nighttime meowing getting worse; not getting any sleep

barkleysjester

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Last night was the first night to really try the techniques and suggestions that I read yesterday in this thread to get Barkley to quit his nighttime antics. I placed all his toys in the middle of the floor in the living room, left some food out for him (which he ate as soon as I put it in the bowl!!
), and planned on ignoring him should he start yowling at the front door. I woke up this morning and he was sleeping peacefully on top of his and Petunia's makeshift "throne" by the window in the bedroom. I was preparing for the worst just in case and he reverted back to mommy's little angel, I hope this same routine works tonight as well. I also spent lots of time with him when I arrived home from work yesterday, I think that made him content and happy as well!
 
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bab-ush-niik

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If you've excluded physical causes and you know he's not hungry it sounds like he's just crying for attention - do you give him attention when he cries?
Yes, we've tried this. It doesn't stop him from meowing. We usually find a way to trap him in our bedroom so that at least he doesn't meow at the front door. It does seem to help more that he's just not next to the front door. He instead spends the time trying to leap the barricade. Once he's over, he meows again.

This is definitely not his "I want attention" meow. When he does that one, he does it from 6-8 am, and he jumps on the bed and meows in your face. We know what that one means. "Humans! Get up! I'm awake! Are you alive? Pet me!" The "I want attention" meow goes away as soon as we scratch his head. Then he goes back to sleep 30 seconds later. That's slightly annoying, but kinda cute (we think he's concerned that we're not alive).

What he's doing is meowing from midnight to 4 am at innanimate objects. Not normal...


Have you considered leash training him?
He is already leash trained. As I stated, he goes out twice a week for an hour each time, on a leash with us. During the day, he spends much of his awake time at the open windows (screens on).

How much noise can your cat really be making that it's bothering your neighbors?
If he meows at the front door, I can hear him in the hall outside. Our walls are thicker, but the doors are super thin and hollow. Most of my neighbors are grouchy and don't like to even say hi to people.

Does he have toys he can play with without you?
Plenty. He actually now has a toybox. He walks up to it and pulls out what he wants.

Sometimes if she wakes me up I'll wait til she leaves the room again and then open a window for her (pretending its not for her!) so she can watch the birdies.
Already do that.

Try this, cover all your windows where natural light will come through with a towel sheet or even a trash bag, and see if this will help.
Good idea. Problem is that with Puppy, he meows from 12-4. He does do the early morning wakeup sometime, but he quiets down as soon as we scratch his head. He just feels the need to check up on us in the morning. After that, he'll either watch the birdies outside or come back to bed. The problem is in that 12-4 timeframe.

*sigh* The vet finally called me back, and he was useless. He didn't even suggest all of the things I already tried; he only was like "Do you put food out for him? (yes, duh) Does he have enough toys? (he has a toy box!)" I asked him whether we should stop taking him outside, and he was like "oh, well, you could try it for a week." Arg. I know we'd have to try it for more than a week, cats have good memories. Vet: "Why don't you experiement with opening and closing the windows to make sure that's what he wants". Me: Wondering where this vet was when I said, 30 seconds prior, that Puppy loves open windows and jumps onto a windowsill as soon as he sees us go for the handle.

We're trying a cat tree next. I'm trying to bid on one we like (and that's big enough for our Puppy!) on eBay.

Does anyone know where I can get a retractable door? Like the kind you would use to keep toddlers/small dogs out of a room? Except I need a tall one that Pups can't jump over. I think that would help so that we could at least have a better barricade.
 

shadow_kitty

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That is the time frame i have the meowing too. what was happening is she was seeing the lights from the street and the little sun light and she thought it was time to play. If you get the light out 100% then they think it is time to sleep.

Now i dont know if barricading him would help any. but what you could do is get 2 baby gates from walmart and put them one on top of eachother in your bedroom door.
 

kluchetta

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Something not mentioned yet is the possibility of a hormonal imbalance. It might be a good idea to get a thyroid check done. One of the symptoms of hyperthyroid is nighttime meowing! This is usually a senior cat problem, and I don't know how old Puppy is, but it's a thought.
 

cflynt

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You mentioned that you do both play and food before bed, but you haven't specified the sequence. Do you give a high-protein snack AFTER play BEFORE bed?

Night-time (pre-bed) play simulates dusk hunting. Successful hunting leads to sleep in the wild -- so there has to be the payoff for the hunt. A high-protein snack fills the bill.

If you've already got this sequence going, then I have nothing new to offer, other than to second the allowing access to you in bed, not sweating it if the meows are only heard in your apartment, and NOT rewarding undesirable behavior. (And checking out hormonal things ...)

We are discussing a neutered animal, yes?
 

momof3rugratz

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Get a kitten tree and make a ton of foil balls and use catnip on toys or on milk lids. exercise him while you sleep lol.....Get him a friend...
 

barkleysjester

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He kept me up starting at 2am this morning with his incessant whining, crying, meowing, howling at the front door. I have tried everything, playing before bed, feeding before bed, lots of toys, etc. None of these things are working and Im really at the end of my rope. It's getting so bad that he is now disturbing Petunia because she is atop the bed with me sleeping when he starts at about that time and will wake up with this groggy look on her face and it's the cutest thing because she gives me this look like "Mommy, please make him stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I never thought about that thyroid issue. But I seriously doubt that he has a hormonal problem but then again maybe that wouldnt be a bad thing to have that checked out, he's due for his shots in a few weeks anyway.
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by BarkleysJester

He kept me up starting at 2am this morning with his incessant whining, crying, meowing, howling at the front door. I have tried everything, playing before bed, feeding before bed, lots of toys, etc. None of these things are working and Im really at the end of my rope. It's getting so bad that he is now disturbing Petunia because she is atop the bed with me sleeping when he starts at about that time and will wake up with this groggy look on her face and it's the cutest thing because she gives me this look like "Mommy, please make him stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I never thought about that thyroid issue. But I seriously doubt that he has a hormonal problem but then again maybe that wouldnt be a bad thing to have that checked out, he's due for his shots in a few weeks anyway.
Hmmm...it sounds like he wants out. I wonder if there's something that happens at that time of night that's attracting him - mice, birds, insects - whatever. I can think of two or three things - what about a white noise machine by the front door that would mask whatever sounds he's hearing? Do you have a washer and dryer? Sometimes that calms cats down, just the rhythm and warmth. Or, there is a video and/or CD called the Catsitter (I think) that has all sorts of birds and stuff for the cats to watch on tv. Maybe it would distract him. (If you can stand having the TV on at that time of night.)
 

barkleysjester

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

Hmmm...it sounds like he wants out. I wonder if there's something that happens at that time of night that's attracting him - mice, birds, insects - whatever. I can think of two or three things - what about a white noise machine by the front door that would mask whatever sounds he's hearing? Do you have a washer and dryer? Sometimes that calms cats down, just the rhythm and warmth. Or, there is a video and/or CD called the Catsitter (I think) that has all sorts of birds and stuff for the cats to watch on tv. Maybe it would distract him. (If you can stand having the TV on at that time of night.)
Im thinking it is totally a cry for attention but then I say "how much attention does one cat need/want?" Petunia doesnt do any of this because she is more times than not asleep right up underneath me and I dont think she likes it either. The reason why I think it is all attention seeking behavior is because as soon as I am woken up by this and he hears me stirring he immediately stops his whining and comes trotting into the bedroom as if to say "Oh good, youre up". I almost have to go to bed around 6pm everynight so that by the time 2am rolls around I will have atleast 8 hrs of sleep under my belt.

And that is another thing that I notice, the earlier I go to bed the earlier he starts his noise making. When I have to work the next day I normally go to bed between 8 and 9pm, he starts whining about 2am. If I stay up later on a night when I do not have to awaken at 4am the next morning then he usually does not start until 6am or so. Either way it is turning into a seven day a week thing instead of only on occasion and Im at my wits end.

At this point I am willing to try anything in hopes of seeing improvement, I wouldnt mind the tv being on but if it isnt the game show network or CNN he wont sit still for more than 2 or 3 seconds. Bottom line I just want to know that when I lay down at night I will not be awakened an hour or two later by his crying at the door.

Thanks for the suggestion about the white noise box, wondering now where I might find one of those!
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by BarkleysJester

Thanks for the suggestion about the white noise box, wondering now where I might find one of those!
I think they sell them for babies - so maybe Babies R Us? Or Target? (I haven't had a little one for a while, LOL) Also I leave Animal Planet on for the cats sometimes when I go to work...

It does sound like he has separation anxiety or something. Sounds like he doesn't know what to do with himself after about 4 - 6 hours. Hmmm...
 

barkleysjester

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On the days that I work I leave in the morning about 5am and do not come back until about 6pm or so. He is home all day with Petunia but Im more than sure she sleeps most of the day and then by the time I come home in the evening it's almost time for me to retire for the night and get in bed to do it all over again the next day. Ive had this schedule since roughly Oct of last year and Im now wondering if the fairly new schedule is throwing him off like that and making him react that way. I will look into that machine, it might work!
 
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bab-ush-niik

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Something not mentioned yet is the possibility of a hormonal imbalance. It might be a good idea to get a thyroid check done. One of the symptoms of hyperthyroid is nighttime meowing! This is usually a senior cat problem, and I don't know how old Puppy is, but it's a thought.
Thanks kluchetta! Our vet didn't mention this, so I'll ask. Puppy is just over a year old, but it's worth checking.

Thanks for the white noise idea, too. Not only might it put him to sleep, but it should help US get some sleep too! My bf is taking care of Puppy all alone right now (I'm away on business), so he's handling the whole thing alone! He gets woken up 4-5 times a night, so he'll appreciate it.

We have found that the barricade is helping. Once it's up, Puppy will first try to pull it down, then have one last meowing session, then he'll stop. He doesn't sleep right away, but instead he decides to play with his toys and look out the window. He finally curls on the bed at dawn.

We haven't tried starting the night with the barricade up, but we're trying that next. We aren't sure if the barricade is actually working or if he just happens to stop by the time we decide to put it up. We'll find out soon enough.

BarkleysJester, have you tried preventing Barkley from reaching the front door? It does seem to be helping a little if we can keep Puppy away from it. I think he understands that it's the only way out and that there's not point in meowing at other doorways or windows. I'll keep posted on how this works out.

And the new cat tree is shipping out this week! It's going into our bedroom. I hope it keeps him entertained!
 

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What worked in the past with my spoiled fatty was simply ignoring him. I used earplugs, and after approximately a week, he stopped trying to bother me and started sleeping all the night through.
 

barkleysjester

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Originally Posted by bab-ush-niik

BarkleysJester, have you tried preventing Barkley from reaching the front door? It does seem to be helping a little if we can keep Puppy away from it. I think he understands that it's the only way out and that there's not point in meowing at other doorways or windows. I'll keep posted on how this works out.
I have not tried preventing Barkley from reaching the front door as of yet. Last night about 30 mins before bedtime for me, I played 15-20 mins with him and Petunia at the same time, I wore him out to say the least!!! As far as I know he slept the night away or was atleast quiet because I didnt hear him .

I too have looked into buying a cat tree/condo, some of those things are really cute! The one that I saw I think would keep Barkley entertained. I do not have to report to work tomorrow morning so it will be interesting to see how he reacts tonight.


Going back to keeping him from the front door. At one time I had a divider that closed off the living room from the bedroom and on occasion he would attempt to jump over it, climb on it and knock it over, etc. Then one day I came home from work and the divider was literally hanging by one hinge. Somehow he had been working at it off and on and managed to break it free from it's holding. Barkley, as Im sure most if not all cats, does not like to be closed in for more than a minute or two. That divider was the main thing I was using to keep him in the bedroom with me but he likes to roam freely so that didnt hold for very long.
 
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