# Howling Cat



## Jano432 (Feb 28, 2011)

Hi

I have a female spayed cat who is 17. Three years ago she started howling when she was upstairs. It was at the time when our grown up son went on holiday. As she used to spend a lot of time with him, we thought it was due to him being away. However, he came back and she still continues to howl. Son has since left home and cat is no better or worse. She howls on occasions in the garden but never in the house downstairs. I have read that it can be due to her age and dementia but she has no other symptoms. In fact we took her to the vet last week for her jabs and vet commented on how well she was doing.

She likes to come upstairs with us a night but she is starting to wake us up in the night and so she is being confined to the kitchen.

Anyone have any suggestions, I am convinced this is nothing medical as she would howl downstairs too, she never does, its linked to upstairs mostly morning and night.


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## Gem16 (Aug 5, 2010)

It is possible it's a bit of dementia setting in and she gets confused bless her, my cat Nellie very occasionally will do a howling cry suddenly in the middle of the night but as soon as i reach out and touch her she stops. 17 is equal to 70 or 80 in human years i believe


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

Gem16 said:


> It is possible it's a bit of dementia setting in and she gets confused bless her, my cat Nellie very occasionally will do a howling cry suddenly in the middle of the night but as soon as i reach out and touch her she stops. 17 is equal to 70 or 80 in human years i believe


Ha ha Gem....I too have a geriatric/senile/howling Nellie!


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## Ianthi (Oct 21, 2008)

Howling can be due to high blood pressure which older cats can suffer from. I would get this checked as a priority to rule this out first. It's easily treated, but like humans if left undiagnosed can lead to more serious things like seizures and strokes.

It can also be a symptom of hyperthyroidism and even though the main symptoms are ravenous appetite and weight loss not all cats fit nearly into this category.

When was the last time she had full blood tests? It's always a good idea with older animals to have these done to pinpoint any potential problems and nip them in the bud. If she were drinking/urinating more I would suggest the howling could be due to the toxin build up in the bloodstream owing to kidney disease.

.


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## dougal22 (Jun 18, 2010)

Ianthi said:


> Howling can be due to high blood pressure which older cats can suffer from. I would get this checked as a priority to rule this out first. It's easily treated, but like humans if left undiagnosed can lead to more serious things like seizures and strokes.
> 
> It can also be a symptom of hyperthyroidism and even though the main symptoms are ravenous appetite and weight loss not all cats fit nearly into this category.
> 
> ...


Great post Ianthi, really informative 

I didn't know any of this could cause a cat to howl. Gives me something else to worry about in future :scared:


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## Gem16 (Aug 5, 2010)

dougal22 said:


> Great post Ianthi, really informative
> 
> I didn't know any of this could cause a cat to howl. Gives me something else to worry about in future :scared:


It is a possibility but so is the old age thing so no need to panic just yet!


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## dougal22 (Jun 18, 2010)

Gem16 said:


> It is a possibility but so is the old age thing so no need to panic just yet!


Thankfully, my cats are mere youngsters, I'll be senile myself before they grow old  
Seriously though, I didn't know any of that info Ianthi posted, so it was useful to me.

To the OP - I hope your cat is okay and gets the all clear from the vet


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## Jano432 (Feb 28, 2011)

Thanks for the replies, I accept what you are all saying but why does she only do it when she goes upstairs?

Jan


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## Jano432 (Feb 28, 2011)

Hi folk

Well my cat is still howling and we are coming to the conclusion that she is deaf. 

Apart from that she is fine and you would never believe that she is 17.

I am hoping it is just an old age thing and not a tumour, but I am thinking that if it was a tumour it would just be in one ear and not the two.

Any one know why the deafness is making her howl. We have had to put her in the kitchen an night now as she keeps us awake howling. She moves from room to room and announces her arrival by howling. She loves to be upstairs but after about three weeks we decided that enough was enough.

Jan


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## Cazzer (Feb 1, 2010)

well I have two 13 year old howlers. They always howl when they are upstairs and I am down stairs [or vice versa]. Neither of them have any health issues apart from both having IBD.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Jano432 said:


> Hi folk
> 
> Well my cat is still howling and we are coming to the conclusion that she is deaf.
> 
> ...


What did the vet say when you took her in for a check up ?He would have been able to test her hearing.


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

In addition to Ianthi's suggestions, I would consider a degree of senility. My Nellie _screams_ and I am sure she gets confused as to where she is, where I am, has she eaten or not? etc etc I always reply to her howls ( even if I am asleep at the time!! ) and go and pick her up, feed or fuss as appropriate. This seems to settle her.


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

Because she only does this when going upstairs it's possible it could be something to do with her balance. Or inner ear balance ... something like Vertigo (but mild as I'm sure you would notice other symptoms). Not sure on other conditions to do with the inner ear, but I know when I had inner ear infections going upstairs would cause me more pain, yep just that very slight change in altitude 

Definitely worth getting your cat checked over thoroughly by your vet.


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## Jano432 (Feb 28, 2011)

Hi
When we took her to the vet for her jabs and health check it didn't occur to us that she may be deaf and so didn't mention it to the vet.

She is doing everything that she normally does except for this howling. It is not as if she is in pain more like she is calling and that is why we thought it was linked to when my son went away. As for her being confused and then speaking to her to re-assure her, she can't hear us. 

I tested her out the other night by whistling at a pitch which I know she and my other cat hate. I got no reaction. At other times she has run towards me ready to lash out at me.

Jan


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Jano432 said:


> Hi
> When we took her to the vet for her jabs and health check it didn't occur to us that she may be deaf and so didn't mention it to the vet.
> 
> She is doing everything that she normally does except for this howling. It is not as if she is in pain more like she is calling and that is why we thought it was linked to when my son went away. As for her being confused and then speaking to her to re-assure her, she can't hear us.
> ...


I actually meant what did the vet say when you took her for this "howling" to find out what may be behind it.As Ianthi said this could be a symptom of a physical problem which may need attention.


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## welshjet (Mar 31, 2011)

My old cat suki was also a howler, she used to howl tho just walking to you. As she got older tho she used to sit in front of the washing machine (it wasnt on) and howl, she also did it to the walls, she was about 22 and we always used to say that it was dementia and also we would swear that she saw shadows and thought they were us, as soon as she heard our voices she would move towards us.

Its like an adult tho, pitiful to see x


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## missye87 (Apr 4, 2011)

Ianthi said:


> Howling can be due to high blood pressure which older cats can suffer from. I would get this checked as a priority to rule this out first. It's easily treated, but like humans if left undiagnosed can lead to more serious things like seizures and strokes.
> 
> It can also be a symptom of hyperthyroidism and even though the main symptoms are ravenous appetite and weight loss not all cats fit nearly into this category.
> 
> ...


I owe Sooty's nighttime howling a lot, as it was what made me take him tothe vets (he us generally very talkative and will call for us, but not the way he was doing it). The vet did a bstch of tests incl fir hyperthyroidism, but it turned out to be chronic renal insufficiency, caught very very early on which is good  if it's a change in behaviour and you are worried your vet might not have picked up on something, go to another vet for a second opinion. After all, you know your cat and if her behaviour (incl toilet, eating, drinking etc) hasn't otherwise changed it's likely to only be a bit of dementia, but go with your gut feeling and if you are still worried get a second opinion, it's better to err on the cautious side if you are in any doubt.

My vet did say that signs of dementua are more common in the evening or night, this is apparently applicable to humans and animals alike and is described as evening confusion


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