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Fri 9 Sep, 2016 04:02 pm
Our tomboy imhas always been scared, apparently of everything new or unexpected. In our last place he was so uncomfortable, he kept himself inside the closet all day. Ever since he was a kitten he has had a strange voice. High pitched and prolonged, sometimes increasing sharper in pitch, sometimes rolling up and down pitch. Suffice to say hungry time, or if we let the litter box get too full, are met with the most shrill of protests.
Here's the issue I can't figure out. We've moved apartments again. This is the third time he moves. He hates it, and I know he does. I try to make it easier for him, but it never is. Thai time though, he started doing something he never did before. Even though he's more openly explorative and hides away less during the day, at night he just starts crying. Over and over. From 00:00 till morning. He makes all kinds of calls. I'm listening to him right now. I can't sleep. I thought it was attention-grabbing, but even if I pet him and comfort him, he just goes off again a few more minutes later. Over and over.
He sounds like he's calling out. It's the same kinds of pitch and tone, rising at the end of the cry. Most often it is short and rising. If he notices I've woken up, it tends to be the sharp, prolonged, high-tone shrill call - which to be honest has always driven me insane >_< and I'm starting to think in never gonna sleep again. The. He quiets down. For a while at least. He's gonna start back up again soon. My wife thinks he's seeing things we can't. Wether you believe in that or not... I don't tend to dismiss anything. But I do look for the most rational explanation and a solution first. If I can't work it out, then I'll accept ghosts are plaguing my neighborhood/apartment.
We haven't organized our new home. All our stuff is still mostly in boxes and suitcases. Maybe he needs more of the familiar smells of all our things? What can I do? How can we go back to sleep? Before we all sleep through the night -my wife and I, him and our other female cat, who generally has never had any big issues.
Thanks for reading and considering this. Help me sleep again, please?
@findmywuwei,
Sorry for typos, I'm super tired.
We used to butter our cat's paws when we moved; it seemed to calm him down. I think maybe his calls are because he smells, (literally) pussy.
@findmywuwei,
Make sure that he's not in some kind of pain that you are unaware of. Make sure he doesn't have a bad tooth. Is he eating as he should?
@contrex,
Would he be going nuts (^_^) over pussy -you meant all other cats, or female cats in specific?- if he's neutered?
@Glennn,
I haven't noticed him eating, so he may not be eating enough or frequently enough, but if he had a pain, wouldn't he be crying all the time? He seems to be on this anxious crying only in the deep night and into the early morning. I forgot to say he goes from room to room, gets frazzled by me waking up, is nervous... This morning (4:50am) I got up after the nth time of hearing him and he ran away from me. I followed him to see if maybe he wanted me to look at something, but he just ran in be opposite direction, and like that from room to room.
@findmywuwei,
I have a friend who may know more about this kind of thing. Give me some time.
@Glennn,
Is he fixed, and is the female cat spayed? Are there any other pets in the house? Do you have a child in the house? How long have you had this cat? From a kitten?
@findmywuwei,
Is he declawed? Is he allowed to go outside?
@Glennn,
He is fixed, the girl is fixed as well. He is not declawed, and he is allowed to go to the balcony but neither he nor the other cat are about side cats.
@Glennn,
There are no other pets in the house. We're in early pregnancy, no children love with us -yet
Both of the cats have been with us since they're kittens. We've raised them together
@findmywuwei,
Do you spend more time with the other cat? Are your cats left alone most of the day? Cats who are locked in a house for their entire lifetime will experience anxiety when they have to use their litter box and the litter box is too full to use. The litter box should be taken care of every morning as cats probably don't like stepping into their own stuff.
Also, cats that aren't allowed outside must have playtime. That's why they make cat toys. They need an outlet! A feather tied to the end of a stick with you on the other end of that stick will do wonders for his body and mind. Every living being needs exercise and variety. Perhaps your cat is doing only what is natural. Night time may be exceptionally lonely for him, and he is expressing his feelings about that by crying in his own way. Life is life to your cat. Depending on his circumstances, he will respond accordingly.
Forgive me if I am totally wrong about this. But I choose to err on the side of caution. And here is a song that popped into my head while writing this post. It's beautiful in its sadness.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=White+Bird+YouTube&&view=detail&mid=F02397B5FAA16B376572F02397B5FAA16B376572&FORM=VRDGAR
@Glennn,
I'll have to be more diligent about the litter box. But in general what you're saying is something we know and keep in mind. Before we moved, both our cats slept all night with us, and this little guy didn't cry at all from midnight to sunrise... What he did do was sleep in the closet all day. Even when we were home, he would hide away. Noises outside the house panic him. He's a very anxious cat. In this new place, he is on edge all the time because there are more dogs barking.
Update: These past few days cat hasn't been crying. We spent some time organizing all the boxes and everything and unpacking the house. We also went ahead and got a special treat that both of them.
He still likes to hide under the bed, and he still very nervous in general. But now he is sleeping through the night with us. It's a relief!
Thanks everyone for brainstorming about this. I sill want to figure out how to foster better behaviors for our boy cat, so any questions or ideas that come to mind, feel free to post.
This was my first post, I'm grateful to all of you.
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