Nocturnal kitty keeping me up nights!

[txcatlover94]

We have a 15-year-old orange tabby who has always been vocal and nocturnal but as he's gotten older both the vocal and nocturnal habits have gotten worse.

He'll meow and yowl for various reasons through the night - some nights are worse than others - and I'm tired of losing sleep and at my wit's end!
He sleeps in my room and I'm sure you'd think I could just put him out but it's not that easy! First of all, we have a small house so there are limited options for a place where I can put him where we won't hear him. Second, if I leave him out to roam he just comes and yowls at the door. And let me say, he is one STUBBORN and PERSISTENT cat! Trust me, you can ignore him all day...or night...long and he just keeps at it.

I've tried calming treats before bed but they don't work. Though honestly, it's hard to say fully how they work because he refuses to eat them, even when put in his food, so I can only put at most half a treat in there, and even then he doesn't always eat all of it. I've also tried Feliway to no avail. He doesn't really play anymore so I can't wear him out that way. I can't even say he sleeps all day and that's why he's so nocturnal because he's actually up a bit during the day.

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any suggestions of what to do? We've only tried the VetriScience Composure treats so maybe someone can recommend a different brand? I've thought about a calming collar (this one: Herbal Calming Collars) but I'm not keen on him wearing essential oils so close to his nose.

He's been to the vet multiple times and his tests always come back great so we have no reason to believe it's a medical issue. He does have arthritis (he gets a monthly shot for that) but I don't really think it's a pain thing. As I mentioned, he's always been vocal and nocturnal so I think it's just a problem that his age has made worse.

Any tips or suggestions welcome - I'm so tired!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, what about Cat Music out in the main part of the house at a low volume at night (so he hears it but you don't), a nightlight also out in the main part of the house, and an autofeeder set to give him a small meal or two overnight/early AM?

Do you have a way to take him for walks during the day, or even out in a pet buggy that's fully enclosed, so he'd get that extra bit of mental stimulation?

 

[txcatlover94]

Hi, what about Cat Music out in the main part of the house at a low volume at night (so he hears it but you don't), a nightlight also out in the main part of the house, and an autofeeder set to give him a small meal or two overnight/early AM?

Do you have a way to take him for walks during the day, or even out in a pet buggy that's fully enclosed, so he'd get that extra bit of mental stimulation?

I have been putting him in another room the past two nights that does have a nightlight and I've also been leaving a dish of food in there for him. It works until about 6 am and then he starts yowling (unfortunately, the room is right next to mine so I can still hear him quite well).

I suppose I could start letting him in the backyard for small excursions - I used to let him out there for small amounts of time but he would start to obsess with wanting to go out there so I stopped.

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm wondering, is the dish of food empty in the morning?

 

[txcatlover94]

I'm wondering, is the dish of food empty in the morning?

The first morning it seemed untouched and the second, it looked like he had eaten some but not a lot.

 

[Furballsmom]

huh. well, that blew that theory.

My other thought is that there's something from outside triggering him at 6:00AM? Not that you can do anything about it if so, but what about setting up some low volume Cat Music to start playing at 6:00?

There are quite a few sources and different varieties you could try; there's RelaxMyCat, MusicForCats, classical harp music, harp music written for cats, music with purrs in it and videos of just purrs.

 

[Alldara]

I empathize. I could ignore Magnus but it just means he will scream until he looses his voice 12 hours later. Or break something.

Is he playing with you? I wonder if you can get him playing with you before bed if that might buy you some time.

 

[txcatlover94]

huh. well, that blew that theory.

My other thought is that there's something from outside triggering him at 6:00AM? Not that you can do anything about it if so, but what about setting up some low volume Cat Music to start playing at 6:00?

There are quite a few sources and different varieties you could try; there's RelaxMyCat, MusicForCats, classical harp music, harp music written for cats, music with purrs in it and videos of just purrs.

I hadn't heard of cat music before, I'll look it up - thanks for the recommendation!

As far as him waking, he was only waking up around 6 am when in the other room. When he's in my room, the party starts as soon as I turn out the light, lol. If I put him on the bed with me, he'll usually stay put for a few hours and then starts the party going again, sometimes as early as 3 am! And then it just goes downhill from there... sometimes he's getting me up to feed him - even when there's food in his dish! - and sometimes he's just yowling because why not? All that to say, not sure anything in particular is triggering it, I think it's just him.

 

[txcatlover94]

I empathize. I could ignore Magnus but it just means he will scream until he looses his voice 12 hours later. Or break something.

Is he playing with you? I wonder if you can get him playing with you before bed if that might buy you some time.

Yep, it's like how does he not get tired??

He's 15 so he doesn't really play anymore, at least not in a way that will wear him out.

 

[Alldara]

Yep, it's like how does he not get tired??

He's 15 so he doesn't really play anymore, at least not in a way that will wear him out.

I wish I knew .
Anyway, crying could be boredom more than him needing you to wear him out. So a bit of play before bed could be a good fit. At that age Nobel liked to roll around after the wand toy and sometimes pull himself along the carpet to "chase" it rather than getting up to run, but I still found it helped him to settle.