Yowling....

My cat started yowling when she became elderly at 17.
She also was deaf starting around that age.
I thought maybe she couldnt hear herself so she went up and up on pitch to get louder to herself (which didnt work of course). She also only yowled when she couldnt see anyone else in the room. If we walked into her field of vision while she was yowling she would stop mid-yowl and be silent.

Yeah....hearing was my first thought, too.

Shadow yowls when hes lonely and wants attention... its better now that we got finnegan because he'll yowl, fin will go to him and then they'll play... lol its like he's calling him to come!

I don't think it is because she is lonely, she has Bootsie out there with her. I don't know about her starting to get deaf, cause she still 'listens' when I speak to her.

Oh well, maybe it is just that she is getting in her golden years. When she starts I have been just tapping at the door and she stops, I guess I'll just continue doing that. She is a sweet cat when she isn't 'yowling'.

Ana

It is possible that the yowling could be an indication of a health issue. My suggestion would be to have her in to see her vet and request a full geriatric panel with thyroid and organ function.

Thank you gayef! I just got off the phone with a vet down the street from me that my friends use (mine if farther away). I have Lucky scheduled for a full blood panel & grooming (she is a long-haired cat) on Tuesday

I do appreciate everyone's help

Ana

Ana, please let us know how it goes? I have a very, very soft place in my heart for the oldies ... I cared for 3 geriatric diabetic cats over the course of 6 years and I just found their company so extremely gentle and appreciative of my efforts with them. Not at all like youngsters.

I will keep my thoughts positive for a clean bill of health and hope for this to be just a passing thing for your Lucky kitty.

~gf~

Hi Gayef ,

Well, I took Lucky into the Vets on Tuesday AM...do I need to mention all the yelling and panting (yes panting!) that took place for the 10 minute drive??? Anyhow, I spoke to the gals at the desk describing the Yowling and they looked me square in the face and said "She is in heat". Imagine my surprise! Never would have thought...she is 13-15 years old! The last time I had a cat in heat was over 25-30 years ago!

So I told them "okay, do the blood panel work, groom her and get her spayed". Well, I called today to find out what time Lucky would be spayed (they couldn't do it yesterday as I had fed her breakfast...who knew) and the gal told me "oh, she doesn't need to be spayed, she already is"....OY!!!!!!!!!!! This is the main reason WHY I prefer talking to Drs when I go to the Vets office!

So I then asked "Well, then why is she yowling? Have the results come back from the blood panel?" I was told that she would have the Dr. call me back. Of course, when the call came in, I was away from the phone. I got a voice mail from the original gal I spoke with earlier and she stated that the Dr. said that Lucky has hyperthyroidism...big surprise for me, I thought she had that awhile back when she was loosing weight like crazy. So the Dr is going to give me medication to give to Lucky...boy won't that be fun

The Dr also believes that that is why Lucky has been yowling...
Any thoughts?

Ana

Originally Posted by gayef

Ana, please let us know how it goes? I have a very, very soft place in my heart for the oldies ... I cared for 3 geriatric diabetic cats over the course of 6 years and I just found their company so extremely gentle and appreciative of my efforts with them. Not at all like youngsters.

I will keep my thoughts positive for a clean bill of health and hope for this to be just a passing thing for your Lucky kitty.

~gf~

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Ana -- yes, I think you're right on target there. Also, your experience with your vet shows the benefit of an informed cat caretaker when dealing with health problems and vets. Good for you!!

the cat I spoke of in my previous post...was also a hyperthyroid. I didnt put it together. Advanced age, yowling, and hyperthyroidism all came at the same time roughly.

Hey Tim,

Thank you for the

Luckily, this isn't my normal Vet...mine is actually a 20 minute drive from my house. But since Lucky has been to this Vet before, I wanted to go where her records were... Needless to say, I'm glad I didn't start out taking my indoor kitties there

Our babies depend on us...we have to ask the questions they can't

Originally Posted by coaster

Ana -- yes, I think you're right on target there. Also, your experience with your vet shows the benefit of an informed cat caretaker when dealing with health problems and vets. Good for you!!

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My cat was 12 when she started yowling - it was a HUGE surprise to start hearing that all of a sudden from our quiet kitty and like you, my cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. She may also have a minor heart murmer. That is another symptom that my cat had. Molly was on the medication for a few years with no problems. We gave her a liquid med that came in a few different flavors.

Interesting isn't it? When I started to do research on Hyperthyroidism, yowling came up as one of the symptoms Why it didn't come up in the Google search when I put in Yowling I'll never know.

I did find a Yahoo! Group on Felines with Hyperthyroidism..may have even seen it somewhere here in this site...it is called feline-hyperT. They have been very helpful in the area of medical advise and questions I should ask about meds & such.

I started Lucky on her Hyperthyroid medication (2.5 mg - 1/2 pill of 5 mg) last night, so far no yowling, but she also seems to need Feline Cardiac Support. I am still waiting for the doctor to call me back to see why Lucky is on that. My poor little baby, I'm at work, but all I think about is her. I just want to be at home to spend time with her

Luckily my husband is designing a camera software, so hopefully over the weekend we can install our cameras on the back & front porch so that I can log in and keep an eye on her

I did want to also add to this thread that I am very happy to have met all of you, between you all and the Yahoo! Group, I feel that I have some special people in my life to help me out with my babies

Ana

Originally Posted by CDubbie

the cat I spoke of in my previous post...was also a hyperthyroid. I didnt put it together. Advanced age, yowling, and hyperthyroidism all came at the same time roughly.

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I'm so glad that you found out why your kitty was yowling. And I'm sure your kitty will feel much better now.

I'm glad this is all figured out!

My kitty was diagnosed with the hyper thyroid and heart murmur at 16 or 17.
She stayed with us (yowling) until age 22.
I'm glad you are taking such good care of kitty!

I have a problem with my16 year old cat who is also hyperthyroid...she's been on medication for 2 months now and is doing well but the latest thing she does is come into our bedroom at 1:00 am, wide awake and sit on the bed and cry constantly. Called my vet and he is suggesting anti-anxiety medication... any comments from anyone?

Close the bedroom door?

You mentioned that your cat still yowled...guess what Lucky yowled this morning at 4:20am..so I let her in and she stopped... I just picked up the blood test results and found that she is taking the Feline Cardiac Support for her muscles, her CK (or CPK) is 3526; the norm for this is 64-440 U/L, so hopefully this supplement will help with that

Ana

Originally Posted by CDubbie

I'm glad this is all figured out!

My kitty was diagnosed with the hyper thyroid and heart murmur at 16 or 17.
She stayed with us (yowling) until age 22.
I'm glad you are taking such good care of kitty!

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Wow...sounds alot like Lucky, but with Lucky, when we talk to her she does stop..

Out of curiosity, do you know how long she cries for? Lucky was doing it 3-4 times about 7-15 seconds a pop. But she would stop after that.

I'll look about and see what I find out for you...

Ana

Originally Posted by Fashioncat

I have a problem with my16 year old cat who is also hyperthyroid...she's been on medication for 2 months now and is doing well but the latest thing she does is come into our bedroom at 1:00 am, wide awake and sit on the bed and cry constantly. Called my vet and he is suggesting anti-anxiety medication... any comments from anyone?

Click to expand...