I go back to bed at that point, I either don't go back to sleep or I don't fall back asleep until around 6:30 or so, which means then I sleep until around 9:00...and my morning is pretty well shot at that point. I usually end up starting to work on laundry or other household tasks.
We've tried giving them a night snack, around 10 or so, thinking that might help. Now they want their bedtime snack, but she still starts meowing and fussing around 4:00 in the morning. She'll come into the bedroom, sit on the floor at my side of the bed and just start meowing. If I dont respond, and I try not to, she'll jump on the bed, sit on me and yell in my ear. She wants food and she's going to get food, and she doesn't care how she has to go about it.
When we're home during the day (weekends, for example), she starts in fussing around 1:30 or 2:00 for her supper and that gets everybody else fussing....like I said, they get their supper around 3:45 or so. But when we're home, they also get a lunch of dry kibble and some Sip. These kids are NOT starving! And Bootser is not starving either!
I honestly don't know what to do. We always said we won't put her down; that's not fair to her. And we always said that we brought her into the house, so it's our responsibility to take care of her. And we also feel guilty because we did bring her inside. She was happy outdoors, she really was. We thought that bringing her inside would keep her safe. And I'm sure that had she spent her life outside, she would have never lived to be almost 17 years old. But she has not been a happy cat since she's been inside...and we do feel guilty about that. Even now, she'd go outside in a second, if she could. That's not an option. And we're trying to deal with this. But she is simply not a happy cat.
And I'm just tired. I'm so tired. Yes, it's been going on for years, but the whole situation has steadily gotten worse over time. It's nerve-wracking and I think it's showing in how I deal with other situations in my life. How sad is it that DH has actually offered a night at a local motel for me, just so I can sleep! And I hate to say this, but yes, putting her down has cropped up in the back of my mind. I hate that. We can't take an almost 17 year old cat to a shelter either; she would have absolutely no chance. But I also am starting to dislike this cat. I know....what a terrible thing to say! And believe me, I feel plenty guilty about this whole situation....it makes me a horrible cat mom.
So....putting her down is not an option. Putting her in a shelter is not an option. The only thing left is me learning how to deal with this. And trying to figure out how I can sleep through her yelling. Can somebody help me?
They get fed around 5:00 in the morning (when DH gets up for work during the week) and then again at 3:45 in the afternoon. Bootser is a puker, meaning that two or three times a week, she will throw up her meals. She's been to the vet and there's nothing wrong. She's been on a variety of foods from crappy food to premium food....she throws it all up. So does her litter sister, Whisper. We think it's a genetic thing. Other than that, Bootser is very healthy, but she is very thin. (She just went for her geriatric physical last month and was pronounced healthy.) Whisper was recently diagnosed with CRF....she has been put on KD canned food. And yes, she throws that up, too.
Anyway, Bootser has decided now that 5:00 for breakfast isn't early enough. And she's started to meow around 4:00. That gets the other cats started in....Ms. Pepe and even BooBoo are meowing now right along with her. I cannot tell you when the last time was that I've really had a good night's sleep. We used to be able to shoo all the cats out of the bedroom and shut the door. Since Mollipop joined our family, she sits outside of the bedroom door and either claws at the carpet or bodyslams the bedroom door, crying. She wants in the bedroom, but as soon as she comes in, she wants back out. It's a vicious circle and to be honest? It's very wearing.
During the week, Bootser starts in around 4:00, sometimes even around 3:30. Meow, meow, meow, meow. Then Pepe meows, usually followed by BooBoo. Whisper is next. Mollipop is awake, by that time, and while she doesn't meow or anything, SHE plays with the stuff right under the bed. God help us, if we have to go to the bathroom around 2:00 or so...b/c as soon as we so much as even roll over in bed, Bootser is right there. And when that alarm goes off at 5:00? Dear lord, what a madhouse! It's a daily thing, that just never, ever stops. I've gotten to the point where I absolutely hate mornings on weekends. And afternoons. It's simply crazy.
DH and I started taking turns getting up and giving them breakfast on the weekends. The problem is that once I'm awake, I'm up. I feed them at 5:00, but if I go back to bed at that point, I either don't go back to sleep or I don't fall back asleep until around 6:30 or so, which means then I sleep until around 9:00...and my morning is pretty well shot at that point. I usually end up starting to work on laundry or other household tasks.
We've tried giving them a night snack, around 10 or so, thinking that might help. Now they want their bedtime snack, but she still starts meowing and fussing around 4:00 in the morning. She'll come into the bedroom, sit on the floor at my side of the bed and just start meowing. If I dont respond, and I try not to, she'll jump on the bed, sit on me and yell in my ear. She wants food and she's going to get food, and she doesn't care how she has to go about it.
When we're home during the day (weekends, for example), she starts in fussing around 1:30 or 2:00 for her supper and that gets everybody else fussing....like I said, they get their supper around 3:45 or so. But when we're home, they also get a lunch of dry kibble and some Sip. These kids are NOT starving! And Bootser is not starving either!
I honestly don't know what to do. We always said we won't put her down; that's not fair to her. And we always said that we brought her into the house, so it's our responsibility to take care of her. And we also feel guilty because we did bring her inside. She was happy outdoors, she really was. We thought that bringing her inside would keep her safe. And I'm sure that had she spent her life outside, she would have never lived to be almost 17 years old. But she has not been a happy cat since she's been inside...and we do feel guilty about that. Even now, she'd go outside in a second, if she could. That's not an option. And we're trying to deal with this. But she is simply not a happy cat.
And I'm just tired. I'm so tired. Yes, it's been going on for years, but the whole situation has steadily gotten worse over time. It's nerve-wracking and I think it's showing in how I deal with other situations in my life. How sad is it that DH has actually offered a night at a local motel for me, just so I can sleep! And I hate to say this, but yes, putting her down has cropped up in the back of my mind. I hate that. We can't take an almost 17 year old cat to a shelter either; she would have absolutely no chance. But I also am starting to dislike this cat. I know....what a terrible thing to say! And believe me, I feel plenty guilty about this whole situation....it makes me a horrible cat mom.
So....putting her down is not an option. Putting her in a shelter is not an option. The only thing left is me learning how to deal with this. And trying to figure out how I can sleep through her yelling. Can somebody help me?
You're stressed, frustrated and tired.
You're sure she's not in pain? Spooky always talks a lot more when she's in pain. Arthritis? I know Carolina has seen Gracie really benefit from ... hyaloronic (sp?) acid. ????? Maybe PM Carolina about that?
I now keep a baggie of kibble under my pillow, and I grab some kibble and put it on the bedside table for him to eat. I'm generally not fully wakened by this at this point, and can usually fall back to sleep. If his stomach doesn't adjust... being optimistic on his life expectancy, I'm looking at another 10 years or so of this (he's going to be 9 in April).
