I got the results of her bloodwork today and she is in great health. the vet said there is nothing medically wrong with her, aside from the asthma and arthritis with which we are already aware. He said that she might be suffering from senility and there isn't much we can do for her.
So, we've decided to increase her before bedtime playing to tucker her out as much as possible. If she still can't sleep through the night, or let us sleep through the night, then we'll put her in the second bedroom.
I was hoping for some recommendations on behavior modification techniques, but if she is senile, then she can't help it and my DH and I will just have to suck it up and deal with her yowling. Thinking back on all of the wonderful time and love this little kitty has given us, it is the least we can do for her.
For those of you that experienced this same issue in your elderly cats that was NOT medically related, was there anything that lessened the crying? Did your kitty seem to suffer from the dementia and was uncomfortable? I hate to think of our sweet little lady in any discomfort.
Yes, we had the same issue and while our 18yo cat did eventually die of kidney disease, we're pretty sure it was not the kidney disease that had her howling at night.
Here's what we did (with the help of a night-owl house guest, bless her!).
There was a plush swivel chair that our cat liked a lot. We put a blanket on it and every night we pushed it up in front of the computer (mostly blocking her escape with the arms - she could have got down if she needed, but it was just a little more effort). We then put on a iTunes list we'd created especially for her.
Creating the list took a bit of trial and error over many nights. Basically we'd play songs and as long as she was quiet the songs stayed on the list. When she started to wail, we'd remove that song. Presently we noticed that she preferred a steady, rhythmic beat and we got better at guessing which songs she'd like (a lot of ABBA, as it turned out!).
Before bed, we'd lift her up and put her on the chair (same time, every night!). For the first while, I'd have to sit with her until she fell asleep, in order to ensure she didn't get out of the chair. Then I'd sneak off to bed with the music playing (quietly) on a constant loop.
That cut down on the panicky howling in a huge way. Sometimes we'd still hear her grumble when the music would go silent for a moment between songs, but as soon as it started up, she'd settle down again.
Basically, we think that when the house was dark and quiet she would get lost and think she was all alone. Then she'd howl for company. And then we'd yell at her to, "Shut up!" But because she was... well, brain-dead, she couldn't understand that if she just stayed with us in the bedroom she'd be fine. Nope, as soon as we tried to go back to sleep she'd wander away and then panic and start yowling again.
So we came up with the music as a way of convincing her that she wasn't alone.
BTW - I would NOT recommend increasing her before bed playtime to wear her out. She has arthritis. You want to make the time before bed as quiet and peaceful as you can, and also make sure the house is warm (cold really bothered our arthritic kitty - by the end we were keeping a space heater next to her chair). Don't wind her up. Encourage her to relax, instead. Otherwise you're super-exciting all evening, and then suddenly you disappear and she's all alone, and her joints are aching.
Does she happen to be a silver tabby? My Bailey got her name because her tummy fuzz is exactly the color of Bailey's Irish Cream, lol!
Mine has also been a night-owl her entire life, so being up during the night isn't new. I wondered about that - is being awake at night new for your kitty? Mine definitely doesn't show signs of discomfort; the crying is always a signal of wanting something specific and once all of those specifics have been covered, she's satisfied and quiets down.
Same here!
