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- Oct 14, 2008
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My cat is eight-years-old, neutered, and deaf as a door nail. I love him, but he's driving me crazy - and at this point, I'm entirely convinced that he's crazy.
I've had this problem for about a two years now, however, it started off slowly and has only progressed since. About two to three times a month, my cat decides to climb under my bed (somewhere he goes no other time,) and scream. Not just meow, but scream bloody murder, as though someone is pulling off his toenails one by one and dipping his feet in a bag of salt. I've never heard a cat, or any other animal for that matter, make this kind of noise. It's the kind of sound someone would make you listen to in order to drive you quickly insane. Every other time, this began around 10PM, but tonight it began around 7PM.
He gets into this zone that's hard to explain. As mentioned before, he climbs under my bed, which he otherwise never does. I can spray him with all the little water guns I want, and he has absolutely no reaction to it whatsoever, as though he doesn't even feel it - and this is a cat who jumps five feet in the air and runs off in a fit if he so much as steps in a puddle where someone tracked snow into the house. If I do anything to try to restrain him from going under my bed, he begins to pant, like a dog - also something I've never, ever seen him do under normal circumstances. This can go on for hours and hours, with seemingly nothing I can do to make him happy. He doesn't want food of any kind, he doesn't care if his litter box is spotless, he doesn't want to play. He is a strictly indoor car, and I haven't tried letting him outside to see if it makes him happy (that is my absolute last resort,) however, he isn't hanging around the windows or doors while he is having one of these "fits" and on a normal day, he hates being taken outside even in my arms, so I do not think he wants to go outside.
The only thing we've been able to do at this point is to put him into his cat carrier, and put that in our garage. He continues to scream, but that's the only way anyone could possibly get any sleep. I can't hear him screaming when I go out to bring him water, however, he begins screaming again as soon as I enter the garage. The only way to make him stop is, unfortunately, leave him out there overnight and bring him back inside in the morning. We haven't had a situation where he began screaming again in the morning, but if he did, I guess I'd just have to feed/water/litter him, then put him back into the garage until I get home from work.
The kicker is, he's been evaluated by his vet on numerous occasions, and there is nothing medically wrong with him to be found. He's not in any pain that we can find. I don't know if a cat can develop dementia, but that's the only thing I can think of at this point. I've never heard of a cat acting this way. I've seen the stickied posts about cats meowing at night, but this doesn't even begin to compare. If I lived in an apartment with neighbours, they would surely think I was slowly beating him to death and call the police on me.
I'm at my wits end. I live with my parents, and I can't have him running around the house screeching like a banshee when my disabled father is trying to sleep. And if he is still with me when I move out, I can't have him running around screaming like a banshee while my roommates and/or neighbours are trying to sleep, either. At this point, I don't know what to do but to go back to his vet and request some kind of oral sedative I can give him when he begins acting this way. I don't know if that is even possible, though.
If anyone else has ever heard of or had experience with such a problem, or has any advice for me, I would greatly appreciate it.
I've had this problem for about a two years now, however, it started off slowly and has only progressed since. About two to three times a month, my cat decides to climb under my bed (somewhere he goes no other time,) and scream. Not just meow, but scream bloody murder, as though someone is pulling off his toenails one by one and dipping his feet in a bag of salt. I've never heard a cat, or any other animal for that matter, make this kind of noise. It's the kind of sound someone would make you listen to in order to drive you quickly insane. Every other time, this began around 10PM, but tonight it began around 7PM.
He gets into this zone that's hard to explain. As mentioned before, he climbs under my bed, which he otherwise never does. I can spray him with all the little water guns I want, and he has absolutely no reaction to it whatsoever, as though he doesn't even feel it - and this is a cat who jumps five feet in the air and runs off in a fit if he so much as steps in a puddle where someone tracked snow into the house. If I do anything to try to restrain him from going under my bed, he begins to pant, like a dog - also something I've never, ever seen him do under normal circumstances. This can go on for hours and hours, with seemingly nothing I can do to make him happy. He doesn't want food of any kind, he doesn't care if his litter box is spotless, he doesn't want to play. He is a strictly indoor car, and I haven't tried letting him outside to see if it makes him happy (that is my absolute last resort,) however, he isn't hanging around the windows or doors while he is having one of these "fits" and on a normal day, he hates being taken outside even in my arms, so I do not think he wants to go outside.
The only thing we've been able to do at this point is to put him into his cat carrier, and put that in our garage. He continues to scream, but that's the only way anyone could possibly get any sleep. I can't hear him screaming when I go out to bring him water, however, he begins screaming again as soon as I enter the garage. The only way to make him stop is, unfortunately, leave him out there overnight and bring him back inside in the morning. We haven't had a situation where he began screaming again in the morning, but if he did, I guess I'd just have to feed/water/litter him, then put him back into the garage until I get home from work.
The kicker is, he's been evaluated by his vet on numerous occasions, and there is nothing medically wrong with him to be found. He's not in any pain that we can find. I don't know if a cat can develop dementia, but that's the only thing I can think of at this point. I've never heard of a cat acting this way. I've seen the stickied posts about cats meowing at night, but this doesn't even begin to compare. If I lived in an apartment with neighbours, they would surely think I was slowly beating him to death and call the police on me.
I'm at my wits end. I live with my parents, and I can't have him running around the house screeching like a banshee when my disabled father is trying to sleep. And if he is still with me when I move out, I can't have him running around screaming like a banshee while my roommates and/or neighbours are trying to sleep, either. At this point, I don't know what to do but to go back to his vet and request some kind of oral sedative I can give him when he begins acting this way. I don't know if that is even possible, though.
If anyone else has ever heard of or had experience with such a problem, or has any advice for me, I would greatly appreciate it.
