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- Jan 17, 2006
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I apologize for the length of this post, I thought it might be helpful if you had as much info as possible.
On my table is a prescription for Xanax for our cat, Puppy. Our vet said that his problems are either neurological or behavioral, but if it is behavioral, it is beyond his capability. Hence the prescription. He suggested we could talk with a behaviorist, but he made it sound like we might end up using the prescription anyway.
Puppy meows a LOT. His meowing is not at anyone or anything. He wanders is circles between rooms and meows. Before we lived in this house, we were in an apartment. There were no circles over there since it was a 1 bedroom apartment, so he would sit in a corner and meow at the wall. His eyes are dilated when this happens. This happens at night and day, but obviously, we are more annoyed at night.
We have to chase him down to catch him. When we get him, he purrs madly. There are two ways to calm him down. Option one is to hover over him. Then he'll lay his head down on a hand, purr, and slowly calm down. This only works if he is meowing mildly. Option 2 is to lock him into a single room. Usually, he goes into the third floor or the bathroom. If he's having a really tough night, he'll still meow, but this usually works. We used to lock him in our bedroom, but since we got Bunny, he meows if he's in there with her (and she meows WORSE if she can't sleep with us).
When the meowing is really bad, it doesn't sound like he breathes between meows. These are the nights when he purrs as soon as he sees us, and he gets locked in a bathroom to keep him calm.
We feed him at night and play with him daily. He is neutered, two years old. His blood work comes back normal and the vet sees nothing physically wrong with him. He was declawed (by previous owners) when he was about 6 months. We sleep with all doors open in the house and he is welcome in our bedroom. We both work from 9-6. He is indoor only, but is allowed to come outside on a leash. He has no litter box problems. Lately, he's always been meowing at the same time (4am, 7am, 10am, 7pm, 10 pm).
Things we have tried:
* Playing with him even more: We tried playing with him for several hours every day and keeping him from sleeping all day long. He'll just go for days without sleeping. I kid you not, he once went for 3 days without any serious naptime. We also leave toys out while we're gone, and he does play with them.
* Ignoring him: We tried just ignoring him for several weeks. This did nothing.
* Feliway: This worked for a while. Doesn't work any more.
* Changing food: We put him on a better diet. This helped get him from meowing 5+ times a night to 2-3 times a night. (Thanks to jcat for the suggestion!)
* Getting him another cat: We got Bunny because everyone kept saying that he just "needed a friend". If anything, it made the problems worse because now he won't go to sleep in our room at all. The cats do play together all day long. Usually, Puppy chases her, pins her down, and cleans her. (Sometimes he gets a little rough and she meows loudly. However, he does the same with us. She seems to not mind. We know she can run faster and she chooses not to, and sometimes she instigates the chase.) They also get into trouble together, like opening the basement door. Puppy has generally regressed since we got Bunny. He no longer knows his name, and he won't sleep on the bed anymore. (When we first got him, he was scared of the bed. It was a year before he would curl up next to your legs like a normal cat.)
* Moving: Our vet knew of cats who would do this because there were mice in the walls. He theorized that maybe Puppy would stop after we moved out of the apartment building. The house was inspected for pests, and he still meows. We've also ruled out "neighborhood animals" since we know what he does when he sees another cat/squirrel/bird outside. He has a different meow, and he focuses on the animal outside.
Just to make it clear, no one believes how bad he is until they come spend the night with us. Our friends thought we were blowing it out of proportion. One friend slept in the living room and attempted to follow Puppy to see what was wrong. They traveled in circles. The next morning, we were asked "What is wrong with your cat? He really has problems."
Help please! Is there anything left we can do, or is Xanax/Prozac our only choice now?
On my table is a prescription for Xanax for our cat, Puppy. Our vet said that his problems are either neurological or behavioral, but if it is behavioral, it is beyond his capability. Hence the prescription. He suggested we could talk with a behaviorist, but he made it sound like we might end up using the prescription anyway.
Puppy meows a LOT. His meowing is not at anyone or anything. He wanders is circles between rooms and meows. Before we lived in this house, we were in an apartment. There were no circles over there since it was a 1 bedroom apartment, so he would sit in a corner and meow at the wall. His eyes are dilated when this happens. This happens at night and day, but obviously, we are more annoyed at night.
We have to chase him down to catch him. When we get him, he purrs madly. There are two ways to calm him down. Option one is to hover over him. Then he'll lay his head down on a hand, purr, and slowly calm down. This only works if he is meowing mildly. Option 2 is to lock him into a single room. Usually, he goes into the third floor or the bathroom. If he's having a really tough night, he'll still meow, but this usually works. We used to lock him in our bedroom, but since we got Bunny, he meows if he's in there with her (and she meows WORSE if she can't sleep with us).
When the meowing is really bad, it doesn't sound like he breathes between meows. These are the nights when he purrs as soon as he sees us, and he gets locked in a bathroom to keep him calm.
We feed him at night and play with him daily. He is neutered, two years old. His blood work comes back normal and the vet sees nothing physically wrong with him. He was declawed (by previous owners) when he was about 6 months. We sleep with all doors open in the house and he is welcome in our bedroom. We both work from 9-6. He is indoor only, but is allowed to come outside on a leash. He has no litter box problems. Lately, he's always been meowing at the same time (4am, 7am, 10am, 7pm, 10 pm).
Things we have tried:
* Playing with him even more: We tried playing with him for several hours every day and keeping him from sleeping all day long. He'll just go for days without sleeping. I kid you not, he once went for 3 days without any serious naptime. We also leave toys out while we're gone, and he does play with them.
* Ignoring him: We tried just ignoring him for several weeks. This did nothing.
* Feliway: This worked for a while. Doesn't work any more.
* Changing food: We put him on a better diet. This helped get him from meowing 5+ times a night to 2-3 times a night. (Thanks to jcat for the suggestion!)
* Getting him another cat: We got Bunny because everyone kept saying that he just "needed a friend". If anything, it made the problems worse because now he won't go to sleep in our room at all. The cats do play together all day long. Usually, Puppy chases her, pins her down, and cleans her. (Sometimes he gets a little rough and she meows loudly. However, he does the same with us. She seems to not mind. We know she can run faster and she chooses not to, and sometimes she instigates the chase.) They also get into trouble together, like opening the basement door. Puppy has generally regressed since we got Bunny. He no longer knows his name, and he won't sleep on the bed anymore. (When we first got him, he was scared of the bed. It was a year before he would curl up next to your legs like a normal cat.)
* Moving: Our vet knew of cats who would do this because there were mice in the walls. He theorized that maybe Puppy would stop after we moved out of the apartment building. The house was inspected for pests, and he still meows. We've also ruled out "neighborhood animals" since we know what he does when he sees another cat/squirrel/bird outside. He has a different meow, and he focuses on the animal outside.
Just to make it clear, no one believes how bad he is until they come spend the night with us. Our friends thought we were blowing it out of proportion. One friend slept in the living room and attempted to follow Puppy to see what was wrong. They traveled in circles. The next morning, we were asked "What is wrong with your cat? He really has problems."
Help please! Is there anything left we can do, or is Xanax/Prozac our only choice now?