Elderly cat is vocal at night and never stops eating

[PurpleSky300]

Hi everyone,

So about 7 months ago, I took in an elderly stray cat that my Mum had been feeding but couldn't house due to her other moggies. When I first got her inside to have a good look at her, she had cat flu and bad dental issues and needed nearly a full-mouth extraction at the vets, she wasn't very well.

She made a great recovery - vet said she looked to be 12+ but otherwise no issues with her bloods and urine and no conditions apart from mild arthritis and tremors. My main issue since then is that basically, she never stops eating. She weighs 4kg but she must eat 4, 5 times a day - let's say 4 wet pouches plus a cat yoghurt and some crushed biscuits - and she still wakes me up in the night.

The vet said she could be vocal at night due to neediness and not to always "default" to food, but my other strategies aren't working. I tried to take her upstairs to sleep on my bed but she won't settle, she has a 'favourite room'. Then I go and sit in her room until she falls asleep and she likes that but 2-3 hours later, she's back meowing. I wondered if it could be pain linked to her arthritis or something so I tried her with painkillers, made no difference. I wondered if she wanted to go outside, but she won't go when I open the door/window.

Literally the only combination that allows me to get any sleep at night is some combination of food, staying with her or playing with her toys with her until she tires herself out. Unless food is involved somewhere, she won't sleep - even if she has been eating all day!

You sound like an amazing cat mum and she is very lucky to have found you.
Regarding your nightime issues, I would guess (just my opinion) after being a stray for so long she is still hard wired into not knowing when she will next get a meal and maybe spent a lot of time roaming the streets meowing for food at night possibly?
I would just maybe invest in a automatic food opener for her during the night so it will give her wet food every couple of hours, and she should then get used to knowing it will open at certain times and i would make sure there is always biscuits. I reckon after a few days she will get used to the routine? Cats are very smart. I hope this has helped, i wish you good luck with her! 😸 keep us posted on her progress

I think the pouches aren’t a full meal. My cat wants them frequently as well

Has she had thyroid tests? My old boy was an eating machine before that was diagnosed.

He also used to shout at night, we think he had dementia as it was like he was lost in the house. He'd call, we'd respond, he'd find us then we'd all go back to sleep together in the same bed.

What kind of food are you feeding her?

Generally the cheaper the food, the more of it they need to feel satisfied and full.

Have you dewormed her?

Presumably she's been wormed and thyroid tested?
I do have to say that 4 pouches a day doesn't sound excessive....<hard stare at orange mog to my left>

My cat is 15 and now meows in the night - combined with needling my shoulders if I ignore her. Shutting her out doesn't work as she will meow non stop for hours on the other side of the door. Tbh I have just got used to giving her a fuss in the night and I never, ever get a full night's sleep. I think she has dementia and needs reassurance...

I would also agree with PP that four pouches a day plus a cat yoghurt isn't really very much food. Pouches aren't very filling as they're mostly gravy or jelly - there's not huge amounts of meat in there.

Mine don't get that many but they're free-fed dry food as it's cheaper and also lasts them much longer. It also means they have food down 24-7 so they don't pester except at mealtimes.

She sounds exactly like my old cat. I never got to the bottom of the night time meowing. If you google sundowning it appears to be a thing in elderly humans as well as cats.
Aside from that she was found to have hyperthyroidism which meant she ate a lot - this was treated with daily tablets and six monthly blood tests
She was pts at 20 due to dementia and other issues.

Get her a treat ball? My old cat wouod spend awhile working it out it kept him quiet

I'm thinking hyperthyroidism. A trip to the vets for a blood test.

You sound like a lovely cat mum, OP.

Do you think she'd double in size if you left her with a bowl of high meat content kibble overnight? That's my nuclear option with mine if I really need a decent night's sleep.

Check whether your vet did thyroid testing (wouldn’t necessarily be included in pre-anaesthetic bloods)

Meowing at night and ravenous appetite is hyperthyroidism. My elderly cat was like this before she was diagnosed.

Thanks everyone. My cat was given flea and worming treatments at the vets back in January, then Loxicom and some broad-spectrum antibiotics briefly after the dental extractions and now I just top up with Bravecta every three months. I haven’t seen anything unusual in her litter tray to make me think it could be worms, but not sure about her thyroid. Would I just request a blood test to find out about that?

In terms of food – she has a mixture of meat (chicken, tuna, turkey slices, roast beef) and wet food (usually Purina or chicken Encores) with supplementary yoghurts and crushed biscuits. It’s not the best wet cat food ever but having tried subscriptions to things like Blink and Katkin, I came to the conclusion that it was a waste of time and that for the same price I could easily cook fresh meat and fish in bigger quantities. Due to having only 3 teeth now she won’t eat hard biscuits or kibble generally but I crush up Dreamies as a treat.

I think hyperthyroidism is sounding very likely so I will get this checked at the vet. Thank you 😊

My former stray is very vocal and also polishes off at least 4 pouches a day which is about right with no dry food. I also feed raw meat too which helps the night time singing!

As she’s not eating many biscuits due to lack of teeth I’d try feeding her more & seeing if it sates her.

Maybe Amazon has some softer dry food you can try.

Dreamies are quite salty/a bit junky so I wouldn’t give too many or rely on them as the dry component of her diet.

I think it's kitty dementia unfortunately. My old cat was the same. He was 20 when he was put down

I was going to say hypothyroidism but my former stray cat is like this. Vocal and never settles. Constantly looking for food, it’s as though the fear of being hungry hasn’t left him and if he is with humans he trusts he doesn’t know what to do with himself except miaow. (The ones he doesn’t he desperately tries to get away from).

Our never-stray 20+ year old cat also become more and more vocal over the years. We thing it’s dementia and maybe boredom - he used to be out and about at night and now isn’t going out any more. He’s always got food out now as he eats little and often. Think it’s definitely an old cat thing.

I was also going suggest either thyroid issues or diabetes. I would ask for the blood tests at the vets.

That's lovely that you have taken her in though. There are way too many oldies in rescues.

My cat is definitely more vocal in the spring/summer. Really settles down in autumn and by winter barely moves of the sofa.

My cats bloods were fine but he was like that from when I got him
Never shut up and never stopped eating
I did add the odd bit of raw meat to bulk out the food but he was basically fed on demand
3kg and he ate more than a dog!

My cat meows at night so loudly. She's 16/17 now. We can't work out why. It's not hyperthyroidism because she had that and has had he thyroid irradiated. We think she might be going deaf and doesn't know how old she is, that or dementia

How loud she is