# Annoying cat problem



## MaxwellSmart (Aug 11, 2008)

Ok, so my cat is almost 15 years old and is eating Wellness grain free canned food ever since we took her off of a stupid prescription ID food several months ago (i hate my vet for it but that's another story). She loves the food, eats it all up. However, we have a problem. Since we switched her food she starts crying for food at 3AM!! :doh::doh: Every day...like clockwork! It's really annoying! She'll cry and cry and cry and if I (try to) ignore her she throws up, but it's just spit b/c she's doesn't have anything in her stomach. 
This is a premium food and yet she's not satisfied?? Why??? 
The feeding recommendations on the 5.5 oz can state for a 6-8lb cat feed 1 can/day. Tried that...doesn't work. So now she gets 2 cans a day. But i know she's not more than 12lbs, if that. 
Oh and sometimes (like this morning for instance) she was fed at 3am then starting vocalizing again at 6am!! What the heck?! 
She gets her usual dinner at 5pm and I've even tried feeding her at midnight to see if she's sleep all night....no such luck...3am as usual. 

Today, I bought a bag of Wellness Core dry food to supplment and to leave out especially at night to see if the extra protein helps statisfy her hunger. I've the same thing w/ other dry food (i.e Nutro, Wilderness) but she wouldn't eat it so it didn't help. I'm hoping that since she loves the Wellness canned food so much that she's also love the dry formula. 

But this has got to stop. She may be able to sleep whenever but I (and HUMANS Lol) have a strict time...like at NIGHT! ahhh!

She got a full geriatric exam last year (around September) and everything was fine. I don't know what's up. 

Any suggestions??!!


----------



## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Every cat I've ever owned has been a self-feeder. I load up his self-feeder with California Natural Chicken & Rice about once a week and he's good to go 

Not every Cat will do this properly though. I've been lucky and have never had an overweight cat.

You can do this with cats, unlike dogs, who will eat themselves into oblivion (and a $2500 Vet Bill) very quickly.


----------



## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I wonder if she just loves the canned food?? I've been having insomnia this month, and I've been feeding the dogs at 5 am since I've already been up for two hours. This morning, Tally pitterpattered downstairs, fetched up his dish and plunked it down on my stomach right at 5 am and woke me up! I bet your kitty's gotten herself on a schedule, and reinforces it daily. Can you steel your heart and put her where you can't her her/sleep with a fan and shut your door for a few nights?


----------



## PowderPuff791 (Mar 12, 2009)

Are you sure it's a feeding problem? 

I have a similiar situation with an older (13+ years) cat, Powder, and he just wanders the house in the middle of the night crying, as if he's lost or looking for someone. I have to snap my fingers or make a kissy noise and he runs and jumps on the bed, purrs and finally falls asleep for a little while. It makes John furious, as he is not a cat person and can't stand the noise. John complains that the purring keeps him awake too, so we sleep with the fan on. If I try to shut him out, he will scratch at the door and howl. He has access to food all day/night. He does this at least 3-5 times a night. I've read some reports that he might be going blind, might have a brain issue, and not to scare you, here is something else I've found that you might look into... Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome also known as "rolling skin syndrome," is in some ways very similar to a seizure disorder.


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I have a soon to be 14 or 15 year old cat. Two actually. The male screams for everything lately. He was an indoor/outdoor cat, but we've been keeping him in. The female adjusted beautifully and if she gets out comes right back in.

Buster screams to eat. He wakes me up around 5:00 each morning. He screams for a drink. He screams to go downstairs, after figuring out he is NOT going outside. He screams before he comes up to bed. ACK! I think the poor cat has lost his mind. The howling gets to me every now and then and I yell, "Shut, up!" I hate those words. 

My husband is getting to the point he's going to let him outside again. Buster is a hunter even at his older age. He still goes into battle and doesn't run. I just don't want to see him come home again hurt. He's gettin' up there. He has gained too much weight. I'm not sure it's going to come off if he doesn't go outdoors. I'm going to have to start measuring his food and feeding the cats in different areas of the house.

I hope the screaming stops in your home, I can relate.


----------



## MaxwellSmart (Aug 11, 2008)

She doesn't wander around the house and cry. She sits outside my bedroom door. I've thought that she might just be lonely so I've let her in my room and she's sleep for maybe 15 minutes then she'll start knocking stuff off my dresser, walk across my piano, pat at the window blinds. When I open the door she runs downstairs to her bowl. 
Either she's hungry or she's become too trained. I can try to put her in the laundry room in the basement for a while and see what happens. Because of her age, I don't want to lock her up in case she really is lonely but I may have no choice...i would love a full night sleep.


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Have her thyroid checked. HYPERthyroid is very common in older cats, and causes a ravenous appetite, among other problems.


----------



## MaxwellSmart (Aug 11, 2008)

I think I'm going to try putting her in the basement w/ her food bowl filled with the dry food and see what happens. 
I also just looked at a site that talks about hypogylcemia and feeding snacks like a scrambled egg. I guess I could try a snack before I go to bed. 

Does anyone know how long it's safe to leave canned food out? I don't like leaving it out for more than a couple hours but if it's safe for lets say... 5 hours or so than I could leave canned food in her bowl at night.


----------



## Cam's Mom (Apr 13, 2007)

Has she been tested for diabetes? Pretty common in older cats. Our old cat started demanding food more than his usual twice a day...and emptying his water bowl. It can be hard to notice or detect. Sometimes the first signs are them peeing in unusual places.

Another thought, is the protein content higher and carbohydrate content significantly lower than the old food? If yes, it will take a while for her metabolism to adjust. Might be that she's not completely digesting it. That should right itself. If not you can add digestive enzymes. I add them to my older dogs food.(14 year olds)


----------



## MaxwellSmart (Aug 11, 2008)

hotel4dogs said:


> Have her thyroid checked. HYPERthyroid is very common in older cats, and causes a ravenous appetite, among other problems.


Oh, I'm going to call the vet tomorrow. Thanks.


----------



## MaxwellSmart (Aug 11, 2008)

Cam's Mom said:


> Has she been tested for diabetes? Pretty common in older cats. Our old cat started demanding food more than his usual twice a day...and emptying his water bowl. It can be hard to notice or detect. Sometimes the first signs are them peeing in unusual places.
> 
> Another thought, is the protein content higher and carbohydrate content significantly lower than the old food? If yes, it will take a while for her metabolism to adjust. Might be that she's not completely digesting it. That should right itself. If not you can add digestive enzymes. I add them to my older dogs food.(14 year olds)


I'll ask the vet about this too. Although she doesn't drink water (most cats don't) and I haven't seen a change in that.
There hasn't been any other change in her behavior except her wanting fed at 3am. In fact, I just put dinner in her bowl and she took a few nibbles then walked away, not unsual, and she'll be back.


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

let us know what the vet says!
My older cat is hyperthyroid. The only symptom was weight loss despite an incredible appetite.
We maintain him on daily pills, which I crush and mix in a little canned food. He's doing just fine. Not sure how old he is, we adopted him 12 years ago, at the time they thought he was 2-4 years old.




MaxwellSmart said:


> Oh, I'm going to call the vet tomorrow. Thanks.


----------



## Merlins mom (Jun 20, 2007)

MaxwellSmart said:


> She doesn't wander around the house and cry. She sits outside my bedroom door. I've thought that she might just be lonely so I've let her in my room and she's *sleep for maybe 15 minutes then she'll start knocking stuff off my dresser, walk across my piano, pat at the window blinds. *When I open the door she runs downstairs to her bowl.
> Either she's hungry or she's become too trained. I can try to put her in the laundry room in the basement for a while and see what happens. Because of her age, I don't want to lock her up in case she really is lonely but I may have no choice...i would love a full night sleep.


OMG, this sounds just like my cat! We have taken to shutting him in the guest room at night so we can get a full nights sleep. He'll also attack merlin in the middle of the night, then Merlins up and we all wake up. 
But Butters just wants to go out, he doesn't want to eat.

Not sure why the canned isn't enough for your kitty now, but maybe the dry will help. If the wellness dry doesn't work, try getting samples they give away at some of the pet stores. Another thing that it could be is the starting of senility. My last cat lived to age 19 and the last 3-4 years she was a howling mess! I knew she couldn't hear anymore and thought between that and some sight issues it just made her meow (if you could call it that) louder.

I know what you're going through! It can drive ya nuts! I wish you luck.


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

hey, any update on your cat? what did the vet have to say?


----------

