Meowing at 4am & other behavior issues

[Cat2020]

I need help. I am at my wits ends with my cat. I have had him since he was a kitten and he is now 7 years old. In the last year he has started yelling and meowing at 4 am almost every night. He does not stop until I get up and either give him treats or (most times) let him outside. I have tried everything - ignoring him (which results in him meowing every few minutes literally for hours), squirting him when he yells (this works sometimes for a few hours to a few days but he always starts again). We even took him to a cat behaviorist and tried everything she said - drugs, toys out at night, wearing him out at night before bed, food out, etc. nothing has worked. He has other issues as well such as aggressive play with our other cat, scratching the sofas, other attention seeking behaviors. I give him attention and treats and love. I can’t take the early mornings and neither can my husband. He was my cat prior to this marriage so it is very stressful for me when he yells and wakes everyone up. He has no health issues. With his behavior issues I just don’t think he would be adopted and I can’t stand the thought of him in a cage for the rest of his life. He is very energetic. I also worry someone will adopt him, get frustrated and hurt him . I do not know what to do. I cannot find a sanctuary to take him. I thought about driving from Mi to NC because there is a sanctuary there and he could be outside all year round safety. I don’t know what to do. I can believe I am thinking that euthanasia might be the Best option? I can’t stomach the idea of him scared in a cage all his life or worse hurt or abandoned by future owners. I have tried to find someone I know to take him but no one can. Anyone else deal with this early morning meowing for hours on end? Ideas on how to fix it? People I can pay to help fix it?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
do you live in a house or an apartment?

 

[Cat2020]

Hi
do you live in a house or an apartment?

A house.

 

[BellaGooch]

Welcome to TCS! New Here? I Have A Few Suggestions For You! – TheCatSite Articles
this article might help: Cat Behavior Problems [What to do and what not to do] – TheCatSite Articles

 

[Furballsmom]

Can you take him for walks?
Can you build a catio?

Is there a stray or feral, or other animal coming by your house?

Set up cameras so you can see what's going on outside, and then determine if motion activated sprinklers might help deter any strange animals from your yard.

 

[FeebysOwner]

What changed about your cat's environment around the time he started this meowing behavior? For example, a new house; is this when you got married; the other cat was introduced to your home/him; stray or neighbor cats coming into your yard and around your house? Odds are there were changes in his life that occurred about the same time. The other attention seeking behaviors you mentioned - aggressive play with your other cat and scratching the sofas - are these things been going on all his life or just started at the same time that his meowing began?

A lot of what you might be able to do to help him depends on the answers to these questions.

 

[Cat2020]

Welcome to TCS! New Here? I Have A Few Suggestions For You! – TheCatSite Articles
this article might help: Cat Behavior Problems [What to do and what not to do] – TheCatSite Articles

Thank you! I will look at those.

 

[Cat2020]

And yes I am new!

 

[Cat2020]

Can you take him for walks?
Can you build a catio?

Is there a stray or feral, or other animal coming by your house?

Set up cameras so you can see what's going on outside, and then determine if motion activated sprinklers might help deter any strange animals from your yard.

He will not walk on a lease but we do let him outside. He doesn’t go out as much in winter but still some. The meowing is all year and I’m sure he wants us up and active so we can pay him attention, let him out, etc but it’s not like we ever let him out at 4 am so not sure why he would think we will. We have a ring and have not been alerted to other animals. We did have a raccoon show up once on the ring but that was when we first moved in (we built and it scared away the raccoon we think). I have not seen any other cats.

 

[Cat2020]

What changed about your cat's environment around the time he started this meowing behavior? For example, a new house; is this when you got married; the other cat was introduced to your home/him; stray or neighbor cats coming into your yard and around your house? Odds are there were changes in his life that occurred about the same time. The other attention seeking behaviors you mentioned - aggressive play with your other cat and scratching the sofas - are these things been going on all his life or just started at the same time that his meowing began?

A lot of what you might be able to do to help him depends on the answers to these questions.

Thank you for your response. There were definitely some changes. He lived with my ex-husband for two years before he come back to live with me in January, with my new husband and cat. I definitely understand that he needs time to adapt but I have literally tried everything in the last almost year and it has not altered his behavior in the least. The other behaviors have always been there, which is discouraging with this new behavior because I’ve never ever been able to alter bad behaviors with him. I’ve had dozens of cats in my life and never one like him. He has a wonderful personality and can be lovey and everyone that meets him loves him for the time they are with him. His name is Calvin but we (lovingly) call him monster and he is like a toddler – Very energetic and very destructive when bored. He scratches at furniture, he will follow the other cat around and bite its legs and just bother it when he’s bored. I have tried to keep him entertained and exercised but there is just literally nothing else I can do, that I can think of? He isn’t really in the toys but I have tried all sorts of toys - ones that move on their own, that don’t move on their own, that have treats them. The pet behavioralist that I took him to said he is very food motivated so I had all sorts of treats around the house so he could search for them overnight to keep him entertained. Doesn’t work. We have literally stayed up for entire nights just squirting him with water every single time he yelled to see if he put it together and he just doesn’t care. He is SO smart and very stubborn and leaves for a minute when we spray and just comes back and starts again. He hides behind the bathroom door for better acoustics and so we cannot squirt him without getting out of bed. So smart. I will definitely read the information on this site but any other suggestions would be so appreciated!

 

[FeebysOwner]

We have literally stayed up for entire nights just squirting him with water every single time he yelled to see if he put it together and he just doesn’t care. He is SO smart and very stubborn and leaves for a minute when we spray and just comes back and starts again.

Not helping you with coming up with some solutions, but I can tell you that the old 'squirt the cat with water' typically backfires, and in many cases reinforces the behavior. They generally don't make a connection between the undesired behavior and the water. In your case, I am wondering if Calvin thinks it is some sort of 'game', so it really would defeat the purpose.

You also don't know for sure what was going on with him for the time he spent with your ex-husband, do you? So, there may be some unfortunate incidents that made things more difficult for him (not to mention that he also lost you), and then BOOM, he is moved to a new home, a new human besides you, and has to deal with a new cat on top of it. Did you ever go through a proper introduction process when you brought him to your home?

Lastly, seriously consider the catio/cat enclosure idea. He does sound like he has a lot of pent up energy and having the ability to spend some time in a catio with cat perches and outdoor views might help.

https://catiospaces.com/catios-cat-enclosures/

 

[Cat2020]

I visited him nearly weekly when he was with my ex and he was very happy there. He had a 1/2 acre of woods so Calvin would spend a lot of time outside in the summer. He is definitely an energetic cat and I try to play with him but he gets bored within 10 minutes. He loves to chase things and play with our other kitty, who does like him and like to play with him. We did do a proper introduction to the new cat per our vet's instructions and they get along fine, as long as Calvin is not bored. If he his bored, he will continually pick at her and bother her. As for the catio, I will investigate but we have deck on the back of the house and not sure how it would fit off the back. it also would not help in the winter as he cannot go outside much (live in MI and it is often below zero over night).

As for the morning meowing, I did not know that about the spray bottle so I stopped that. for the last two months I have ignored him every since morning when he starts yelling. My husband and I do not even move. Unfortunately, he has not stopped. He will leave for about 1/2 hour and come back again and yell for another 20 minutes, leave, come back, etc until we get up at 6 or 7.

I am at a loss of what else to do. I play with him every night, he has a toy wobble thing that dispenses treats he can play with all night, food and water available, three cat trees at windows, hidden toys throughout the house, plenty of blankets for sleeping spaces, etc but he will not stop waking us up. We cannot close the door because our other cat yells if the door is shut and they both destroy the carpet and molding if the door is shut. If anyone else has any other suggestions I would be forever grateful

 

[Furballsmom]

He had a 1/2 acre of woods so Calvin would spend a lot of time outside in the summer.

Hi! I'd still investigate a catio of one type or other. You are almost having to work against yourself because you aren't that 1/2 acre.

Have you tried an auto feeder set to open at 3:55 am et al?

This thread might help

Perfect outdoor cat enclosure?

hello! So i want to build my cats an outdoor cat enclosure ( i call it a cat coop lol) can anyone give me recommendations on how to build the perfect one? what to include? tips or tricks? a place to buy a good one? blueprints? A good size? There will be 3 cats in there 🐱🐱🐱 THANKS!!!

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