Meowing all night!!!!

[Chiisanaichi]

My 7 year old cat never stops meowing! All night, 3am, when I'm getting ready for work. He seems to always want food. I used to free feed dry food but he became over weight. Then he had urinary problems so I can no longer feed him wet food at all. I haven't gotten sleep in weeks because I read you cannot give into their behavior. I tried locking him out of my room but he meows more and louder. I have tried to reward him when he is quiet but as soon as he sees the treats of I go towards food he goes nuts. And I have tried to not feed him until he is quiet but he never stops and I have to work, I can't wait around all day for him to stop meowing and I can't not feed him.

I love my cat, he's my best friend but I get so enraged when he does this all night. I have to wake up at 6am and go to work all day. I play with him when I get home and make sure he has a clean litter box, fresh water and that he gets fed enough.

I don't know what to do. Please help!

[meriad]

Welcome to CatChat

firstly, why can't you feed wet food anymore? If anything I'd have thought that the more moisture you can get into your cat the better for it? Hopefully others will come along very soon to confirm if I'm right or wrong. Who told you to feed dry only - the vet? If you read through this article it does say little food but often is better and healthier for them

http://www.hillspet.com/cat-care/cat-di ... sease.html

How often and how much does he get fed now? Could you invest in an auto feeder that opens at some point during the night?

Also, if your cat is food oriented have you tried a treat ball, so that he has to work for his food?

[Kay]

some questions - does he act the same way when you are at home all day? does he have access to the outdoors, and if so for how much of the day/night?

I am wondering if food is just his excuse, so to speak, and what he really wants is more interaction with you, after being home alone all day, when he may spend most of his time asleep waiting for you to come back

[Crewella]

Firstly, I completely agree with Meriad - I have a cat that had chronic urinary problems and you need to get as much moisture into him as possible to flush his bladder through - dry food really doesn't help this (even though urinary dry food apparently has things like salt in it to encourage them to drink more), and most of the prescription diets are also available in a wet food version. I got my cat through a dreadful year of cystitis and blockages (he had a very find struvite crystal 'sand' rather than actual crystals/stones) with a mixture of wet and dry presciption food (the wet is not as palatable so I compromised) and by adding at least a tablespoon of water to each meal, two if I could get him to take it. That way I was sure he was drinking plenty of water. It also helped his diet as the water and wet food made him feel fuller at the end of a meal, and it's also less calorific than dry food. Keeping his weight down is very important - last time my Daz had to to in to the vets with a blockage there were four other male cats with blockages there at the same time and every single one (including Daz) was overweight. My vet also advised giving him Cystophan (or Cystaid -- much the same) to help strengthen the bladder wall and it also helps them deal with stress, in case that is a factor. *Touch wood* Daz has been fine for two years now, though I still add water to his food and give him a maintenance dose of Cystophan. Just in case.

Please - don't just take my word for it, there is plenty of good information on this out there, as here:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_fe ... t_dis.html

http://icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/f ... -treatment

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

With the meowing, I also agree that perhaps smaller meals more often might help, as will making him work for it by putting in something like a treat ball. He could well be bored and trying to get more attention - more info would help. A routine would also help. All my cats know when mealtimes are, and they also know they get special treats when we come in from work. That is the routine we decided on, and we stick to it so that they know there's no point in hassling us at any other time. Even my ex-stray boys, that arrived completely food obsessed and attacking every meal as if it was their last, soon got the hang of it! You really do have to stick to the plan, though - one day of giving in will undo about ten day's good work!

[MarySkater]

I've been following this thread, although I have nothing constructive to add. But when the original poster said:

I used to free feed dry food but he became over weight. Then he had urinary problems so I can no longer feed him wet food at all.

- I did wonder if that was a mis-type, and what they meant was "can no longer feed him dry food at all." That would seem to make more sense in context. And I do understand the syndrome that when you have a lot of information to type, your brain can sometimes be rushing on ahead and not paying attention to what your fingers are actually typing.

Just a thought.

[meriad]

Mary I suspect it's not a typo... but something done on vet advice, hence my asking Chiisanaichi - I wasn't having a go at all.

Sadly, quite a few vets will push certain foods, esp prescription ones, because they get a financial kick back from the rep / manufacturer. And prescription foods are exactly that - you have to buy it via a vet or have a prescription for it. A friend of mine has a cat that had urinary issues and her vet advised exactly the same thing - special urinary dry food only and nothing else ever ever! And most of us trust our vet and will do what they recommend.

[MarySkater]

Thanks, Meriad. I once had a cat who needed several teeth removed. When his mouth had healed, I fed him dry food to keep the remaining teeth clean, but then he had a couple of bouts of cystitis. When I talked to the vet, I asked about putting him back on wet food, even adding a little water to it, to get more liquid into him. My rationale was, he can live without teeth if necessary, but he has to be able to pee. My vet agreed with that, and keeping him on wet food, the cystitis didn't come back. That's why I was puzzled by the statement that a cat with urinary problems wasn't allowed wet food.

I know packaged wet food isn't the same as a cat's "natural" diet of small birds and mammals, but dry food is even further away from it. It's disheartening to hear that some vets will push a particular diet that may not meet the cat's needs. And does such a diet allow for the fact that some cats drink very little? The system needs water.

Mary

[meriad]

you're spot on Mary