I feel like this situation happened once before but I can’t remember how it was resolved.
Over the weekend, of course, I was out of town. My neighbor checked in on the kitties and everything was fine. The first night I was home, my shy kitty Beatrice cried and mewed all throughout the night. Well, sometimes she does this when I’ve been out of town so I ignored it.
Wednesday night it was horribly hot, and I didn’t have my AC installed, and she cried all night again. I figured it was because she was hot–although usually when the kitties are hot they just lie on the floor sort of limp and lazy. Nonetheless, I installed the AC in my bedroom last night hoping that would be the end of that.
Nope.
Last night, again, she was crying throughout the night. The litter box is clean…ish. At least as clean as it generally is, and really neither of them has ever been bothered much by that. She is eating, there is no lack of food or water. When I pick her up or squeeze her she doesn’t cry or fuss so I really think she is feeling perfectly fine. Nothing unusual in any of her normal day to day habits that I can tell, just…lots of crying at night.
Help. I am already not sleeping well and this really isn’t helping matters at all. Anyone get a randomly fussy pet and have a solution for getting things back to normal? Especially a kitty cat?
June 27, 2009 at 1:46 am
Are you sure she’s eating and drinking? You’ve seen her doing both? And are you sure she’s using the litter box? You’ve seen this, as well? Any signs of diarrhea? Is she only crying at night after the lights are off, or is it happening in the evening while you are up and around?
In cats, change in behavior is usually a cause for concern. As I learned in reading up while Rogue was sick, cats often STRONGLY hide when they are sick or in pain (ie won’t react to being picked up, or cry when squeezed in a painful place). They only will show pain when they think they are alone (based on hidden camera experiments). This could be why she is crying at night – she thinks she is “alone” so it is safe to show pain.
These kitties are nine years old – they are getting to be old ladies and could be having problems. I’d keep the litter box really clean, so that you can see how much poo/pee is going into the box, and try to feed on a schedule (rather than leaving food out all the time) so you can see how much she is eating. If the crying continues tonight, I’d call the vet in the morning.
June 27, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I would be concerned too, especially since it is persistent. My cat Dottie randomly cries out but usually is just looking for me or her brother. Can you take her to the vet just to be safe?
June 27, 2009 at 7:08 pm
I would take her to the vet. It sounds like it could be more than fussiness… perhaps something like a urinary tract infection that is making her uncomfortable.
Also, one of our cats developed a blockage that became a serious emergency, partly due to our laziness with the litter box. We hadn’t realized it was more than a preference that it be super clean.
June 27, 2009 at 8:11 pm
To me it sounds like she is needy for attention. But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to call the vet and ask for input
June 29, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Uhmm… get a dog?