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Question for people with old cats.........

Posted: Jul 19, 2013

Do you have an elderly kitty that tends to yowl a lot for no reason? My 14-year-old cat is happy, healthy, (been to vet not too long ago, also had a dental), and yet she some times yowls for what appears to be no reason. She has all sorts of different normal vocalizations, yet when she yowls she sounds distressed. But when I go to investigate, I'll find that she's:

Talking to her water dish as she dips her paws into it.

Talking to her blanket as she kneads it or scrunches it up to sleep on.

Talking to the ceiling.

Talking to her food dish.

When I talk to her and ask her what's wrong, she'll look surprised, and switch over to her normal conversational meow, as if to say, "Moi? That wasn't ME yowling, that must've been somebody else!"

Her hearing appears to be fine, as does her eyesight. She still occasionally gets frisky and gallops around the house. She's very affectionate and cuddly, & tends to follow me from room to room. Doesn't appear to have any pain anywhere.

In the middle of the night, if I hear her yowl, in another room, if I call out her name and say "Pssshhhttt.....pssshhhhttt!", she then quiets down and goes back to sleep.

Any similar experiences?

;

You are lucky to have a vocal cat - just saying

[ In Reply To ..]
I have several cats of varying ages and while they will all complain if they need to ;) only some will vocalize a lot. I love a talkative cat myself :)

One thing: sometimes cats in pain purr heavily - so this is actually something to watch for - as well as not eating, drinking, etc and litter mistakes.

Sounds like you just have a chatty catty

Yes my 10 year old male has been doing that lately. - SM - Freebie

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm wondering if they have the same kind of depression that people go through, I know I get down when it's hot outside and they don't like being shut up in the A/C with the windows closed so I'm hoping it's that. He wasn't like this in previous years but he's driving me nuts. It's like he's doing it just to hear himself or something. He's also gotten really demanding about everything.

Yes, mine sounds kind of like yours... - Miss Placed Semicolon

[ In Reply To ..]
though she doesn't seem unhappy. She and my other cat want NO PART of going outside.. they're strictly indoor kitties. Sometimes I think she likes the sound of her own fog horn (I mean voice!) The only other thing I was wondering about is if she's clearing her sinuses. She's an extreme-faced Persian with a microscopic little nose. She's always been that way with the sinuses, however - no changes there. When she sleeps, she snores like a drunk longshoreman.

And like the other reply stated, she does like to talk - everything from her booming midnight yowls, to silent meows. She's always been a big purrer, too, but only when she's happy.

This is the first cat I've had that's gotten to this age, so sometimes she can be pretty mystifying. She's due for a checkup soon, so will bring that up with the vet, as well. I want her to be healthy and live a long, happy life - she's my extra-special little buddy!

elderly cats - NK

[ In Reply To ..]
I had an elderly cat that would walk through the upstairs hall at night yowling. I took him to the vet, who checked his thyroid, as apparently that sometimes is a cause, but it was normal. Vet said sometimes when their hearing/vision isn't as acute as they age they like to reassure themselves, I guess by talking to themselves. The cat lived to 18-1/2.

That is what I think is going on w/my 17yo - kitty.

[ In Reply To ..]
He yowls from 4:30 am to whenever we get out of bed. Then he sits outside the bathroom and yowls. He has poor hearing, poor vision, two bad knees, and asthma. He always has fresh food, clean water and a clean litter box, both upstairs and down, and still he yowls. He goes to the vet once a month, so there is nothing else going on.

He also has a very indignant meow - when we don't get

[ In Reply To ..]
out of bed in time to see what he is howling about.

Wandering meows - cat lover

[ In Reply To ..]
We had a cat start doing something similar when he was about 14. Our vet called it the wandering meows. She said it's not uncommon in older cats. He was still pretty healthy, though you could tell his joints were getting stiff. Anyway... he'd wander into a room, do this goofy meoooorrrww, walk around a bit (possibly a bit confused??), then head back to the family room.

Different than his usual I-own-the-house meowing, where he'd very purposely walk into a room, meow very clearly, then go on to the next room - kind of like staking his claim.

I kind of assumed it was like cat dementia. He personality changed a bit - less King Cat and more laid back, but still sweet and loving all the way to the end.

LOL! You could be describing my tom - to a tee...

[ In Reply To ..]
He's from the pound, and I don't think he's even that old, but will sometimes just yowl and howl for no apparent reason. Sometimes I half expect him to start forming words! He is especially vocal when he wants his breakfast at 6 a.m. Mine is also very affectionate and cuddly too.

I believe that's a sign of - ExMeridianer

[ In Reply To ..]
hearing loss, either partial or full.

We have had very old cats - see msg

[ In Reply To ..]
We have had old cats. The oldest did this "maaarrrooww" all day long sometimes. He was 18 and "maaarrroowwed" until he died at 21. We're not sure why, but interestingly, after he died, the next eldest "maarrroowed" until he died.

There were 4 all together, and while we don't know why the first one did the noise, all the others did the noise AFTER the one in the house that was doing it died. Kind of like a noise was missing, so whoever was "king of the castle" at the time, did the noise.

I have a very young cat that does that - I do not think it's anything to worry about

[ In Reply To ..]
My cat, Starr, has done that for years. She's only 5. Before she chewed the strings through on the blinds, she would get one of the strings from the blind in her mouth and walk back and forth in front of the window with it.

Now, she just sort of sits in the hallway, or on the counter, or wherever. When I look at her and talk, then she reverts back to her normal, higher-pitched voice. One night, about 3:30 am, she was doing this yowling thing and she was LOUD. It was waking me up, but not enough to get up and quiet her down. After about 15 minutes I heard a really loud squawk - it seems that Buddy, one of the other cats her age, had enough as well and quieted her down. It was very funny.

My cat yowls too from time to time - sm - XXX

[ In Reply To ..]
She is about 10-1/2...been a bit more yowly of late, but nothing wrong with her other than being a very fat cat, was just at the vet about 3 weeks ago for her checkup. I disagree with poster who said it is a sign of hearing loss, my cat has no hearing issues from what I observe. She mainly yowls for attention or to tell me that her food bowl is empty. She will come to me and bat me on my thigh when she wants somthing, which can be annoying. Personally I would not worry about it unless it seems like she is in pain or something.

Oh, Lordy, yes! - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
My boy is almost 18 years old and he's been howling and yowling for about 4 years now. In his case, I'm leaning towards hearing loss. I'll walk right up to him sometimes and he won't even notice me until I speak to him. Even then, sometimes he still won't respond until I speak his name loudly, and then he startles (as yours did) and starts purring and meowing.

I've noticed he'll yowl at the walls, the couch, while he's simply lying down on the floor in the middle of the living room, or when he wakes up from a nap. He almost always yowls and howls when he's hungry and then again right after he eats and right before he goes to potty. I thought maybe he had a bowel or bladder problem or other GI problem, but I've followed him in there and I've seen no obvious problems or changes. He'll also yowl and howl after I've gone to bed. I'll call his name and he'll come in there with me and jump on the bed and then he's fine.

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