HELP! DH wants to get rid of our cat!

[mampam]

Basically we got our cat from the vets last June. She was owned by an old lady who had to go into a home. She is approx 9 years old.

She settled into our home well and we came to the conclusion that when she lived with her previous owner she must have been an indoor cat as she didn't really seem very bothered about going outside and didn't really know what to do with herself once out in the garden.

She used to sleep in her bed on the sofa in the living room. She would stay indoors pretty much all day and all night. She started to get very lazy and would pee in the living room occasionally and every so often she gets fur balls and would sick them up all over the living floor instead of outside.

I am PG and just cannot handle mopping up wee and sick off carpet, so we moved the cat out to the dining room where she has her bed and is practically right next to the cat flap and if there are any accidents then the flooring is more easily cleaned than carpet.

Ever since she's been sleeping in the dining room (about 3 months now) she has been nothing but a nuisance. She continually begs for food (she's wormed and a picture of health so no worries there), meowing constantly. She does this on and off for hours until it's time to feed her. We feed her once in the morning and once early evening and she has biscuits in between this has always been the same so no change of routine or anything.

At night we have to put the cat flap so if she goes out she can't come back in as there is another cat who comes in and sprays/goes through the bin etc.
Our cat has taken to waking up anytime from 4am onwards. She gets up meows/gurgles for a while then goes outside. Where after a while she starts the god foresaken noise outside the back door again continuously until we all get up and let her in and feed her. There's no point in letting her in at say 5am as she would sit inside and make the same noise until it was feed time.

She's actually beginning to make our lives a misery and DH wants to get rid of her saying that we can't carry on being woken up by her at god knows what time of the morning and especially when the baby is born.

I can't really disagree with him but I would like to sort the problem out or at least try before we have to resort to finding her a new home.

I'm really desperate. Has anyone had a similar problem? Or know what is going on here?

Hi mampam,

Have you had her checked out by the vet? If she is always appearing hungry then it could be a sign of thyroid disease which is easily treated with medication. It is very common in cats of a certain age and could account for increased appetite.

Hi muddypaws. Cat has already had her Thyroid removed.

Forgot to say that on the very odd occasion I have given her extra food when she's been begging for it she only has a couple of mouthfuls and leaves the rest.

It's like she doesn't know what to do with herself rather than being truly hungry.

What do you feed her? My cat usually wolfs down a large bowl of his supermarket brand food and then begs for more. I switched him to Hills this morning and he ate half the amount he usually does. Something to do with them self regulating their food intake and the better foods being nutrionally superior and so they need less, or something. Also raw food diets are supposed to be very, very good. Far better than anything you can buy in the shops. But I am too lazy and skint for that.

Most of the better brands offer hairball control foods.

Feliway may help the peeing. Definately a trip to the vet to rule out any health problems.

DH suggested getting rid of my cat last night after he squitted in DH's undies (hence the change in food), I offered to rehome him instead

She currently has Kittekat (sp?)in the morning and evening and just normal biscuits during the day (but will only eat these after meowing for hours and realising she's not going to get anything else!). She's had whiskers, felix and just an ordinary supermarket own brand before with the same result.

She has medicine from the vet for the fur balls.

What else can I try? Where do you buy 'Hills' food from? What about Iams, anyone tried that?

Hills Science Plan or Prescription Diet. James Wellbeloved is also meant to be very good. You can get them from Vets, specialist pet shops and larger pet superstores. The best thing to do would be google your nearest supplier.

Iams is okay, but is ridiculously expenisve compared to the above brands. I almost bought 3.5kg of JWB for £10.69 earlir, but my cat has tried it before so I stuck to Hills untill the nice lady in the petshop orders me a trial size version to check that my cat will actually eat it.

Could she be crying for attention rather than for food?

Did she have both sides of her thyroid done?? If any doubt get her checked again as often only the diseased side is removed and the other side can become overactive at a separate time.

I think the baby will be waking you up as much as the cat does now...

I think the cat is reacting to you being pregnant and probably the stress of the other cat coming in/her now not being able to get back in, locking her out is cruel imo.

Hi mampam,

I?m wondering if the problem is actually to do with being outside and being afraid. It sounds like the gurgling/meowing noises might be to do with her thinking about going outside and being worried about it but knowing there?s no other option. Perhaps this bruiser cat who has invaded your place a few times could be the cause of the issue? He doesn?t sound like a particularly nice character to me and I?m not sure I?d like to be outside with him in the middle of the night, especially if I wasn?t a very outdoorsy type iyswim?

Have you considered using a litter tray for night times instead of making her go outside? I know you may not be keen with having little ones about but you could clear them away during the day when they?re around so no little fingers could go looking for maltesers . It would save you being up and down in the night and she would have the security of knowing she didn?t have to leave your warm house and get stuck outside with the bully!

Let me know if I?m way off and I?ll have another think.

I agree with Fab, one of my cats got really really clingy when I was pregnant, it drove me nuts! And then when DD was born the cats were not convinced at all and I was worried that I would have to rehome them. But now, DD and the cats are the best of friends I think cats just take a while to adjust.

Hi Mampam - We have an old cat that can be quite demanding & pesters for food constantly at times, but when you give him some isn't that interested. Think ours is very sensitive to any change or stress going on. Ours also suffers with cystitis that is also affected by stress. According to our vet it is very common for cats to get v. stressed by things. We got rid of one of our sofas last week & the cat has been a pain ever since. Attention seeking, constant meowing, wanting to get on anyones lap, basically being bloody awkward, think it's just because of the change. When ours gets stressed he also hates other cats, seems to lose his confidence as normally quite prepared to stand his ground with the neighbours cats. A litter tray sounds a good idea, even if it's just at night. I hate litter trays myself but if the situation is that bad may be worth a go.

Hi, I don't think it's attention that she wants because if I bend down to stroke her she backs off to the direction of her food bowl.

It doesn't seem to make a difference whether she is outside or in. If I got up and let her in at say 5am she still makes the same noises.

Can I just clarify that I do not lock her out at night. Sometimes she does not go outside until about 7am but will have been up making the noise inside prior to this.

Don't think the other cat is the problem as she has a different sort of meow for when there is a cat in our garden.

Don't think the litter tray would help as she is prone to peeing beside it rather than in it and I can't face that right now. At least she is going to the toilet outside at the moment.

Perhaps a check up at the vets is needed and see if they have any ideas as we cannot go on like this. Dh is so close to re-homing her.

Yes a baby will wake me anyway but I don't want to be woken by a screaming baby and a meowing cat. What happens when the cat is waking the baby too like she wakes us?

You did say you put the cat flap so she can't get back in so that is locked out to me and tbh babies wake so often I doubt the cat will make a difference.

I wonder if it's the room change that's bothering her then? Seems odd that she's only started this behaviour since moving to the dining room if it is a physiological rather than physchological problem. That doesn't particularly help much though I know since she can't sleep in the living room because of the toliet issue, but i wonder if she just misses her old sleeping spot and is making a fuss because of that?

I agree it's worth a trip to the vet just to rule out any medical issues then you know what you're dealing with.

Also, not sure if you've ever read any of vicky halls' books, but I can highly recommend cat confidential if the vet gives you the all clear and you're not sure where else to look, if they don't have it at your local library I'd be happy to send you my old battered copy

I think someone mentioned it already but have you tried the cat equivalent of the DAP diffuser for dogs? I think that's what the feliway is. It's supposed to calm them and may make her settle down. The diffusers aren't cheap but you may be able to borrow a spray to see if it works for a few days before 'investing'

Could be because you are pregnant, my cat who is not that bothered with us did this to my friend who stayed at our flat for a while she was pg and the cat destroyed the carpet outside her bedroom door trying to get in

Yes maybe it is the room change that's been the start of this all. Thinking about it when she was in the living room at night the other cat used to come into our kitchen and knock the bins over etc, we only found out the cat was coming in as DH was sleeping on the sofa for a few nights and heard it. Cat never even woke up, so the one way catflap thing started before she went into the dining room and she never used to make the noise outside (or in) then.

After 3 months surely she should be used to it by now?? Will have a look for the book and look into the diffuser. First stop, vets I think.

Good Luck