Senior cat meowing all night after death of sister

[Alisa256]

We lost our cat almost 2 months ago to possible stomach cancer. Her sister is alive and well age 10. Of course she was vocal after she realized her sister was gone. She sleeps in our bed at night with us ever since she died. But the last few weeks, she will get out of bed multiple times and go into our kitchen and meow loudly. She eventually comes back into our room but just sits on the floor and meows. I thought she just wanted wet food cuz I used to feed her in the morning but I stopped that a month ago cuz we weren't sleeping well. Now she has dry food out all day and I give her 3oz of wet food for dinner. I'm confused what she wants cuz she won't join us to cuddle in the bed and she knows there's no wet food in the morning. I've kicked her out of the bedroom and shut the door but it's so loud. Then when I wake up she stops meowing and goes to lay down somewhere and sleep. Then she's quiet the rest of the day after I'm awake
Any thoughts.? I'm tired of waking up at 230 and every 30 minutes after that.

 

[tabbytom]

Any thoughts.? I'm tired of waking up at 230 and every 30 minutes after that.

We are so sorry to hear about your cat

Your other cat may be missing her. Here’s an article for you to read :-

Do Cats Mourn? Supporting Your Pet through Loss - TheCatSite

Do Cats Mourn? Explore the complexities of cat grieving behavior and learn how to support your pet during this difficult time. From understanding the stages of cat grief to maintaining routines and considering when to introduce a new companion, this article offers comprehensive guidance for the...

thecatsite.com

You may want to pay a tribute to your cat and you may do so here in Crossing the Bridge

 

[Kwik]

Welcome to TCS A Alisa256
I'm so very sorry for your loss.

What's your kitty's name? The poor lil thing is missing her sister and just doesn't know what to do with herself- it highly likely they played at night while you were fast asleep so thst would be all the fuss at night,she misses her sibling,her pal

What you've described makes perfect sense as cats are nocturn by nature,during the day they probably were both much less active and sleeping so that part of her usual routine has not changed.

Perhaps you can try to provide some entertainment for her during the day and play with her so that she stays awake more during her normal sleep hours... cats do adjust to our hours because we sleep at night and are awake during the day provided we keep them engaged- then because there's nothing to do when their human is asleep they'll sleep too

Window perches are great,it's like TV for cats,they love watching birds & movement outside in the daylight..... if she's leash trained you can take her for walks- it sounds like she's grieving and bored night time

Hope thst helps

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. So sorry for your loss and that your other cat lost her sister. While she may still be feeling the loss of her sister, I think the food/meal changes are probably a bigger issue. She might have initially 'dealt' with those changes due to being in mourning, but maybe not so much now.

She is going to the kitchen and howling, so I presume you feed her in the kitchen and that is why she goes there during the night. Feed her wet food closer to bedtime and/or start back giving her wet food in the morning. There are auto feeders made to hold/preserve wet food which can be kept out for hours without compromising the food.

This is a much better option than letting her howl all night and then shutting her out of your room. It is certainly worth a try.

 

[Furballsmom]

I agree, try getting an auto feeder to reestablish the morning routine for her. This is too many big changes for her to have to deal with.

Also, to provide support with the emotional side, get a purr toy or a heartbeat toy, especially if the two of them snuggled together during naps, and a self- heated pet bed may help as well.

 

[Niclovesblueforever]

This is how my almost 16 year old cat is. He lost her sister a few months back and my other cat whom he loved last week. He does not like my dog so Oreo, the cat, stays upstairs during the day and downstairs at night. He actually started this before they died, a bit and I figured out he wanted snacks for the first time in his life and he was also calling my other cat. He does it now, so we have this routine where I come down and he runs away from me the first time. I give him snacks. Then he starts meowing like crazy and I come down again . Then he wants me to pet him and rub his stomach. After that he is good. Hahaha

I took him to the vet because after almost 16 years he is in love with me and I thought he was dying, but he is in good shape.

Have you tried catnip? It seems to help him too.

 

[susanm9006]

I would try buying her a heated bed. Perhaps with the warmth she will sleep better through the night.

 

[xlynnbbyx]

We lost our cat almost 2 months ago to possible stomach cancer. Her sister is alive and well age 10. Of course she was vocal after she realized her sister was gone. She sleeps in our bed at night with us ever since she died. But the last few weeks, she will get out of bed multiple times and go into our kitchen and meow loudly. She eventually comes back into our room but just sits on the floor and meows. I thought she just wanted wet food cuz I used to feed her in the morning but I stopped that a month ago cuz we weren't sleeping well. Now she has dry food out all day and I give her 3oz of wet food for dinner. I'm confused what she wants cuz she won't join us to cuddle in the bed and she knows there's no wet food in the morning. I've kicked her out of the bedroom and shut the door but it's so loud. Then when I wake up she stops meowing and goes to lay down somewhere and sleep. Then she's quiet the rest of the day after I'm awake
Any thoughts.? I'm tired of waking up at 230 and every 30 minutes after that.

Hi! First off sorry for the loss of your furbaby it is never easy when we lose them. Secondly your cat is in mourning not only for her sister but for the schedule change. Some cats can handle a little change but not too much at once. She lost her sister and then you change her feeding schedule on her that is too much on her. Like FeebysOwner said try feeding her a little bit of wet food before bed or go back to feeding her in the morning like you were. Since she is going to the kitchen to howl which I am assuming is where you feed her she is telling you she wants food. Also look into the auto feeder that was mentioned if you don’t want to get up to feed her. But most importantly don’t shut her out she needs a lot of love. Establish some type of routine that gives her her wet food when she is used to getting it. Most of all give her plenty of cuddles. If you do this she will be a happy kitty who will sleep when her beloved humans sleep.

 

[nurseangel]

I am so sorry for your loss. It is going to take her awhile to adjust to life without her sister. I have nothing to add to the good advice above.

 

[CakesCats]

We lost our cat almost 2 months ago to possible stomach cancer. Her sister is alive and well age 10. Of course she was vocal after she realized her sister was gone. She sleeps in our bed at night with us ever since she died. But the last few weeks, she will get out of bed multiple times and go into our kitchen and meow loudly. She eventually comes back into our room but just sits on the floor and meows. I thought she just wanted wet food cuz I used to feed her in the morning but I stopped that a month ago cuz we weren't sleeping well. Now she has dry food out all day and I give her 3oz of wet food for dinner. I'm confused what she wants cuz she won't join us to cuddle in the bed and she knows there's no wet food in the morning. I've kicked her out of the bedroom and shut the door but it's so loud. Then when I wake up she stops meowing and goes to lay down somewhere and sleep. Then she's quiet the rest of the day after I'm awake
Any thoughts.? I'm tired of waking up at 230 and every 30 minutes after that.

If you look back on my post history I swear we are almost identical. I even just updated a post about my cat yowling before I saw yours. I’m actually shocked at how similar our stories are!!! We lost our boy Petey to stomach cancer on June 19th. Around the same time our older girl stated yowling all night IN THE KITCHEN. I took her to the vet. We thought maybe hyperthyroid. All tests came back great so we suspected early dementia. She was given Gabapentin (she has arthritis as well)which didn’t work. I now fully believe it was from grief. I unfortunately don’t really have a suggestion because nothing we did helped besides bringing her to bed with us. Sometimes this helped and sometimes it didn’t. It took about two months, but her yowling has now stopped except an occasional meow. We did adopt a 5 month old kitten on August 19th and Ki has tolerated her pretty well so I’m not sure if the addition in the house helped her (we still had 2 other cats too) or if her heart is just mending. I have been there recently so I know how frustrating it is, but I hope your cat heals soon so that you can all get some peace and quiet.