Senile cat waking us at night

[Anonymous]

Our 16 year old cat seems to have senility. No other major health issues. She could live to 20 maybe.

She developed the habit a year ago of waking us around 4:30 am to feed her. We tried putting food out very late the night before, but she eats it and forgets.

This summer, she started waking us to pet her. It was just once a night only a few weeks ago. Now, it is 2-3 times a night.

My DH can’t take it anymore. He wants to lock her out of the bedroom. I think she will scratch the door and yowl if we do that.

We’ve tried a diffuser with calming hormones. No improvement.

[Anonymous]

Prozac or Xanax

[Anonymous]

Make a comfortable bedroom in another room for her, like a large family bathroom. Leave bed, water, food, toys and close the door when you go to bed. This is how we trained our kitten to know it was night time and we only had to repeat it once or twice after she turned 1 year old.

I'm pretty sure it will work for your older cat, if not in terms of retraining her to remember its night, then at least it solves the problem of her waking you all up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make a comfortable bedroom in another room for her, like a large family bathroom. Leave bed, water, food, toys and close the door when you go to bed. This is how we trained our kitten to know it was night time and we only had to repeat it once or twice after she turned 1 year old.

I'm pretty sure it will work for your older cat, if not in terms of retraining her to remember its night, then at least it solves the problem of her waking you all up.

You don’t think she will scratch up the door?

[Anonymous]

Earplugs and white noise. Don't block her from the bedroom.

[Anonymous]

I'm PP. Take her to the vet just to make sure she isn't going through something you don't know about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prozac or Xanax

Yes, we had to do this for our aging dog. She would imagine noises outside at 4 am.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make a comfortable bedroom in another room for her, like a large family bathroom. Leave bed, water, food, toys and close the door when you go to bed. This is how we trained our kitten to know it was night time and we only had to repeat it once or twice after she turned 1 year old.

I'm pretty sure it will work for your older cat, if not in terms of retraining her to remember its night, then at least it solves the problem of her waking you all up.

This is a toughie because it is easier to train a kitten vs. a Senior cat.

[Anonymous]

I would take her to the vet and talk about getting an anti-anxiety medication.

And I would not keep feeding her that early -- just leave out some dry food. You can use one of those timer things so it pops open at 4 am. And I certainly wouldn't pet her during the night. You're just reinforcing it.

I'm sure you love your cat, but it's not OK for the cat to wake you up multiple times a night. It's a health hazard for you to have your sleep interrupted and it will affect your work, driving, and can cause weight gain and longer-term health problems.

I would worry less about her scratching the door than about your sleep and dh's.

[Anonymous]

My cat does these things and she's only 6 and not senile.

[Anonymous]

we used a pillow case and the pond down the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Earplugs and white noise. Don't block her from the bedroom.

She actually nudges any exposed body parts to wake us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would take her to the vet and talk about getting an anti-anxiety medication.

And I would not keep feeding her that early -- just leave out some dry food. You can use one of those timer things so it pops open at 4 am. And I certainly wouldn't pet her during the night. You're just reinforcing it.

I'm sure you love your cat, but it's not OK for the cat to wake you up multiple times a night. It's a health hazard for you to have your sleep interrupted and it will affect your work, driving, and can cause weight gain and longer-term health problems.

I would worry less about her scratching the door than about your sleep and dh's.

I think our vet will probably give us one. He sold us the diffusers that didn’t work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we used a pillow case and the pond down the street.

You’re sick.

[Anonymous]

We are trying a puppy cage tonight. The vet thinks we should put an item of clothing I’ve worn in with her and she might settle down. Wish us luck!