Night Warbler...how to curb...help!

[Lorifrances]

My 13 year old Himalayan cat has taken to incessant meowing that starts around 4:30 in the morning, sometimes earlier. I keep him, Gizmo, in a room at night (a large family room) because if we don't, he wanders throughout the house and will serenade some unfortunate soul that has their door closed.
Usually this arrangement works out fine but lately Gizmo has a demanding, loud meowing that reverberates throughout the house and goes on for a LONG time. It's making everyone kind of annoyed and tired. Gizmo has everything he needs in this family room, water, food etc. and even his own place to sleep. And it doesn't help if I let him into my room, after a few minutes he resumes his meowing.

Is there any type of holistic or natural type of formula that I could give Gizmo at night to help calm him down? I've heard that sometimes elderly cats get loud at night for no reason. Any suggestions would be very appreciated!
Thanks, Lori

[StuBone]

You could try giving him some beer. Otherwise it is clear he sees ghosts and/or has been reincarnated. Respect!

[Medusa]

My Specs does the same thing but not at the same time every morning. He's two floors down when he does it, so I just wait for him to stop but I imagine that the rest of my Fur Posse doesn't appreciate it either. Sorry, I don't have any suggestions for you, just understanding.

[Pinot's Mom]

My Specs does the same thing but not at the same time every morning. He's two floors down when he does it, so I just wait for him to stop but I imagine that the rest of my Fur Posse doesn't appreciate it either. Sorry, I don't have any suggestions for you, just understanding.

Same here; Pinot starts anywhere from 3:30 - 5 am. It's not always, but enough of the time that I, as well, feel your pain. Pinot is not kept out of anywhere in the house, so she's not trying to get into any room. The only thing we've found is that, since she usually sleeps with us, if we bring her up to the bedroom when we go to bed, the chances are LESS that this will happen. I'm not saying it's foolproof, but it sometimes works. Good luck!

[lvpets2002]

Beer.. I have never heard of doing that.. Do you give your baby Chloe beer??

You could try giving him some beer. Otherwise it is clear he sees ghosts and/or has been reincarnated. Respect!

[kb2yjx]

Have you had Gizmo'e hearing checked lately??? If the cat cannot hear, they do not know they are meowing/holwing. Our Ralph would be the " Town Crier " every morning at 0400. Most of the time, I slept thru the 0400 " All's well." If I did hear Ralph's cry, I would tell him " Thanks, Ralph, everything is OK." You might actually get use to the loud meowing, and sleep thru it all!!! Good luck!!!

[GILL]

Closed doors are our problem. Any one separated by a door cries. We also have too have our love sessions before we go too sleep. If not one or more will cry until we pay attention. Then things will settle down for the rest of the night. Mit's is the only one that does not cry, he gives me "wet willies". Believe me I would rather have the crying. There is no way you can sleep through a wet nose and a very load purr in the ear.

[lvpets2002]

John your too funny.. You mean you dont like "wet willies"?? Oh yes I already hear ya about the closed door thing.. I dont even get to close the bathroom door.. Now I get to close the shower door if bathing = only if I open every so often.. I will have at least 3 babies standing & waiting for me to come out..

Closed doors are our problem. Any one separated by a door cries. We also have too have our love sessions before we go too sleep. If not one or more will cry until we pay attention. Then things will settle down for the rest of the night. Mit's is the only one that does not cry, he gives me "wet willies". Believe me I would rather have the crying. There is no way you can sleep through a wet nose and a very load purr in the ear.

[Lorifrances]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm happy to note that things were a little bit quieter last night. My sister had the suggestion of making it colder at night since my cat has a lot of fur. Plus I used a few drops of a flower remedy called Calm & Relax mixed in with some of his wet food. Hopefully the same results can be mimicked tonight!

[rosethecopycat]

Please rule out hyperthyroidism and hypertension before going for the behavioral and using remedies. You'll just be spinning your wheels and wasting $ if it is medically based.

Good luck
Rose

From the internet:


Night-time yowling is a very common problem in older cats. Like many symptoms, it has multiple causes. Many older cats have more than one of the listed problems, so it is important to carefully consider the possibility of all of them in an affected cat.

Hyperthyroidism is the most commonly reported inducer of this behavior and is also the most likely medical cause in a cat that is on the young side when the behavior occurs. This is relatively easy to test for but it can take more than one test, in some instances, to confirm the diagnosis. Usually cats with hyperthyroidism have increased activity levels and are eating more but not gaining weight.

Hypertension (high blood pressure), normally associated with kidney failure, can cause night time yowling. Or at least treatment for hypertension sometimes decreases night time yowling --- it is hard to be sure that the medication doesn't have a beneficial effect separate from the lowering of blood pressure unless accurate blood pressure monitoring is done.

Cats appear to be affected by decreases in their ability to see and to hear in a manner that induces yowling at night. There is a theory that this produces anxiety and that yowling is the result. Some cats do respond to anti-anxiety medications such as diazepam (Valium Rx) or amitriptyline (Elavil Rx).

Cats also seem to get cognitive disorders similar to those experienced by dogs and humans, in which confusion, loss of orientation and other signs of decreased mental ability occur. This may lead to night time yowling, as well. The currently recommended treatment for this is to try selegiline (Anipryl RX). This medication isn't approved for cats (but then neither are diazepam or amitriptyline) and there is less proof that a condition responsive to it exists in cats than there is in dogs.

[Catty1]

A checkup at the vet couldn't hurt.