Constant Meowing slowly driving me mad...

My cat is constantly meowing and behaving badly in an attempt to get more food outside of his regular feeding times (3x a day, on a fixed schedule). He wakes me up at 4am and doesn't stop until i get so mad I get up to feed him so he shuts up (which, ofcourse, encourages him)...I try to ignore him but then he hops on my bed and licks and bites me until I get out of bed to feed him (he bugged me from 4am to 5:30am!). If I lock him out of my room, he sits outside our doors, yowling and scratching. He knows he is being bad because as soon as I make ANY move towards him (angry or otherwise), he tears away to his food dish!

If my roommate comes home before I do and feeds him, he begs me shortly after I arrive as though he is starving and has not eaten...It's ridiculous!

My old roommate just moved out, and took her cat with her so I am sure the stress and anxiety of this has added to the issue...but he has done this for months before she moved out...It is getting rapidly worse...short of making him into a new fur neckwarmer, i'm desperate ;)

I need to find resolution as both my roommate and I are losing major amounts of sleep and since I don't believe in giving away an animal with behavioural issues until EVERY treatment options has been observed we will continue to be sleep deprived! I don't want my little buddy to be stressed, just happy! I really loathe getting upset with him, and want us to get back to a loving relationship again!

HELP!

*Note* after receiving some helpful posts I decided to add in some additional information. He was abandoned about 5 years ago, and was OBESE (25 lbs). I have got him down to 21 over 5 years, and he generally gets played with every day *unless my schedule demands a late night*. He was checked for tapeworms, etc. a year ago, but I suppose my old roommates cat could have passed one on to him. He's generally fat and sassy, and super affectionate when he is being a good boy! The constant need for attention with meowing and bugging me in bed isn't a new development, and yes he has trained ME! Time to turn the tables! I am human, hear me purroar! More feedback, please!

Hmmm, it seems as though his food is not satisfying for him. Did you have your vet look at him to be sure there are no health issues? Has he lost weight? When I first got Peeka and Boo, they both had tape worms and weren't thin at all but their appetites were insatiable. Got that taken care of and they started eating normally. Just a thought.

Blessings,
Mary

I agree with Medusa: take him to the vet. There may be some health problems that you don't know about. Also, if there's nothing wrong with him, then maybe the vet could give you some advice on the subject. Just a thought.
Good luck!!!

You don't say if your cat is overweight or not, nor if he is eating dry food or canned..

With the facts you have presented, and no apparent illness/distress, I would say that I would feed him dry cat food in a feeder bin as long as he is not significantly overweight. He may well just be hungry, especially if he is active.. Cats usually will not over-eat (unlike humans). Some cats become obese, but that usually means that they are not getting enough exercise, or they have a medical problem.

If he has a tapeworm problem, he will likely be very underweight and constantly hungry.

This should stop the problem of his yowling at all hours to be fed. Remember that cats are nocturnal creatures by nature, and so wanting to be fed in the night is not really unusual.

hope that helps.

That sounds unbearable, but you know, he's in the process of training you. ;) Have you tried feeding him right before you go to bed? Perhaps give him a bit more than usual. If this doesn't help, I agree he should see a vet, in case it's worms.

If there's nothing wrong, you'll have to ignore him during the night as best as you can, but be sure to give him lots of attention and cuddles whenever you can in the daytime.

Good luck! Hope you get a full nights sleep soon. :)

I made a few additional notes about my furball in my original post, which might help you further determine what my next step is :)

Maybe it isn't an issue of your cat not getting enough food. Maybe he's just not getting the right nutrition. Cats have dietary requirements that most dry cat food fail to meet.

Check out a good article on the subject: Here

My vet tells me that the best diet for a cat is a raw diet, but the next best is the Chicken Soup brand cat food. Anyone have experience with that brand?

I used Science Diet brand food for 12 years and 9 cats. Recommended by my vet, and I 'thought' I had no problems.

I adopted a bichon last month (Dec 2006) and she was eating Chicken Soup brand at her foster home. She refused to eat Science Diet, and she refused to eat Nutro Natural Choice, so I found a place to buy the Chicken Soup brand. Did some quick on-line research, and changed the cats over as well.

The Chicken Soup brand costs a bit more. The cats are ALL EATING LESS. The pudgy ones are trimming down. They are more active. On Science Diet I had to feed them - yeah, HAD to feed them - 5 and 6 times per day. Had the same meowing you are describing. Now, everyone eats twice per day,* dog and cats. No more pestering for food from any of the cats. The cats have been on the "new" food for 5 weeks. I am VERY pleased with the switch.

You have not mentioned which brand of food you are using. Maybe look into a higher quality food. Chicken Soup, Merrick, Old Mother Hubbard, Fromms and Canidae are a few of the better ones.


* I have one 15 year old cat with almost no teeth and hyperthyroid. She eats 4 times per day. Different circumstances for her, I accept that.

Definitely check out a change of food....then trot over to your hardware store and invest in some foam earplugs. They should be right beside the power tools!

But seriously, could be as simple as good nutrition.

i know how you feel eddie doe's it constantly dad goe's mad :mad: wakes every body up brother's go mad and mom goe's mad i think im quite fortunate i dont hear him :D if i were you ide take him to the vets get him/her checked or just try keeping up to date on worming him/her