# Help with elderly cat shouting!



## lisa2210 (Jul 15, 2008)

I have a 17 year old Siamese girl, and over the last few weeks she has been shouting at night, gradually shouting more and more, and last night it was awful!! She comes to bed, but only settles for a few minutes then goes out into the corridor and sits and starts wailing. She won't come when called, that only makes her cry more, so eventually one of us gives in and goes and gets her, and then it starts again.
We have left a light on in case her sight is going and she is getting confused, but that makes no difference. Is this a problem anyone else has had, or does anyone have any ideas for me?? I do not want to punish her, that is not what this is about, I just wish I knew why she did it so that I can help her (and get some sleep!).
Thank you all!!


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## fluffosaur (Dec 10, 2009)

I'd take her to the vet just to check out any irregularities. The vet might be able to give you some medication to calm her down.

Other than that, have you tried crating her? If she is having trouble with her eyesight or getting disorientated then she might calm down in a smaller space.


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## lisa2210 (Jul 15, 2008)

She was at the vets to have her claws clipped and a general check over just this week, so no obvious health problems; and if I put her in a crate it would not just be us but the whole street kept awake! She would be on the phone to Ampussty International claiming a breach of her feline rights and our lives would not be worth living!! Thanks for the thoughts though.


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

A couple of my cats have become really vocal in old age. There are various theories, I think, one is about hearing or sight going a little, another is that they get scared because they know they're getting frail and more dependent on their humans, and yet another is that it's a version of Alzheimers. It's pretty worrying when they're standing there yelling for no apparent reason but once you've ruled out ill health you just have to accept that you're living with a very cranky OAP!


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## lisa2210 (Jul 15, 2008)

Indeed, I was concerned that that would be the case! She has always ruled with a velvet paw and some shouting, but now I fear the desire to shout until we respond has got too great for her!


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## coonie girl (Mar 28, 2009)

My cat is 17 1/2 years she is the same she cries all the time if she can not see me, she also forgets she has eaten so i have to feed her small amounts of food throught the day or she will non stop eat.
A few weeks back we bought her a new soft bed and she has taken to it she seems to sleep more insted of crying.

My vet said it's old age and if she gets worse then should think about having her PTS No way i could do that, All you can do is let her know you are there and keep her comfy and warm.

Coonie Girl


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

I have no idea whether this tip would work in this situation or not but one idea for calming unhappy animals is to have a radio on quietly on a speech station (so long as it was somewhere that didn't keep you awake at night). It makes them feel like they've got human companionship.


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## lisa2210 (Jul 15, 2008)

Wow CoonieGirl - I would change my vet!! I am lucky with my vet who is absolutely brilliant with both my elderly girls. 

I will try the radio trick in the lounge and see if that helps, as she has beds down there and may prefer to sleep there. I wouldn't mind if she would just settle in the same room as us, but she goes away after a few minutes. She always has slept in the bed with us, it is just lately that things have changed. I will report back on whether the radio thing works, but I agree with CoonieGirl, as long as she is healthy and not in pain, I would never have her PTS for this!


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## Lulu's owner (May 1, 2009)

lisa2210 said:


> Wow CoonieGirl - I would change my vet!! I am lucky with my vet who is absolutely brilliant with both my elderly girls.
> 
> I will try the radio trick in the lounge and see if that helps, as she has beds down there and may prefer to sleep there. I wouldn't mind if she would just settle in the same room as us, but she goes away after a few minutes. She always has slept in the bed with us, it is just lately that things have changed. I will report back on whether the radio thing works, but I agree with CoonieGirl, as long as she is healthy and not in pain, I would never have her PTS for this!


Thanks. I'm always recommending things I've read about without having any evidence as to whether they work so it would be interesting to know if the radio has any effect (has to be speech I gather, not music). I wouldn't dream of having a pet pts for being a flaming nuisance, which is pretty much what that vet is saying. In any case, there are far worse problems than this in kitty old age and the wailing is quite possibly more distressing to the owner than the cat.


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## ambercat (May 4, 2009)

lisa2210 said:


> I have a 17 year old Siamese girl, and over the last few weeks she has been shouting at night, gradually shouting more and more, and last night it was awful!! She comes to bed, but only settles for a few minutes then goes out into the corridor and sits and starts wailing.


Did the vet do any blood tests at your last visit? If not it would be a good idea to get a senior blood panel done, just to check her organ function (kidneys particularly) considering her age. I'd ask for a specific test for hyperthryoidism too - this can definitely cause excessive vocalisation and if left can cause serious problems - but if diagnosed, can be fairly easily managed with mediction.


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## lisa2210 (Jul 15, 2008)

That is interesting - thanks, but would it mean she just shouted more generally? This seems to be a peculiarly night-time type of shouting!


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## ambercat (May 4, 2009)

lisa2210 said:


> That is interesting - thanks, but would it mean she just shouted more generally? This seems to be a peculiarly night-time type of shouting!


It does tend to be at night, although some cats will do it through the day too. My Elsa had hyperthyroidism and she was definitely very vocal at night prior to being diagnosed, but she would do it occasionally through the day as well.


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