Meowing Problem, Please Help!

elaine360

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I'm having a problem with my 16 year old cat who came to live with me recently. He was staying at my mother's house outdoors all the time. Now he's at my apartment and he's an indoor/outdoor cat but he's supposed to be only an outdoor cat, per the landlord. I keep him locked in my bedroom all night, however, he meows frequently and is keeping me awake most of the night. Even when I pet him & give him lots of attention, he still wants to get out of the bedroom. He has access to food, water & the litter box in the bedroom. I can't keep him outdoors at night as he will wake up the neighbors by meowing wanting in the house & they may complain. When he first came to my house, he seemed to be OK at night, only needing a little attention. But it's gotten to the point where I only get a couple hours of sleep a night. Any suggestions?
 

misclaims

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Please take Kitty to the vet---my beloved Bear did that same howling & it turned out to be thyroid which they can treat. It makes them quite manic and howling is all part of the behaviour that exhibited with this!

Good luck!
 

cloud_shade

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An older kitty could definitely have a thyroid issue. I highly recommend a senior panel of bloodwork. In addition to ruling out current problems with the thyroid or the kidneys, it provides a good baseline for comparison if a problem were to arise in the future.

Another possibility is that he is losing his sight or hearing. Some older cats will start calling out because they are trying to orient themselves to the other people in the house.

Finally, you might benefit from establishing a night-time routine. Play with your kitty to tire him out a little while before bed. When you're done getting ready for bed, tell him it's bedtime and then turn out the light. It might take a little while, but the routine will probably help.
 
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elaine360

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I'm having a problem with my 16 year old cat. He used to live at my mom's house and was strictly outdoors. Now he's living with me at my apartment, outdoors during the day and indoors at night. The problem is he wakes me up every night at 5 am or earlier wanting to be fed (wet food). He will not stop meowing until I get up and feed him even if I try to ignore him. He sleeps in my room at night with the door closed (I have a roommate) and always has access to water and dry food. In the morning, I feed him outside and then he meows for about an hour wanting to come back inside. He has to stay outside while I'm at work. This is driving me crazy and probably the neighbors as well. I had him checked out by the vet thinking he may have a problem with his thyroid, but his thyroid is fine. His kidneys are not functioning up to par due to his age, but nothing serious at this point. Any advice would be appreciated.
 

hissy

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Why do you have an older cat outside during the day? If he has health conditions leaving him indoors would be the better bet for him. Is he destructive or something? Has he had a senior panel drawn on him lately? He could be just getting senile and not be able to find you at night- try burning a night light- other than that IF you know he is healthy (relatively) been to the vet recently- keep him indoors and ignore him when he cries. If you know he is healthy. I know i am repeating myself but that is crucial when cats get to the double digits. He may be trying to tell you something, and it isn't "hey lady, I want food!"
 

hissy

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I merged your threads duplicate posting is not allowed here.
 

snoony

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I too have a 16 yr old who was meowing a lot. It turned out it was a bladder and ear problem. Once treated, she is much quieter even though she still cries for attention.
 
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