Cat Psychologist Needed

Jun 5, 2007 at 9:56 AM
26 comments

I have a question for all you long-time cat owners out there: What the hell is up with my cat? I’ve had kiki for about a year (June 19^th is Kitty Day!) but for the past week or so, she’s been meowing all night. It’s mostly a plaintive meow that kinda makes me think “There’s trouble at the mill!” but then there’s that guttural meow that says “I’m mourning the kittens I’ve never had!” The meowing is accompanied by a lot of running around, the best part of which would be when she jumps up on the bed, stomps on me a few times, and wakes me up. I’m a terrible sleeper, so when this happens, it takes me forever to get back to sleep. That is, if it’s not punctuated by another round of it. Depending on what time all this happens, I psych myself out about not getting enough sleep before the alarm goes off and then I end up wide awake at 4 in the morning.

All of this meowing is different than the “I see a millipede and must eat it!” meowing, and she’s most definitely fixed. Anyone have any ideas?

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Hmmm...wonder if there's a neighborhood kitty that's been hanging around and she can tell?
One of my kitties does sorta of the same thing....but carries around a Morris the cat catnip pillow when she does it!?!?
Do you know how old she was when she was fixed? If they've gone through a heat or two...I think they still can have "urges"...
Could be lonely. Got room for another?

My cat is 10, very subdued, definitely a lap cat, but come 3 AM she gets what we call "the midnight crazies". It tends to be heightened in the summer (open windows maybe?). She'll start crying up a storm, running around, crying some more and when you go to ask her what's up (yes, I ask her what's up, usually she answers with a meow that I can read as "i'm hungry" "pet me" or "divorce mean daddy") and she takes off running like a bat out of hell.

I think your problem is that she's a cat.

Exactly! She's a cat! Remember this happened to YGRS about a year ago...maybe six months ago (time and my mind don't mix). YGRS said Wembley was doing this exact same thing! It went on for maybe a week, and then stopped as suddenly as it started.
Of course they can sense noises/vibrations/smells/auras that we can't and there is probably something going on that she is sensing. Mating season? Mouses being grabbed by owls?
I dunno, but I'll bet you it will stop soon, for the same unexplained reasons!

Dave: I think she was fixed right when she was a kitten, but that was 2 owners ago, so who knows? She's only about 3 years old. There are a few neighborhood cats, but they've been around since before she was, so I don't think it's that. I'd love another one to force me closer to the slippery slope of Cat Ladydom, but my roommate isn't very keen on the idea.

Val: I suspect your diagnosis of Catness may be the culprit. Perhaps I should seek out some Doggie Downers for her...

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I think your problem is that she's a cat.

I think Val here said it best...she's a cat.

No idea what bug they have crawled up their butt *eeew* but, my 2 kitties are currently doing the same thing to me. Especially Cosmo. He'll just meow and meow until I tell him to stfu. He'll stop for 30 minutes, an hour max, and then continue...until I throw something at him that is. Then he'll just jump on the bed, get all comfy, look at me and scream the meow at me.
*shrugs*
most kitties go through these phases once every year *or twice*..around this time..hmm...might just be the open window factor O.o

errr...Lauri...we haven't quite been on vox for a year yet :P

I agree, she's just being a cat. Edgar goes through many phases, one of which is bugging the shit out of me way too early in the morning. This morning for instance, he was so plaintinve and insistent in his meowing that I got up and fed him two hours early - and it's a rare case when I don't hold out until proper feeding time. Just like sleep/nap spots - those change on a fairly regular basis, too. I'm willing to bet it will stop soon.

Um, don't count on it stopping. I have two cats, sisters, both fixed at 3 months. A couple nights a week one or both of them get the "crazies," and run around meowing. This has been going on for 7 years. Sometimes they can be cured by closing the bathroom door. Don't know why, but perhaps there is a cat ghost in the bathroom, so closing them out of the bathroom solves Flanny's crazy. Sippy's crazy is only solved by shutting her out of the bedroom. So, we always close the bathroom door, and some nights, we have to kick them both out of the bedroom to sleep.

I know it sounds silly to say "cat ghosts," but if there's a particular area in the house that seems to set off Kiki's crazy, keeping her away from it at night can help diminish that behavior.

Cats have secret meetings at night. It sounds like she's an indoor kitty so maybe she is sensing a gathering that's going on near your apartment/house. I doubt it's a maternally mournful or plaintive cry. Cats don't care enough for that. Unless the house is on fire or you have an intruder, that is.

I love your tag line, btw. Doodlebug is the nickname my parents had for me. And they still call me that sometimes. :)

crankypants replied to Jareth’s comment:
Jun 5, 2007
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Maybe YGRS mentioned it over there on CO? ;-)

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Haha, Jareth, that's why I hemmed and hawed my way down to six months. I am 51 years old, ya leetle steenker...you can't expect me to keep track anymore!

Whippersnappers.......

O.M.G. I just remembered my friend at work. Her name is Michelle and she has a cat that was spayed, but obviously somethiing was missed because she comes into heat every four months or so.
To stop the yowling, rolling, heating (couldn't think of any other descriptive words), Michelle has to "mate" with the cat by inserting something, she has used car keys, or the stem of an aloe plant, with sufficient gentleness, yet firmness, so that the cat thinks it has been mated with. THEN, the cat is satisfied and resumes it's normal spayed cat life.
Michelle worked at a vet's office for years, so don't try this at home by yourself without instruction. ANYONE.

Oh my how we have howled at Michelle's stories of taking the cat down the basement and having her kids pound on the door...."Mom, what are you doing to the cat?"

BTW, MMB, this does not sound like what is wrong with Kiki. She is only being weird at night, right? This "going into heat" was an all day thing.

Ack!

Lauri: Yikes. Just yikes.

I guess I was spoiled by my growing-up cat - not a goofy thing about her, and we had her for 10 years. I've lived with cats since then, but they were pretty much all nuts all day long, so nighttime craziness didn't stand out in any way. Maybe I should just start getting up when she wakes me up and officially start my day. Oh god, now I'M the crazy one!

Cranky... no....she mentioned it on here, I believe a bit after Christmas? O.o

Lauri: lol leetle steenker? whippersnappers? *lowers head in sadness* :(

:P

Awwwww, gives Jareth a loving noogie. It was said with fondness, silly! ;)

Hey!!!! *rubs head* ouch :(

*bwahahahaha* I know!! :P

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yep. It is a cat thing. lol The idea of inserting anything sounds totally weird to me, but whatever works. lol

My kits seem to need to announce season changes.
Especially spring and summer.
Since these guys go out. I get a night or two of yodeling, then they take it outside.
After a couple of weeks they ease back into sleeping on the bed.
Think DKN's right -- she's just upset to be missing the neighborhood meetings.

Q-tips. It's what we used on the shelter cats that were in heat before we could get them spayed. It's not pleasant, but it solves the problem pretty quickly.

Wow, Q-tips sounds much better than car keys or aloe plants.
My friend, Michelle, said the Q-tips weren't doing the job. :P

Hi!
Yep --- like Lauri said, this is EXACTLY what happened with Wembley a bunch of months back!
What everybody said --- it all makes sense. And it could be ONE thing or a combination of a couple...who knows??
Wembley STARTED suddenly, and then just as suddenly STOPPED --- never to act as bizarrely since...
Aren't they weird sometimes???
jeesh!
Good luck --- I know how TOTALLY ANNOYING it can be at 4 in the morning...
&:o\