cat help ideas??

[rodeosweetheart]

We have a cat problem. Our little kittie is 10, and this year she was losing weight, took her to vet and she had hypothyroid condition. She is now on thyroid meds and her bloodwork looks great again.

But here's the problem--some of the thyroid-ish behaviors are NOT going away, like the yowling at night. We sleep in kind of an attic-y space without a door, and there is no way to shut here out. But if you don't shut her out, she comes up in middle of night and starts loudly purring and "kneading" your head to get your attention. She wants petting and will stick her claws into your head until you pet her. This is accompanied by LOUD purring. Very loud purring. If you get up and feed her and hang with her, it's okay for several hours, but I am so tired not not getting to sleep through the night. If you shut her in the one room with a door downstairs, she yowls periodically.

I hav e insomnia issues and some of them are from the cat. It is almost impossible for me to get back to sleep once she has me in her thrall, and then the dog joins in and wants out, to go lie out in the snow and stare at the stars. They are a very nocturnal crew.

We hate putting her away from us in the room, but she will not go cuddle down at the foot of the bed and sleep. She will spend 40 minutes purring and kneading my head, no matter what I do. Half the time one of us goes and sleeps in the room with a door just so they can get some sleep, but then the one out in the atticy space is stuck with her waking them up.

Any ideas for how to get her to sleep through the night? She is worse than any toddler I ever had.

[Teacher Terry]

One of our old dogs was keeping us awake at night digging and if we locked her out she would bark her head off so I feel your pain. So we took her to the vet and they put her on xanax. WE just give it to her about an hour before bedtime and it works like a charm. The vet said it was anxiety causing it. Then a year later she started to wake up and snap at the air at night. Back to vet that said this was seizures but not epilepsy. More drugs and now we are good to go again.

[rodeosweetheart]

Thanks, Terry, I will consider this one--I love the idea of sleeping thought the night, for both of us.

[Teacher Terry]

I wanted to kill my sweet little dog because I was getting so tired. Drugs are our friend:))

[jp1]

Maybe the thyroid medicine is making her more hungry? We have an automatic feeder for our cats that opens 3 times during the night, at 11:00, 1:00 am, and 3:00 am. Three feedings might be excessive, but they are all small (1/2 can of food each), and it keeps them from fussing at us because they are hungry.

[rodeosweetheart]

Interesting, Jp1, I will look into this as I know she is abnormally hungry with her condition. And we feed her all day long, too.

[Cypress]

Use Feliway. It is a liquid that evaporates into the air from a diffuser. There is no odor for humans. The product is safe and emits a pheremone into the air that soothes the cat. I guarantee the cat will calm down within one hour of installing. Depending on the size of your house, it may be able to reach all rooms. It may cost a bit upfront, but the bottle lasts one month and refills are a reasonable price.

You are a lovely Mom, but Mom's need rest too. I wish they made this for humans.

[rodeosweetheart]

Use Feliway. It is a liquid that evaporates into the air from a diffuser. There is no odor for humans. The product is safe and emits a pheremone into the air that soothes the cat. I guarantee the cat will calm down within one hour of installing. Depending on the size of your house, it may be able to reach all rooms. It may cost a bit upfront, but the bottle lasts one month and refills are a reasonable price.

You are a lovely Mom, but Mom's need rest too. I wish they made this for humans.

Wow, Cypress, thank you, will look into this asap!!