Nightly howling

[klevine]

I need some advice. My 14 year old cat, Freebe, has begun howling in the middle of the night to the wee hours of the morning and is driving us crazy. Does anyone have suggestions on curbing this behavior?
Here's a little history to help fill in the holes:
Last year I lost 2 of my dogs to illnesses. They weren't close companions to Freebe, but I think they were company. About a month later I moved into a new home and a month after that had a baby. As you can see, Freebs has had a lot of change in a short period of time.(about 4 months)
After moving into the new home, she started this howling. Waking up the baby is not desirable! I've tried shhhing her, no worky. I've tried snapping my fingers and growling her name, sometimes works. I'm thinking squirt bottle now.
What do YOU think?
Thanks,
KIM

 

[sandie]

I think maybe she is very upset. Theres not a whole lot you can do about the behavior. She may just adjust by herself eventually. You could try putting her in a seperate room where she cant wake the baby in the middle of the night. OR you can try getting her a new playmate. Sometimes when cats have each other to play with it helps!!!

 

[Anne]

I would also consider a medical check-up. She's not very young and if she's had a stressful time she could have developed something.

Also, give her plenty of love and attention and set up daily play sessions to relieve her stress. I think that shouting at her or squirting her can make her more agitated and stressed.