I can imagine you're at your wit's end, Catherine! That sound is enough to break anyone's heart.

The only thing I can think of, since he's obviously had a clean bill of health from the doc, is that he's doing one of those weird cat things. For instance, my indoor cat goes through phases where she'll come into the bedroom at 3am and scratch on the end of the box spring. She'll do that for a month (or 3), then she'll get in the habit of sleeping in until 5am, having a snack, going out in the fenced yard for a few, then sleeping inside until noon. :)

She also goes through episodes of crying while sitting at her water dish. *sip, sip, ROUW!, sip, ROUW!* It's almost like she's talking to herself. It's kind of creepy, too. LOL But she hasn't done that since summer, and it only lasted about 2 months that time (and not every time she drank water, either).

She changes her sleeping spot about every 3 months or so, as well as her outdoor activities. Since it's only occurring for you (and your kitty) at about the same time every day, I would say it's probably not dementia. Another thought might be that he's telling you about a critter that's stealing his food. :D We get mice sometimes in winter, and my Pookie will tell me all about them. I tell her, "Just catch it, kitty!" LOL

I hope you all find relief soon!

Brenda

Our very ancient Pookie didn't seem to know she had a voice until she was about 15. Then we got another that talked and either taught her how or agrivated her so much she needed to complain. Now she complains about a lot of things and surprisingly, you can usually figure it out. Is it possible the cat food is contaminated (if it is dry). He may have decided he doesn't like it for some reason. Often dry food can have various kinds of insects or debris in it. Maybe he is telling you he doesn't like that food or that it upsets his stomach. Did you change the location of the dish or replace the dish with a different one? Good luck. Sandy

my old man catterwauled for his last 7 years of life. yes, it can be very nerve wracking. some say it is from deafness, some dementia, maybe both.

Catherine, I just forwarded this to my best friend who is an extremely competent vet. I'll let you know if he has any thoughts/advice.

Too bad our resident expert, Chickadee isn't around anymore. She was a wealth of knowledge on this stuff.

I wish C3D was here too, Semper. We can only hope.

My only thought is he has a bad tooth. Are you feeding him hard food? Is he eating okay otherwise? You might try switching to a soft food for a few days and see if he stops.

My vet says I have one cat with a hormone imbalance and one cat that is depressed :^(

Catherine, here's the reply I got from Dr. Toby:

"She needs to have a cbc/profile/ua/t4 run. Hyperthyroid disease can cause that type of activity. Sometimes systemic hypertension as well - which may be present with early kidney disease or hyperthyroid. Once the metabolic conditions are ruled out then look to behavioral - Senility. Supplements have been known to help - omega 3's mainly. Diets known to help are the Science diet Advanced protection, Hill's prescription diet g/d. These foods are not "labeled" for senility but anecdotally have been shown to stop the yowling. Other option is to help regain the sleep cycle with medication - discuss with vet."

Best wishes and keep us posted.

Thanks everyone,
I apologize for having not gotten back to this post! Please forgive me.
I think I need to take him back to the vet. When I told him about this at his last visit about 6 weeks ago, he just sort of blew it off. But I would hate to ignore something serious.
He was supposed to get his teeth cleaned last year and didn't. So I was going to take him in in January to have it done. But I have a cousin who got sort of ticked off when I said that. She said "We've all had cats forever and have never had to have our pets teeth cleaned. I think its just a way for the vets to earn more money."
How do you all feel about that?
I also have to give him antibiotics for a week before he gets his teeth cleaned. I don't want to do all this for him (antibiotics, anesthesia, etc.), if its just unnecessary.
I wonder how they take their BP?
He eats a combo of Purina Cat Chow and Purina Chow for Indoor Cats. He seems okay with it......but he has to have alot of food in his bowl, before he will eat out of it. (he doesn't eat it all).
He cries mostly around feeding time.....so I guess we should consider something involving that.
I've noticed that when he wakes me up at 4a.m. crying, crying, crying, .....if I call him over to my bed, and stroke him for awhile, his crying eases up.
Maybe I should consider changing his diet.
Several people have brought up a urinary tract infection. How do I look for that? .....is it a matter of watching him when he goes to the litter box, and observing if it appears to be difficult??
Thanks so much for your help, and again, I apologize for not getting back sooner.

As far as all of us having pets forever and never having their teeth cleaned before...Today our pets live much longer, due to better nutrition, better health care, and I believe because our lifestyles have changed so that pets are more a part of our lives, rather than just the working animals (herding dogs or vermin exterminators) that previous generations appreciated. Because they live longer (just like humans) they do suffer from more ailments. We are also more likely to notice ailments because many pets are now in our homes rather than outside, and today we are more likely to seek veterinary care. 30 years ago alot of people never took their cats to the vet, but then they only had a life expectancy of about 8 years. Today we had one come in that is a happy cat at 19.

Not all pets need frequent dental care. The way their teeth meet as they chew, their diet, and some illnesses can cause dental tartar to accummulate more quickly in some mouths than others. Cath, you can easily tell yourself if his teeth need cleaning. How's his breath? Really bad breath can be caused by a bacterial infection (as well as other disease processes). Lift his lips and look at his teeth and gums. Especially the back ones. If there is a tan or grey crusty build up on his teeth or his gums are red (instead of normal pink), he has gingivitis and dental tartar or calculi. Red inflammed gums are painful, so are loose teeth. He needs his teeth cleaned. Many veterinarians prescribe antibiotics before dentals to minimize infections before the cleaning to reduce the possiblity of it becoming systemic. Ultrasonic dental scalers tend to aerosolize the bacteria and make it easier to breath in.

Cats with urinary tract infections will often 'yowl' alot, go to the litter box frequently, and may only produce a small amount of urine each time. Ever had one? Inflammed bladders are painful, and cats with UTI's feel like they need to go all the time. Sometimes they will urinate in inappropriate places, a laundry basket, on a pillow, in the bathtub. They may have blood in their urine, but not always, and often it's hard to tell in litter. You can certainly monitor his litter box behavior if in doubt.

Keeping in mind that every kitty is different, I think Dr. Toby's advice is sound. Remember, you can ask them to take blood and urine samples then run one or two tests at a time to rule things out, but if you trust your vet, listen to him. If you dont't, find another. It is your right and responsiblity to ask questions about your pets health care.

Just my 2 cents. Sarah

Thanks Sarah,

My cat puts up such a fight to look at his teeth, but I'll have someone help me look at his gums.
He seems happy the rest of the time. He loves to be held and stroked and purrs alot.
I will also check his litter box......but it always seem to fill up quickly......so I'm sure he's going regularly. He's not peeing anywhere else that I know of.
Thanks for your great input Sarah!

I have one crazy cat that will meow because she only likes "fresh food". I can only put a tiny bit of food in the bowl and after she has sampled it..it's considered "old". Next time she goes to the bowl, I have to put new stuff in. It's nuts. LOL Maybe he has the same finicky disposition...? Just a thought. Keep us posted, Catherine!

Andrea......that is so funny......that is exactly what my cat does! He cries, and I look at his food bowl, and it has plenty of food in it..........but he wants new stuff! So I put a little more in, and he eats it. He does this every time!
Also.....and this has just started in the past few months.....he needs an escort to his food bowl in the utility room. So we walk him back there, and drop him off. hahaha Silly goose! Maybe in his middle-age he's getting a little insecure and just needs a little reinforcement that we're there for him!

So, if that's the case, can't you re-teach him not to do it? If he's yowling at night, shut him out of the bedroom? (I know you wouldn't sleep for several nights, so I suggest a weekend.) Set out a small amount of fresh food twice a day and let him howl otherwise - again, wouldn't he get over it? If you don't reward the behavior with attention, food, etc, he'll stop 'cause it gets no response. (Unless it is a slight senility problem.)

No offense meant, I speak as one with several VERY ...shall I say spoiled... pets that rule my life (that's my story and I'm stickin' to it! I love them anyway!).

But if his behavior is truely affecting your life in a negative way re-training may be one answer.

Again, just my 2 cents.

When I first inherited my Pookie, my friend Susan explained that she was finicky when it came to her hard food. If the bowl wasn't topped off, with a nice rounded quality to it, she would refuse to eat.

The first thing I did was to make sure to only give her a handful of food in her dish as needed (daily or less), rather than adding fresh food to the top of the stale food that was already in there (as my friend had done). I find that she still sometimes gets a little attitude (staring, looking away, as though she can't bear to look at such a tyrant), but if I wait her out long enough, she'll eat. I do explain that there are starving kitties in the world, and she should get over it. LOL Yeah, right.

Brenda

Thanks Sarah and Brenda,

Actually.......my cat can last far longer than I can! He could cry for hours if he doesn't get what he wants....and that might be in the middle of the night, when I just don't have the energy to train him differently. I do keep a spray bottle of water next to the bed in case he's crying right next to me. That seems to work.
The reason I've been topping the food off instead of emptying it all out is because I heard that cats don't like their whiskers to touch the sides of the bowl......so I thought that would help.
But its a big bowl, and he has to deal with it......so today I'm emptying it out, and only putting in what he'll eat at one setting.
Even though we had him neutered at 6 months of age (and he's about 10-11), I still think he has the wanderlust in him. He usually just cries in the spring.....but this year its all the time. I wonder if he smells things outside during the night, and just wants to go out, and that's why he cries (he's an indoor cat).??
The past few nights our dog has been going crazy in the middle of the night too, and I think he smells a coon outside. This warm weather has thrown everybody off!
I'll keep trying different things. Thanks for your help!

LOL...Brenda, you are hilarious. I can SO relate to the tyrant comment!!!

Catherine, I have 2 cats that are half Manx and half Persian. I think the Persian half makes them fire w/ only one neuron and the Manx half makes them LOUD. They love to meow just to hear themselves and it makes me crazy. I actually have become like that parent in the restaurant who never hears their kid screeching at the top of their lungs while everyone else wants to kill them. LOL Maybe you'll be gifted the same!

Ever since Boa had her teeth pulled and the wire removed from her jaw she has gotten very vocal. She demands fresh food as soon as I walk in the door and very loudly at that. She can't eat the hard chow without teeth so of course I give in to her every demand. Sometimes I have three or four different cat foods open on my sink, pouches, cans and what my son calls dessert cups (Meow Mix soft food) as well as Catmilk. My two aren't spoiled. Me spoil an animal? Never.

Here is a link to what Santa Cat brought them for Christmas because they are such good little kitties even though they puke excessively (I should own stock in Resolve I'd be rich). It keeps them entertained for hours. They fight over who gets to sit on it. I just love it when they are on their way past it and a little mouse jumps out at them. Wonder how long it'll last.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cheese Mountain

Jenny, get pix and add 'em to the other thread. Looks like great fun! (BTW, I wish I had stock in Resolve too!) S

Will try to get some pix tonight. I am so spoiled since I went digital. I went through my picture box this weekend and pulled goo gobs of pictures of all my pets I used to have (God rest their souls). Some of them are hilarious. But scanning them into the system, then downloading into photobucket and loading to the forum is so time consuming. Am going to try to get to it tonight. Some of them are hilarious. My kids and I took more pix of the pets then ourselves. Whenever someone asks to see our pix and we bring the box out they roll their eyes and ask "Don't you have any human pics?" My son never forgave me when I let a roll of film expire that he took of our cat Geppetto when he was a kitten. He liked to sit in the shoe of my son's roller skate. By the time I get home from work and walk Apache for an hour I am exhausted. Still have to get my lunch ready for the next day, lay out my clothes, and clean up the kitchen after dinner. But I will try very hard to scan tonight I know you won't be disappointed. If I don't get to it tonight I have a three day weekend coming up, will try then if not tonight. Seems like the older I get the slower I move. And to think I used to get upset when old people moved so slow. Lol

Jenny

Oh, man, I'd love to "scare" my kitty with that Cheese Mountain! After the 1st time, she'd probably avoid it altogether, though. Lack of dignity and all that. LOL

Brenda

I'm on Ebay looking up "Cheese Mountain". I feel like I need a psychiatrist. LOL

lol andrea!

jenny, i am that same way- more pet pics than anything. i used those old sticky photo albums. now, i would ruin the picture if i tried to get it off.

Oh, yeah, the pics! At least you're decent enough to have albums, FTM. I use the plastic garbage bag filing system. LOL

And we definitely have more pet than human photos. But I'd rather look at my little darlings than at myself, anyway. :D

How is your little man, Catherine?

Brenda

Well Brenda:

I am one up on you. My pix are housed in very tattered shoeboxes under my bed. Boxes are stuffed to the max. Had to throw some of my very valuable pix away. Bet you can't guess why? For all of you who guessed cat puke: congratulations, you win!!!!! Boa likes to sleep under my bed in the picture boxes. Even though they are crammed so full that the box tops touch the box springs she managed to rip the sides open, scatter pictures under the bed and puke on them. Of course none of the pictures she puked on were hers.

Felines are just awesome.

When I got home from work last night I smelled Resolve. All I had to do was give my son "that look." He said "on the landing where the two piles of mail are stacked". I said "Oh no my bills are in that stack." He said: "Don't worry whoever did it managed to hit the carpet but went around the piles, between the piles and even hit the moulding. He said it had to be Bear because Boa doesn't eat hard chow. My cats never cease to amaze me with their aim.

Jenny

yep, lmao but feeling for ya, jenny! i get less since it is just frost and romeo. and, frost only gets chicken handouts or i get a lot more.

i dread if romeo hacks up a hairball in the house. i have seen them outside. thought a dead rat was in the yard it was so huge. that can't be good. no wonder he gets so hungry afterward. it must have taken up his whole stomach.

he did do one in the house, thankfully on the hardfloor. lots of juice came with that one.

Hi girls,
Boooger is still crying. I'm wondering if the weather has something to do with it. I think he thinks its spring all winter long! I emptied out his food bowl and I'm forcing him to eat everything I give him, and just not pile new stuff on old. Never fails, if I lay down to take a nap........meow.........meow.......meow..... grrrrr!
I'm debating about getting his teeth cleaned. I was going to do that in January......but I can't decide if I want to give him meds for a week, and then anesthesia. He's always been a little funky with stuff like that.
He's always had nothing but hard food, so you'd think it would rub tartar off.
He recently brought up a hairball. Why is it that he always does it on our newest, light colored carpet....instead of the 32 year old orange shag???
I used to give him Purina "Indoor" formula. It was supposed to help with hairballs, but it didn't. Not only that.......but it has orange coloring in it, and it would stain the carpet.
What gags me is when he throws up and Suzi eats it. EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
My dog Suzi has taught Boooger to beg for food! Now when I sit down in the easy chair with a bowl of popcorn.......guess who's up behind me???

just a note...when i found a food higher in protein and NO veggies...i had less vomiting. i just remembered i havent' given frost her sardines (she can have those in addition to chicken). i dread it, because she has to take everything to the carpet where she feels safer. it didnt' bother me as much before, but now we have new carpeting.

well, cat. i hope you can figure it out. but, my old man started yowling some day and continued ever since for years. it only got more frequent and louder. frost does also, but hers is definitely for attention. thing is, the stubborn old lady wants attention by you ocming to her. no matter how much i call her, nothing. i must come to the couch and sit down with her. i cna be in the chair and yak, yak, yak. or, she wants romeo to love her (not the other kind of loving though).

she was worse after the old man was gone, unless i keep romeo in more often. she still yaks when he is in but not as bad. also, i know she likes to hear herself. she is almost as much as a talker as siamese cats are.

brenda, you scare me. we are on the same photo filing system!!!!!! the really special ones go in a tupperware. oooh!

my house is 80% hardwoods. i have YET to really get a hairball on the hardwoods. now then, do i get them on the carpet? yes. on the throw rugs? yes. on the throw blankets? yes. on the couch? oh yes! ottoman? yes! any item of clothing? yes! carpet? yes!

Need I continue?

No offense, but dogs puke bigger.

My current cat never pukes, bless his heart, but the dogs are regulars.

And why are we discussing this? :) Teehee! Oh yeah!

My latest was when I came home from work, slipped off my shoes, in the dark...stepped into the kitchen and - squish! OMG who threw up what? Flipped on the light - it's green and slimey...huh? Turns out it was the kiwi I left on the counter to put on the salad that night..can't imagine how it got on the floor for me to step on...gross.

Cath, did you get a look at his teeth? Try rolling him up in a towel - less claws that way - and get a good look. I think you have to rule out physical problems before you decide its behavioral.

LOL! Why are stories about stepping in pets' womik so funny???? lolololol!
And why do dogs eat their womik? Seems like if it made ya yark it up once, you wouldn't want to give it a second chance!!
LOLOL Sarah......about the kiwi!
I'm afraid I've been negligent about checking the cat's teeth. I'll do it this weekend, while I have help around. He's definitely a challenge to hold down though.
I've seen people brushing dog's teeth.........but I'm thinking it would be alot more of a challenge for a cat.

I'm always referring to my cat as "she" and my dog as "he".......but that's wrong. My cat is a he and my dog a she........but the cat seems more like a female, and the dog a male! We call our dog Suzi "the warrior princess". She's definitely a warrior! The cat, on the other hand is a lover not a fighter.

Oh, man, that feeling of stepping into the unknown...makes my blood run cold! LOL Or that bouncy feeling, like...an immobile critter. Only once did my fears come true, and the shudders lingered for hours. BLAH!! LOL

What I noticed when we had Clyde (and now that my folks have Malone) is how quiet the little suckers are when they spew. It's the look in their eyes that always gives them away, like we're going to beat the snot out of 'em for having an accident. Maybe it's just a pug thing, but they've never tried to clean up their messes; they avoid the steaming piles like the plague. LOL

Cats at least have the decency to make a lot of noise before they revisit lunch. It almost sounds like the neighbor kid's stereo thumping away. LOL I spring into action as Pookie's personal concierge, flinging open the door and announcing, "Would you like to go out, Madam?" "Nope, I'm fine right...*ralph*...here, thanks."

Brenda

LOL Brenda!
Last week I thought I was so smart to notice those signs of upcoming upchuck in my dog. I was in the computer room and quickly grabbed a sheet of paper and was able to catch the stuff.....mostly bile. I folded the paper over a little on the way to throw it out, and it dripped all over my pants. Gone were those feelings that I was smart in any way.

LMAO!! Isn't that always the way? I can't help but laugh, because I picture myself doing the same thing. "Heheh, gotcha now! Oops....!@#$%!!!!"

Story of my life.

Brenda

When Grieco was alive he and Apache would fight over the cat womit. They wouldn't event let the poor cat get it out of his/her mouth. As soon as one of the cats started making the pre-womit sound they would dash over to him/her and put their mouths next to them. At times it seemed like a dinosaur fight to see who would win the grand prize. Ever since Grieco died Apache looks at me like "yeah, right you expect me to eat what? That game isn't fun anymore."

On the other hand. In my old house my shower was in my unfinished basement. One day I stepped out of the shower onto something slimy that popped. I knew it couldn't have been womit because womit doesn't pop. Once I put on my glasses and looked down I discovered I had stepped on a huge slug. The poor thing. I popped him. A slug. A slimy slippery slug. I had to get back into the shower because I had slug guts and slime all over the bottom of my foot. Of course there was nobody to clean up the darn squished slug, and my womit once I realized the reality of what I had just done. All right, that's enough I'm going to womit if I keep talking about it.

Jenny

well i won't be sleeping today after that one.eeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
that is worse than one getting b/t your toes!

I can't stop laughing!!! I'm laughing and kinda burping up at the same time, but I can't help it. LOL & ACK!

This story isn't gross, but...a guy that was doing some work on the house accidentally stepped on Clyde the pug's foot (I wanted to punch the guy, but I refrained). Anyway, poor Clyde, who never complained, made this sound not unlike the sound the late, great James Brown made when leading into his "I Feel Good" refrain (OWWW!). Clyde was fine, so we have been able to get a little chuckle out of it over the years. :D

Brenda