WWYD very vocal cat ruining our lives.

[Minimili]

This sounds so ridiculous but it’s been such a big issue for so long and I just don’t know what to do.

I rehomed my parent’s cat.
My dad absolutely adored the cat but after he died my mum had him, she died and I took him in as I knew how much they loved him and wanted him to have a good life.

This cat is the loudest cat you’ve ever heard, he’s also the hungriest.
Whenever he wants something he miaows incessantly at a loud volume that ends up escalating to howls. We feed him 4-6 100g cat food pouches a day and he stands by his bowl getting louder and louder till we feed him immediately.
He has started making a noise that’s like a loud high pitched howl mixed with a growling noise that I can’t explain but is really jarring and can’t be tuned out.
You can hear it even with earplugs.

The vet checked him multiple times saying he’s just a vocal cat but you really don’t understand his volume till you hear him.

He has started mioawing/howling through the night and my autistic DP just can’t cope. He works early shifts and is woken up often in the early hours of the morning from continuous loud howling. When the cat wants food one of us has to drop everything and feed him because DP gets so distressed by the noise. He can miaow/howl for hours with absolutely no reason anyone has been able to find.

The cat sometimes eats half his food but howls until we put more in his dish, we thought he was just eating the jelly but he eats it all when we have piled food in his dish. He won’t eat dry food no matter how long we don’t give him wet.

I started to put the cat outside when it starts at night but the neighbours started complaining and one said she gets less sleep from my cat then from her baby crying.

DP and the neighbours said they are constantly on edge waiting for it to start, I hardly sleep as the slightest noise means I need to wake up and feed him or put him outside before it ramps up.

I love cats, I’ve always had them and a lot of my friends do, I’ve never witnessed this from any other cat. People who visit always seem shocked and a friend who stayed with us as she was locked out ended up sleeping in her car as she couldn’t stand the noise. It’s often a case of being woken up by random high pitched sounds through the night for no reason.

My DP of 12 years said he’s moving out unless I rehome the cat, my neighbours have begged me to keep him quiet.

I really don’t know what to do and this has been going on for 5 years and is getting worse. The cat is 17 but in great health, he’s unlikely to be rehomed though. He was a rescue cat to start then moved when my parents died and they adored him so much I just feel so much guilt.
I fell out with my sister 3 years ago when I said I’d rehome the cat and she thought I was heartless, she has dogs the cat wouldn’t live with.

So far I’ve lost my sister, my relationship is suffering, my neighbours hate me, I get no sleep and I’m constantly on edge, I never wanted the cat on the furniture but gave in to shut him up so my sofa is trashed and it costs me a fortune in food.

I know it’s easy to just say rehome him but the guilt is so bad. I finally decided to post on here to get an unbiased opinion about what to do.

The cats miaow is literally like a high pitched siren so it jolts everyone from sleep through the night. I have tried so hard to train him by putting him out the second he miaows and other methods.

Would I be unreasonable to finally decide on taking him to a shelter and living a more peaceful life? People can suggest tips on how to stop this but I’ve tried so many suggestions from the vet and other professionals.
It’s 3.38 and I have insomnia so being woken up just after I’d just gotten to sleep makes me angry and tearful. My next door neighbour put her lights on as soon as I put the cat out so she was obviously disturbed too.

This is why it sounds like hyperbole when I say it’s ruining my life but it actually really is.

howling at night for no reason at 17 in a cat suggests to me the cat is dementing and distressed with it. I would speak to the vet again and explore what the criteria are for them to consider euthanasia, else you'll have to put it into a shelter (which will result in the same as no one will rehousing this poor cat)

I’m so sorry that sounds hideous. You must consider euthanasia or rehoming urgently for all your sakes. 17 is a good life, you have nothing to reproach yourself for.

Have you tried a plug-in diffusing spray like Feliway? That could calm the cat’s nerves down a bit (if that’s the problem).

Not sure if this would fit your cat but a friend successfully uses them to stop her barky dogs barking. You activate it via the remote when they are making an unwelcome noise and it vibrates. They soon stop making a racket as they don’t like the vibration.
www.amazon.co.uk/PetsVibe-Anti-Bark-Collar-Rechargeable/dp/B0F9B497F4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=1136896801992656&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.q45ObeySeCkchBL_e0fdw-guMTrpfhNPFmROjTYwo4gxFe9RQ-MmFJngbeAITYHxv9_qnmfa8YMAQXslKWNEYg8KIIkNuySHgSGTZfZGhXaks-hj9PexH7B-_ZCOBtsFz3AwwZqTy_MOdNcplkeQE2-uQJ2_HvVRBVL9y83zWO0oAcgpqdvSvyz9cwcH-OCfbAmy7UDxd4dmwAncS2CC3w.PTtw-Fj6d8DOUaN82QGUel83JLsE2MHVkZ2YVID-q-M&dib_tag=se&hvadid=71056218607192&hvbmt=be&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=133668&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-71056765735285%3Aloc-188&hydadcr=18574_2413992&keywords=dog+vibration+anti+bark+collar&mcid=687fac0db33e3f7ab9134e35b5b806ca&qid=1761537766&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

It sounds like you’ve considered all of the medical options (thyroid, kidney disease, diabetes?) - has Prozac or gabapentin been suggested? It can help calm cats down considerably. Otherwise yes, per the earlier poster if he’s in distress, which he may be given the constant yowling, then it isn’t a terrible thing to do to talk to your vet about options. I know it’s hard but you sound at the end of your tether.

We had a much loved cat who started yowling in the night - she had gone deaf and couldn't hear herself. It was worse than my baby.

Eventually I started putting her in the basement overnight cos I was exhausted. She got hepatitis in a cattery when were were away a few months later and passed.

Can you check if she is deaf? We clapped behind our cat and she didn't notice. I'd also suggest the vet again. It really doesn't sound bearable unless you can re-home her with someone deaf who lives a long way from other people.

You have my sympathy. We ended up adopting a cat to be kind in similar circumstances, and he was monstrous to live with. We fell out with all our neighbours and my children loathed him. We eventually managed to rehome him rurally - but it took us a long time and a lot of other (expensive) avenues to get there.

Sounds like dementia to me and sadly time to put her to sleep

If your parents were good parents I expect they adored you more than they adored the cat. I don't think you should feel so guilty about wanting some quality of life for yourself.

I agree with PP, sounds like dementia and your cat is distressed. They are 17, put her out of her misery. She’s had a good life by the sounds of it so don’t feel bad.

Agree with the feline dementia suggestions.

We sorted one of ours with medication for a while (for the dementia) and also found that providing food dispensing toys helped as they constantly had a way to work to get food, without someone having to repeatedly fill a bowl - you can make a simple toy using a small juice bottle (the small tropicana ones you get in the meal deal section of the supermarket are great) - cut or melt some holes in the side to let treats out, fill it up with treats/dry food - let cat push it around to get out treats. If they get good at that, put the whole thing inside a baby/small size kids sock, so they have to 'skin' it first.

If it is boredom/hunger, that'll sort it. If its dementia though, that needs medication.

If those don't work I would euth before I'd put a cat of that age into a shelter - do you imagine that anyone else wants a cat who makes such a racket??

Please don’t try and rehome. It’s not fair in such an old cat. Euthanasia would be kinder.

Sorry this made me laugh . I hate cats because of the yowling at meal time , I’m a dog person , but id find a solution even if that is kinder to PTS. Animals are not disposable so I would not be taking her to a shelter adding to the distress

Dementia presents like this, and the cat sounds very confused and disstressed. I imagine it is also missing your parents. I can’t get over the fact you have put up with this for FIVE years!!! Half a decade.

I would set a date, give the cat a week of love and affection and then pts. It sounds awful for the cat mainly op to be so distressed every day.

I wouldn’t recommend pts to anyone, but the cat is really suffering.

we had a cat years ago who did this as she aged - constantly meowing for food even when bowl was full and just walking around the house meowing. As previous posters have said it was dementia. Unlike your cat ours was a normal volume meow so she could be put outside when she drove us mad and shut in kitchen at night. Yours sounds unbearable and I agree PTS after a few special days making a bit fuss of him is the kindest solution for everyone. 17 is a good age.

I agree with people saying it's potentially dementia.

I had a Russian blue who was knocked over by a car. He suffered very serious injuries including loosing an eye and having to have his pallet wired. He had brain injuries and began to suffer occasional seizures. He had never been particularly noisy before, but after the head injuries he yowled 24/7. Nothing made him happy. One day her appeared on the step bleeding from his mouth and looked like he'd been hit by a car. He was pts. A month or so later one of my neighbours told me she saw another neighbour hitting Basil with a spade. Did he upset the neighbours with his constant whining, probably :(

Shocking, did you say anything to neighbour? Shouldn’t he have been prosecuted for cruelty to animals?

Op before considering pts, pls try other options that other pps suggest like gadgets , Prozac. Try cat nip, more toys, getting it nicer wet food & leaving more out for it .

Thank you so much for all of the replies.

I have spent a fortune of feliway or similar plug in devices, they seem to work for a couple of days then it’s back to the howling.

He is definitely not deaf, he still hunfs and is alert when we whisper a pssshh sound. He runs to
us when he hears a bag rustling from another room thinking it might be food.

Dementia was talked about but the vet said as he’s always been this loud then it’s unlikely.

I might have to take him back, he has been standing on his hind legs howling through the night. I used to call it his voodoo but it became too freaky to ignore.

A 17 year old cat who has has a lot of upheavals- I feel it would be cruel to rehome him again. Honestly, 17 is a good age, putting him to sleep would be far kinder than re homing him.
What if the person you rehome him to has the same issues with his noise and moves him again? It’s not worth the risk.

5 years of this? Completely insane

the cat has to go

You've gone above and beyond - I would have the cat PTS. He's 17, been very loved and it's a kindness as he's clearly suffering.

I’d find another vet for an opinion

Bloods for a thyroid panel!