vocal cat need some help

My cat is about 16 years old. Lately she has been very vocal (meows) alot. The problem is when I am trying to sleep. She is fine if she can sleep on you, but that is not very pratical. She was an out side cat for years with the freedom to go in and out. Now she is mainly a inside cat because I moved. She has been drinking water for a while and a lot of it. However she want drink out of a bowl. I am not sure what to do but i am losing sleep. Any help would be great

I would take her the vet first of all to rule out any health problems. She is getting older so it may well be age related, I gather that cats sometimes meow if they are going deaf, or it may just be that her eyesite is getting worse and she doesn't like the dark unless she has you for safety. How about leaving a night light on for her?

Try not to react at all to her meows, she wants you to notice her and ANY reaction, positive or negative, is giving her what she wants. If you ignore her, she may realise it's futile and give up (this is of course after you have taken her to the vet and ruled out anything nasty!)

If she's drinking a lot of water (from wherever) I do think you should bring her in to be seen.

It is always a good idea when a cat changes behavior or pattern to take them in and be vet checked. For her, I would suggest you make an appointment and ask the vet to run a Senior Panel to see if anything is out of wack.

Please take her to a vet to be checked. My Juniper started loud meowing when he was 16, and I didn't take much notice, just fed him and tried to keep him quiet. Then when he went in for his check-up we found he had advanced cancer of the jaw. I took a long time to come to terms with the fact that he was trying to tell me something and I ignored him.

I had an experience years ago similar to jennyranson ... I had an elderly cat who began drinking a lot, peeing a lot and vocalizing a lot. I chalked it up to the fact it was summer and the weather was warmer, so she was drinking more. Because she was drinking more, she was peeing more. She was vocalizing because at the time, I was just starting a new business and wasn't spending as much time at home with her as I had been previously.

When it became obvious to me (when the weather got cooler, I was home more often and still, her symptoms didn't change) that something was really wrong, she was in a crisis stage of advanced diabetes and renal failure. I lost her within two months.

Please get your baby in to be seen ASAP. At her age, these are signs that something is wrong.

~gf~