Hello everyone,
My second deaf cat, Moe, was adopted from a shelter four years ago. He spent the first three years of his life in a shelter kennel and as a result was a strange animal, to say the least. He's quite affectionate (and even clingy) now and most of the time is a joy to be around. HOWEVER...
He has a habit of spending the entire night clawing through the mini-blinds, hopping up on the windowsill, and howling loudly. Sometimes he sees something that spooks him, and takes off running through the other side. Sometimes he exits the windowsill via the other end of the blinds, and sometimes (as he did five minutes ago), he climbs right through the middle, gets his back legs stuck, and freaks out.
I've tried throwing (soft) things. I've tried the squirt gun. I've tried foil on the windowsill. I've tried removing him to a room that meets his needs but has no windows (the howling gets worse). I swear this cat doesn't learn from anything. I've rescued him from behind the dryer no less than six times this year. He just doesn't get it.
If I can get him to come lie down with me (and not drink right out of my water glass despite the fact that he has his own), he'll usually be fine. My other deaf cat, who I've had longer, just doesn't do this. I know that deaf animals have a habit of destroying blinds, and I can put up curtains leaving the blinds partially open and be done with it, but the howling has GOT to stop. For my own sanity and health and because I have neighbors and my walls are thin.
Does anyone have any ideas? I am at my wit's end. This has gotten a lot worse in recent months and I'm a teacher-once school starts again I can't be up at all hours of the night with my cat. I'm considering taking him to the vet and asking if there's a sleeping pill for cats. Has anyone ever tried kennel training a cat like you would a dog? Maybe if I could get him comfortable in a kennel each night he'd sleep. HELP, please!
My second deaf cat, Moe, was adopted from a shelter four years ago. He spent the first three years of his life in a shelter kennel and as a result was a strange animal, to say the least. He's quite affectionate (and even clingy) now and most of the time is a joy to be around. HOWEVER...
He has a habit of spending the entire night clawing through the mini-blinds, hopping up on the windowsill, and howling loudly. Sometimes he sees something that spooks him, and takes off running through the other side. Sometimes he exits the windowsill via the other end of the blinds, and sometimes (as he did five minutes ago), he climbs right through the middle, gets his back legs stuck, and freaks out.
I've tried throwing (soft) things. I've tried the squirt gun. I've tried foil on the windowsill. I've tried removing him to a room that meets his needs but has no windows (the howling gets worse). I swear this cat doesn't learn from anything. I've rescued him from behind the dryer no less than six times this year. He just doesn't get it.
If I can get him to come lie down with me (and not drink right out of my water glass despite the fact that he has his own), he'll usually be fine. My other deaf cat, who I've had longer, just doesn't do this. I know that deaf animals have a habit of destroying blinds, and I can put up curtains leaving the blinds partially open and be done with it, but the howling has GOT to stop. For my own sanity and health and because I have neighbors and my walls are thin.
Does anyone have any ideas? I am at my wit's end. This has gotten a lot worse in recent months and I'm a teacher-once school starts again I can't be up at all hours of the night with my cat. I'm considering taking him to the vet and asking if there's a sleeping pill for cats. Has anyone ever tried kennel training a cat like you would a dog? Maybe if I could get him comfortable in a kennel each night he'd sleep. HELP, please!
