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-   -   Level 2 anti meow strategies ? (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=83816)

marko April 17th, 2013 04:43 AM

Level 2 anti meow strategies ?
 
I need some suggestions please - very frustrated.

Lately twiggy (9 year old fixed sphynx cat) has started meowing at 3 am and it's making me nuts. She has always been a bit vocal.
She is fine. she is healthy. She sees a vet whenever she is ill. This is behavioral.

She might well be hungry even though she is fed 3x a day. She does tend to quiet down after breakfast....after I've had no sleep from 3AM to 5:30 AM ....but not always... She also has certain levels of the meow. maaaaaaaauuuuh, maaaaaaaauuuuh, maaaaaaaauuuuh - that's the one that kills me the most as she goes up to 9 octaves on that one.

I have already accepted that by 5:30 AM every morning my sleep is over.

She is fed at 5:30 AM, 1pm and around 7pm.

The other cat Baci is food obsessed so no food can be left out.

We live in a fairly small apartment, cats usually sleep with us but even when they don't her loud very high pitched meows are unignorable even by way of earplugs. She never makes the crazy meow in our presence, she'll normally do it from the living room. We live pretty high up so it's not other cats or birds she's seeing that's triggering this.
- Loud noise to shush her not working.
- water bottle - a squirt shushes her for less than 1/2 hour lately. So by 4 AM I'm up again and I'm getting so frustrated that I can't get back to sleep.

This doesn't happen every day but it's happening more and more frequently.

Although I would never give up or harm the cat....feeling rage starting at 3AM is not a good way to live.

I'm at the point where I see few solutions;
- drugs for the cat (or maybe drugs to put me in a coma so I can finally sleep)
- Bark collar - anti meow collar (I know...I know....)
- Some device - that will somehow allow twiggy access to food but not baci...(though food doesn't always quiet her)
- Something that I'm not thinking of :fingerscr

So any advice for me other than getting a lobotomy? Thanks in advance.

Winston April 17th, 2013 05:01 AM

Marko

Have you tried giving her a tablespoon of food before you go to bed? Or maybe change her feeding schedule so its a bit later at night. Maybe the 10 hours between feedings at night is too long? Just a thought!

Sorry your going through this. I know the meowing can drive you insane. Tabitha did this for 6 months after loosing Bomber and it is the most horrendous cry! Good Luck!

Cindy

marko April 17th, 2013 06:27 AM

thanks winston - it's worth a shot but like I mentioned sometimes she'll still do the meow call (maybe it is a "call"...I dunno) even after being fed. I wish I understood what she wanted.

That's the issue actually - it gets into a particular pattern that's just nuts. weird vocalizations and meows happen with some Sphynxes apparently. In my defense, lol, because I've been on the board for a few years - when I did my original research this part of their behaviour was not highlighted as much as it should be...Anyway it's just to highlight at this point that many sphynxes are way vocal.

My ideal goal would be to train her not to get into that high pitched repetitive meow pattern. (or discourage it by way of some sort of negative stimulus....or learn a better way to train the cat out of this)
The other small noises she makes are fine and the regular meows are fine. But this particular meow pattern... it's high pitched yet a bit guttural - almost seems as if it's some type of self-stimulatory thing. maaaaaaaauuuuh, maaaaaaaauuuuh, maaaaaaaauuuuh (at octave 9)

Does thing ring a bell for anyone?
Thx!

sugarcatmom April 17th, 2013 07:23 AM

I totally feel your pain (and understand that feeling of rage)! I have a nighttime yowler myself, Aztec, but his is due to a combo of cognitive disfunction, deafness, and diabetes.

I know you say Twiggy has been to the vet, but has her T4 level been checked recently? Increased yowling can sometimes be a symptom of hyperthyroidism.

What about increasing Twiggy's playtime just before bed? A good session of chasing a furry or feathery wand toy, or laser pointer if she prefers that, followed by a bedtime snack, might help her sleep through the night better.

Feline behaviourist Pam Johnson-Bennett talks about cats and meowing on her website: [url]http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/the-meaning-of-meow/[/url]

Good luck!

Longblades April 17th, 2013 07:28 AM

She's not deaf? Or going deaf? We have two with deaf cat howl. Rescue Remedy is having a bit of effect on the worst one. I put three drops on the back of her head at bedtime. The worst one is also suffering dementia. Blood panel for her shows no thyroid or any problem other than early stage kidney failure.

Another idea, is she responding to early, very early, signs of morning breaking around your house? A neighbour on shift work comes or goes at that time and disturbs her? Could you try to somehow make her night time accommodations sound and incoming light proof?

Barkingdog April 17th, 2013 09:08 AM

Has anything new been done to your apartment ,some cats hate having things moved around,? Has spring arrive for you yet, maybe your cat is feeling the change of the season and want to see what is going on outside.

ownedbycats April 17th, 2013 09:36 AM

Are there foof dishes that will release measured amounts of food at specific times? Would something like that work?
If it isn't food it may be boredom. Have you tried playing with her rright before you go to sleep to wear her out? I only ask because that description of her meow sounds a lot like Misty's "i want to play" cry (without actually hearing it I can't be sure)

marko April 17th, 2013 09:55 AM

Thx all!
It's been 6-7 months since Twiggy has seen a vet - T4 was checked in the past..
Will try the nighttime - play/snack thing to see if it helps.
Will also try the rescue remedy thing -

As far as I know nothing has changed for them...she tends to make this sound in the livingroom on the floor - she is not looking out a window or anything.

It is possible that she is calling her brother to play...but he's sleeping cuz it's the middle of the night.

Food dishes would have to be high tech in my case because any food release would be gobbled by baci, the other cat.

many thx for the suggestions here :goodvibes:

tezster April 17th, 2013 10:28 AM

Does Twiggy ever show a desire to get out of the house? That's the only other thing I can think of. I know that when my kitten Newton ever does any annoying vocalizations, he's looking for me to entertain him in some way i.e. he's bored, or he wants to get outside.

pattymac April 17th, 2013 11:33 AM

I can't really think of anything different to suggest. Once in a while at night Bobee will do his meowowowows but if I call him, he'll come snuggle. Would a Feliway diffuser maybe help?

Barkingdog April 17th, 2013 02:36 PM

[QUOTE=marko;1056575]Thx all!
It's been 6-7 months since Twiggy has seen a vet - T4 was checked in the past..
Will try the nighttime - play/snack thing to see if it helps.
Will also try the rescue remedy thing -

As far as I know nothing has changed for them...she tends to make this sound in the livingroom on the floor - she is not looking out a window or anything.

It is possible that she is calling her brother to play...but he's sleeping cuz it's the middle of the night.

Food dishes would have to be high tech in my case because any food release would be gobbled by baci, the other cat.




many thx for the suggestions here :goodvibes:[/QUOTE]

I wonder if you have a mouse in house that come out at night. :shrug:

marko April 18th, 2013 08:58 AM

Thanks so much for the comments and suggestions.:highfive:
I did keep lights on till midnight last night and made sure twiggy stayed up longer and ate a bit later. She did wake up at 5am but was less vocal...she did not get into that nutty yowling pattern.

thx again - less tired and grumpy today :)

woofendog April 25th, 2013 08:06 PM

Extremely loud yowling cat.
 
1 Attachment(s)
My seventeen year old male has been yowling extremely loud for the past year. Blood tests were done but revealed nothing. Stands in front of his food dish and lets loose. Maybe I should not have given him the Heinz beef and chicken baby food when he was ill. Yowls day and night. Vet says it could be a mental problem. Not sure what will happen when the weather gets warmer and my windows are open all night long. I guess I could blame it on the stray cats hanging around my back yard. I may have to keep him in a room with the windows closed. He still walks up and down the stairs, uses his litter box, eats, yowls, and fortunately he sleeps a lot. Not ready to put him down yet. A much younger Smokey in the picture.

Jim Hall April 26th, 2013 03:08 PM

yup feed her late exercise her till she runs away


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