12-year-old kitty with kidney disease is despondant and yowling and meowing ALL the time

I have an approximately 12-yr-old mixed breed, black cat adopted as a stray about 6 years ago. She has recently been tested positive for kidney disease and (as a result) anemia with her vet, and put on the special k/d diet and is being given Kidney Support Gold herbal supplements. She is doing better physically as a result of this change, but there are some additional problems. A few years ago she started yowling occasionally in the small hours of the morning when she was awake but we weren't. Since then, it has not stopped, and now she yowls or meows (usually in a very loud pleading manner in the middle of the night, but now also at all hours during the day). She'll do it after she eats, while she sits at her water bowl, before and after visiting the litter box (freshly cleaned or otherwise), and right after settling into her chosen bed location for the time. In other words, there's no specific time/place/event that triggers it, but she does it every night without fail. She always does it when neither of us are in her line of vision; if I step up behind her she'll say meow? and stop. But as soon as she thinks she's alone again, she'll start up again. I haven't gotten an unbroken night's sleep almost an entire year straight because of this, and I'm worried about her well-being as I always am. I work very early in the morning until evening and my boyfriend works graveyard shifts, but we lavish as much affection on her as we can when we're home. She used to be relatively playful, but now she almost never is (except at about 5 a.m., and only then for a very short time). We've never had another pet share her space.

She is older, very shy, and not used to people aside from my boyfriend and I. We rarely have company. If anyone unfamiliar comes over, she will hide under the bed, but she is very comfortable with her surroundings and us otherwise. There is also a neighbor's cat that we're friends with, who will come to our front door--I'll crack the door so they can sniff at one another and be friendly for a few seconds before the other cat walks away; they haven't shown any signs of aggression. In fact, it seems like my cat really wants to go outside to see what's going on (she has her claws, but she's shy and we're right next to the highway so she's just not going out). When I try to initiate play, she'll ignore her toy and either just sit there or walk up to me and try to nuzzle my nose most of the time.

My question is, given all this history and continued lack of interest in most everything, would it be a good idea to search for a younger male companion for her? I feel like she is lonely and depressed and I hate knowing there is little I can do to change that no matter what I do. I've been thinking about this for a while, but I want to be sure for the sake of everyone involved. I live in a small apartment, but there is room for another smaller litter box in the utility room (where hers is) only.

Has anyone else here been through something similar to this? Or if you can offer me some experienced advice, I would appreciate immensely!!

Thanks so much in advance.

keep in mind that everything i'm about to say is only my opinion based on experiences with cats i've known and lived with.

HK is our current cat.  he was diagnosed years ago with kidney disease and is 18 years old.  he hollers the same way your cat does when i'm asleep.  sometimes it seems like he just wants acknowledgement, sometimes he does it when he's a bit queasy, which can be treated with pepcid or anti-nausea meds.  at that point, he mows less but he still usually wakes me up at least once - a week ago, he broke his record by waking me up every hour, but luckily i've become better at going back to sleep.

is it possible your cat's vision is getting worse?

as far as bringing in a companion, that could go well or poorly depending on the cats involved.  your cat may feel very territorial about her people and her home, and bringing in a new cat could make her very insecure and unhappy.  there are LOTS of threads about that happening on this board.  i've never had these problems when i brought in a new pet, but i wouldn't do it with an aged cat.  i'm nervous about bringing in a male, as the ones i've had with females are very bossy and pushy with the female cats, which i hate.  i've done better with two females together.  others have had different experiences.

is there a cat you could foster who would also be available for adoption if the cats get along well? 

Hi basschick.

It's interesting that you bring up declining vision, because I've noticed she does seem to react to a lot of things less quickly than she used to. We do leave a string of lights on in the night and morning so she's never in total darkness, but it doesn't seem to affect how much she bawls. Her balance isn't as good lately either; though I've brought this up with her vet and apparently it's another wonderful effect of her kidney issues...

Thank you for your response and insights. I appreciate it! And the trial adoption is a good idea--I'll keep that in mind as a possibility for the future. I'll have to do a little research in the meantime to see what kind of local programs there are.

Thanks again and take care!

we always keep a light on for HK.  he's less sure of his jumping, and wants to be able to see clearly where he's jumping up to.

are you sure it's a balance issue?  HK has wasting thighs from his kidney disease, and also some numbness in his paws, which the vet said is normal for cats his age.  as a result, he sometimes wobbles over or has a variety of stability issues.

best of luck to your cat and you!