Excessive meowing from 12 year old Siamese-Himalayan mix

Hi,

I've read many of the threads about excessive meowing, but am still not finding an answer to my specific situation.  I plan to try some of the solutions I read about, but am wondering if I'm too close to my own problem to see an obvious solution.

My cat, Fancy, looks more like her Siamese parent, and has been called a Lilac Point. (My only previous cats had been strays, thus her name.)  I actually got Fancy for my Australian Shepherd, Blue, who loved cats, but was not the pure bred he was supposed to be.  He may have been half Aussie, but grew to weigh 110 pounds and had a face like a Rottweiler!  He was the gentlest, most laid back dog I've ever had.  Because he loved cats, a friend who owned Fancy's parents gave her to me when she just fit in the palm of my hand.  She was weaned and litter box trained, just small.  It was a match made in heaven - they were devoted to each other, Blue totally mothered her, and Fancy always preferred him to me. They played, ate, drank and slept together.

We lost Blue to pancreatic cancer quite suddenly 5 years ago, and I hadn't planned on having another dog right away.  However, 4 months after he died, my cousin found a small boxer mix (35 pounds) who needed a home.  When no one claimed her after advertising for 6 weeks, and I established that she didn't chase or torment cats, I took her.  According to my vet, she appeared to be about a year old, though she acted younger to me.  I love Izzie, just wasn't quite ready to take on puppy behavior while I was still grieving for Blue.  Fancy ignored and hissed at her at first, but later forced Izzie to warm up and acknowledge her.  She even crawls in Izzie's bed with her sometimes, getting a "deer in the headlights" response from Izzie.  Izzie just isn't the warm, mothering influence Blue was. 

Anyway, perhaps because Fancy was getting used to having another dog in her house, she didn't seem to act differently for a year.  She had always announced herself loudly when she entered a room, and that continued, but I noticed she began to want to sit near me or in my lap more often, even allowed me to rub her tummy, etc.  I thought she was missing Blue, and have been very attentive.  However, this has progressed to loud meowing over the past year.  Sometimes she takes me straight to an empty water dish, but more often I can't determine a problem.  She will even go to Izzie and "complain" if she doesn't get what she wants from me.  But, the most troubling times are just as I'm trying to go to sleep, and before I'm ready to wake up in the mornings.  I've learned to make sure she has water and food available before I go to bed, but that doesn't seem to help.  Because Izzie sleeps in a crate (and I don't have to worry about her eating Fancy's food)  I leave enough food out for a late night snack and "breakfast" if she's hungry before I get up.  Still, she jumps up in my bed and meows right at my face every evening and morning.  She's seen the vet recently, and is fine.  He suggested I shut her out of my bedroom, but this is where she's always slept, and it doesn't seem like a humane option.

I think I was on the right track when I started ignoring her, and would only pet her if she was quiet.  But, sometimes she starts her evening meowing routine just after I've fallen asleep, and, in a startled state, I reach out to pet her almost by reflex. Then she wants to be petted until she falls asleep.  If I should drift off again, she raises her head and gives me a little verbal reminder that she wasn't ready for me to stop- "Eh!".  This causes me to get wide awake again, and I'm struggling with sleep issues already.  It may take an hour for me to get back to sleep - sometimes 2 or more hours.  And, before I know it, she starts her early morning meowing!  This is beyond annoying!  I think one of the things that puzzles me about her "voice" is that she always sounds like she's highly irritated or needs something urgently.  If I talk to her, she begins to "respond" in a different, more quiet voice.  I am sure we've had real conversations, although I haven't a clue what her part of it means. 

So, do you think it would work to try ignoring her again? Or, should I try talking to her?  She would still wake me if I was sleeping,  but, as I recall, if I'm able to resist the petting, she eventually gets quiet and finds a place on my bed to curl up and go to sleep.  I don't know what to do about the mornings.  I often get up before I'm ready, frustrated with her, but find no reason for her cries.  It's not the best way for either of us to start our day, but I'd rather check to see if something's wrong than listen to her incessant cries.  Maybe ignore her at night and talk to her in the mornings?

I think I'm going to try taking her to bed with me at night to see if that helps, because she sometimes stands on the floor and meows at me until I "invite" her up, by patting the surface of the bed.  If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them..

I'm sorry no one has responded to your inquiry; it's not that we don't care. Sometimes we don't know, can't offer any ideas other than what you've tried.
According to what I've read, the Siamese brand of cat tend to be talkative to begin with.
My first gut reaction when I read your post was: dementia. Cats get fuzy in the mind, as do people, in their elder years. I don't believe that is a condition that wouldn't show up in any medical test. It's a condition you'd have to simply accept, get use to.
I assume thyroid issues have been ruled out.
I would definitely talk to her; she may not understand English (and, we don't understand Cat), but I do believe cats understand Tone.
And I would definitely try bringing her to bed with you, if that's okay with you. (Personally I wouldn't want to have it any other way with Ritz. She is my electric blanket these days!)

I had a 14 year old who started meowing excessively and I could find no trigger at all until I realized he wasn't hearing.  Sure enough, he was doing deaf.  The vet suggested a night light so he wouldn't be disoriented when he woke up and it was dark AND quiet.  It worked.

If you're 'talking' with your kitty, this may not be the problem, but you might want to pay attention to see if it seems she hears you come up behind her and things like that.

SOMETHING is wrong, it's just a matter of finding out what it is. I agree with the above, she could be getting dementia, but I think she is demanding your attention. It sounds to me like she is lonely, and if she is up she wants you up! I had a cat once that meowed constantly and found out it was a bad infection that was causing her brain to get inflamed., but that was constant meowing. You might try a cat 'heat pad' I used to lay one right on the corner of my bed and plug it in and my cat loved it so much she didn't stir from that spot or make a sound! I can almost guarantee you that no matter where you would put it she would be there! Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks so much, Ritz!

It wouldn't surprise me at all if this is dementia, except for the times when she "yowls" and I find an empty water or food dish, which causes me to think she's saying, "Something is wrong here, and you need to fix it!",  I'm excited to report, however, that because I couldn't catch her to take her to bed with me right after I posted this, I decided to talk to her when her bedtime meowing started.  It took only one conversational sentence from me to result in an abrupt stop to her meowing, and she deposited herself on my bed without another "word", and went right to sleep!  I was so surprised!!  And, I guess that rules out deafness, too.

The more I think about it, I think she's been complaining.  I could almost hear it in her "tone" -  something like, "Hey, why did you go to bed without telling me?  I fell asleep in the living room, and no one bothered to tell me you were going off to bed!  So, you think it's OK to leave me sleeping all by myself in the living room?  How come Izzie is in your bedroom in her crate, but I got left in the living room?"  I know that sounds ridiculous, but she sounds SO irritated.  When I addressed her by name, and asked if she was ready to come to bed - Voila!  Up she came, without another word.  (And, just to set things straight, I always ask her and Izzie if they're ready to come to bed;  Izzie gets up and takes off for the bedroom when she hears the TV click off.  Fancy often sleeps through this, so I'll make a bigger deal out of it in the future, so she doesn't feel left out.  Still not sure about mornings, but it could simply be "Hey, it's time to get up, sleepyhead!  You going to lay around all morning?"  We did just switch to Daylight Savings Time, so she may think I'm getting really lazy now!!

Thank you again, so much, for your advice.  I'm going to stay aware of dementia, which may be just around the corner, and watch for signs of deafness, too.  I had a dog who lost his hearing, and it took a while to realize why he started barking when I pulled into the driveway, and until I got close enough to pat his head.  He always recognized the sound of my car before, but without his hearing, he may only have sensed that a heavy vehicle was getting near, so he did his best to protect us. 

Thanks again!

Thanks so much, betsygee!

I just mentioned to Ritz that I was going to keep this in mind.  Fancy has had some ear problems that needed treatment in the past, so she'd actually be an ideal candidate to go deaf.  But, as I told Ritz, I'm thrilled that talking to her has been extremely helpful, so she must hear me OK at this point.

It's funny, but she hasn't been so vocal in the mornings since I started talking to her at night.  Maybe she just felt left out, and senses now that she isn't.  That's a lot of reasoning to project onto her, but I'm just in awe of how quickly she responded to my talking to her at night!  I tried something else that worked when she comes in to my living room in the evenings while I'm watching TV.  She enters the room with the loud meows, and may stand on the floor beside where I'm sitting and complain.  I always pat the chair or sofa (my way of inviting her to sit beside me), but sometimes she continues to meow loudly.  I tried talking to her, instead, "Hello, Fancy!  Where have you been, sweetie pie?  Were you sleeping in the guest room?  I didn't realize that!    I should have invited you to come in the living room with Izzie and me!  Would you like to come up and sit by me?", and she literally seems to respond more quietly with each thing I say.  I used to talk to her like this just to see how long she would carry on a conversation, and I don't know why I ever stopped.  It's clearly something she liked, and she may have thought she was communicating.  Seriously, I'd ask if she'd been outside where it was cold (she has a cat door), and if I said something like, "I'm so sorry you got cold/the neighbor's dog barked at you/or something else, the tone in her voice seemed like it was responding to the sympathy in mine.  I just feel like a dunce that I forgot our conversations, and am so glad everyone has encouraged me to talk to her again.  This is clearly a cat who likes to communicate!!

Thanks, again, Betsygee!

Thanks, Di and Bob!!

You're absolutely right that something was wrong - as far as Fancy is concerned, anyway.  And, I think you're right about her wanting/needing more attention too.  When Blue was alive, she was almost aloof to me, since he was such a constant companion and nurturer.  He almost groomed her like a mother cat would!  Now she's needing or wanting that from me, and may have tried to get my attention by asking for it louder and louder!  I'm just glad she finally got my attention - I was getting really irritated by her complaints, and I'm sure it was evident in my tone.  I'm so glad this didn't go on any longer than it has - Fancy and I could have become enemies, instead of my finally realizing she just wanted more of me, and didn't want to feel forgotten (or less important than Izzie!).

Again, I know dogs can be quite different to cats, but friends and I learned the most unusual thing about my dog, Blue.  They kept Blue for me one day when I was working in their town, and thought he'd enjoy being with their dog.  He enjoyed their dog a lot, but at one point started growling at him.  This kept happening until they realized Blue was jealous of Buster!  As long as he got equal attention, including food or treats, he was friendly and playful.  But, if Buster got to go outside, or got anything Blue didn't get, he growled at him, to show he was upset.  I was floored, and had never seen or heard of this behavior.  I know I'm probably stretching things, but maybe I'm seeing something similar in Fancy - or at least, maybe Fancy is reminding me that the whole situation has changed for her.  She doesn't have Blue any more, there's this new dog, who is OK, but she doesn't know how to nuzzle up to her like Blue did, and she's just feeling left out and lonely in general.  That, I can fix!

The heating pad is a great idea, too.  Like Ritz, I've always appreciated Fancy's warmth in bed, especially when she curls up near my feet.  But, she will curl up right on top of a floor vent in the winter, so I feel certain she'd love a heating pad.  She might enjoy one in the living room, and one on my bed, too!  Someone's getting Christmas present I feel sure she will love!

Thanks, again, so much!  You folks are the greatest!!

Fancy's mom