Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 1/25/2011

Question
Hello,  
History: we rescued a 9yr old kitty that is being treated for eyes with ulcers & dry eye.  Ear bacteria and scratching them (Otomax)  and been diagnosed has small kidneys.  She been to two vets and tested for viruses.  She has bad teeth, but cannot sustain being put to sleep for dental work.  We give her minced versions of cat food.
  
Problem:   Kitty meows and wakes up everyone at least twice a night.  If you call her, she stops and lies down. I’ve even tried taking her to bed with me.   Later, she gets back up eats, uses her box and starts meowing again.    

We have tried playing to tire her out, food all day, meds ( she won't keep them down to work)  and squirting her with water for bad behavior.  Some nights she sleeps.  5 out of 7 nights, she doesn’t and I have to wake and call her name.   My husband has been annoyed for months and now I am as well.

What can we do???

Answer
Well I understand your frustration Kathi but your kitty doesn't know what's going on. She is probably much older than 9 yrs old and is in a typical state of beginning dementia. Cats brains age just as ours do and some of them develop a type of dementia or sun-downers, as they call it in humans.

There isn't a lot you can do for this but be patient and tolerant. The cat will have an episode where she just doesn't know where she is. It gets worse at night (hence the "sun-downers" syndrome)and they get a bit frightened and are not sure what's going on.They call out in a strange voice also because some of them can't hear very well. My 19 yr old cat started this at 16 and it continued until he died at 19. I asked a panel of vets once what they did for this and none of them had an answer (but they all had old cats that did it).

Squirting her with water is only going to traumatize her more. You are punishing her for something she has no clue she is doing. It is not her fault she has this issue.

So you have to decide if you are willing to put up with this 'condition' until she is much older. If your vet has no clue what to do, then you just have to put up with it.

I know it can be frustrating but she is relying on you to love and care for her. She doesn't know she is doing this and certainly isn't doing it to upset you. You might want to make her a bed in a crate with some kind of heat and a soft bed so that she stays in there all night. They have wonderful pads that can be heated in the microwave and will keep her warm for hours. They are much safer than heating pads. Get her a crate large enough to put a little litter box and water in and only use it for her at night. She will probably grow to love it. Just make sure it's in a room a way from you because she will still cry out in it now and then. Get her use to it slowly by leaving the door open and let her go in and out of it.

That is about the only way you might be able to curb this. I just dealt with it since I loved my cat so much I didn't care for the most part about the lack of sleep- I knew my time with him was limited. I would love to hear him cry like that now. It's been 11 yrs since he died.

I hope that this helps a little. Let me know how it goes.