It's Been awhile - New Cat Owner (again)

[angelkitty]

Hello everyone, well it's been awhile since I was a cat owner. Unfortunately I got very sick during my last pregnancy. and my two cats had to be rehomed. Was better for them. I was in and out of the hospital and bedrest (alone) for almost all 9 months and needless to say couldn't care for them. It's been a year now, and they found awesome homes and I still talk to the owners.. They are very happy, and it was very hard. My little boy is almost 1 year old, and we decided to adopt a cat.

Went to the shelter and we all decided on a younger cat. Not sure about this mind you i've always had older cats, but they were way to timid for 2 kids according to the shelter staff. So the young cat was perfect and able to handle my kids.. Her name is LouLou, she is beautiful, and full of spit and vinegar!

The issue I have is Night Craziness, and not the running and pouncing,,I could deal with that! The walking around for hours upon hours, like she's lost and missing something, crying and meowing and screaming sometimes. WHAT do I do?? I can't sleep, and everything I've read pertains more to craziness about running and stuff, that isn't the issue here.

What do i do???

 

[pat traufield]

This behavior could still be managed/modified just like the pouncing playing type of night crazies.

About 1/2 before your bedtime initiate a very vigorous play session. Use an interactive toy like the Da Bird and really get her going and moving. End the play session with a small toy she can capture. While she is capturing this toy prepare a high value evening meal for her - preferrably wet food. This will mimic stalking, catching and eating. This will help her sleep better.

You can also hide some treats around for her to find in the night.

This would also be a good time to rotate the cat toys you have out. Cat toys are much more fun if they are not all out all of the time.

 

[angelkitty]

Thanks for the info.. I'm gonna try that.. I've got 2 kids and she gets played with hard, and runs and jumps for almost 2 hours before bed, adn that doesn't wear her down!!

 

[nicolegray]

I'm guessing that the answer to this is yes, but are you sure that she's been spayed? This sounds a lot like how my cat acted when she went into heat (the vet couldn't tell if she'd been spayed or not when we adopted her, so we had to take a wait and see approach). She would wander the apartment calling and yowling all night.

My second thought would be that she might need a friend. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate as it is, but young cats especially (how old is she?) can really benefit from feline companionship.