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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Why is my old lady miaowing?!

15 replies

Simplepink · 07/01/2024 08:41

Never posted in litter tray before so hope I’m in the right place! Just wanting to get some advice out of curiosity really.
our old lady cat is now 17. She has always been aloof, too much physical contact and she would have a swipe/bite you.

she has a cat flap so goes off outside to do her doings. Our other cat sadly passed away last year and since then she has become so different to how she ever was.
she wanders the house miaowing morning noon and night.
we have changed her diet back to pouches after years of a dry food only diet. She now has 2 pouches a day plus biscuits. Seems to enjoy eating, no obvious physical pain etc she’s just got LOUD!

so wise women of the litter tray - what is she trying to tell me?!

OP posts:
PaminaMozart · 07/01/2024 08:44

When was she last checked by her vet?
She may be unwell.
UTIs are very common in elderly cats.
I'd take her for a thorough physical.

Sillywillywoowoo · 07/01/2024 08:47

I think she also might be deaf at that age and not actually realise how loud her now is. My old boy was deaf - he also had dementia - which had him wandering around the house, then I guess forgetting where he was going and yowling. It was worse at night. In the end we had to shut the door to the kitchen and keep him in there over night or he'd wake the whole house up. He seemed happy enough most of the time though

cuckyplunt · 07/01/2024 08:47

Or she may be getting dementia?
Our cat used to miaow until we spoke to her to remind her we were there, I think she genuinely forgot where she was
They also miaow very loudly if they are a bit deaf.

justasking111 · 07/01/2024 09:01

Dementia in our old girl

margotrose · 07/01/2024 09:30

She needs to see a vet. Increased vocalisation is very common in older cats but I wouldn't want to dismiss it as just "old age" as it can have underlying (treatable) causes like hyperthyroidism.

Even dementia can be treated to an extent nowadays - as in, there's medication available to ease the symptoms and improve their quality of life.

Original poster
Simplepink · 07/01/2024 10:28

Thanks all. Seen a vet recently. Definitely not health stuff. Sounds like it’s common in cats as they age? Like I say she doesn’t appear to be in pain just a bit crazy and loud!

OP posts:
Samsonsmum · 07/01/2024 10:30

My old cat became deaf and very loud. No good telling him to shut up because he couldn't hear me 😂😂

margotrose · 07/01/2024 10:30

Did the vet run blood tests? Because otherwise there's no way to know whether it's a thyroid problem.

AnnaMagnani · 07/01/2024 10:44

First elderly cat - hyperthyroidism
Second one - dementia

Definitely need to exclude thyroid if vet not done already

justasking111 · 07/01/2024 13:50

One of my girls never vocalised lost weight as old cats do. Found her collapsed in the front garden. Took to vets hyperthyroidism. He had to put her to sleep. She purred as he administered the injection.

I'd never heard of this so hadn't thought anything of the weight loss. I still carry the guilt

CottonPyjamas · 07/01/2024 14:13

Last December, my then 16.5 year old cat started becoming increasingly vocal each evening. We took him to the vets and nothing came up despite a number of tests. His weight then began to plummet. Still the tests showed nothing but the vet began to suspect he had a cancer that was hidden. Given his age we were told to monitor, and advised at some point we'd have to start counting the good versus bad days. In August, he had a few days of sickness and we took him back to the vets again. They said they could run some more (non-invasive) tests but we were at the point we needed to consider our options. One test was for urine and 24 hours later we were still unable to get a sample. One emergency appointment later, they confirmed he had a blockage. We chose to pts rather than put him through an operation. This is just our story, and I hope it's not the case for you. Increased vocalisation is certainly something that needs investigating. Best wishes to you and your old girl.

Original poster
Simplepink · 07/01/2024 19:08

Thanks everyone

OP posts:
VelvetandLace · 08/01/2024 04:50

Definitely check thyroid if it hasn’t been done.

HuntingoftheSnark · 08/01/2024 05:42

My cat is a couple of months off being 19, decidedly deaf and that's what my vet puts her loud mewing down to. She's had recent blood tests, eats and drinks well (more water in the last couple of years), no weight loss and no signs of unhappiness yet. I'm aware that she's old for a cat.

My DM will be 94 this year and is also very sprightly, lives totally independently so there are outliers.

HarperBizarre · 08/01/2024 05:54

I would go back to the vets.

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