After 13 years, my cat has only recently discovered that there isn’t a door in my house he can’t scratch on that won’t produce a sound sufficiently high pitched and loud enough to wake me from even the deepest slumber. And keep me awake. I haven’t slept through the night in weeks. It’s like having a newborn, only without the diapers or the prospect of being taken care of in return in my old age.
Last night he woke me four times: Twice to go outside, and twice to come in. And of course, each time he came in, he eventually jumped into bed with me and proceeded to methodically walk back and forth across my body until he could find a comfy nook to curl up in and fall to sleep. Comfy for him.
The thought occurred to me that I could seal him in a burlap sack and dump him into the lake, but I suppose that would be wrong. So if any cat experts have any less drastic suggestions, I’d appreciate it.
Goldy, don’t you have a Questionland account? You probably would have gotten a lot more useful suggestions from people who know WTF they’re talking about if you’d asked the question there.
Fewer page hits, though.
For myself, I haven’t let a cat outside in more than 20 years. None of my cats have ever set foot outside, except on the screened-in back deck. They catch bugs (and one bird, and one really dumb rat) there, and snooze in the sunshine, in safety. I would no more let a cat run loose unsupervised than I would a three-year-old child – they have no more understanding of the potential dangers. Then again, some of my neighbors don’t seem to have those qualms with their toddlers, either.
I would get a health check done with bloodwork and a urinalysis at the vet. Hyperthyroidism along with many other treatable diseases can begin with behavior changes like this and thirteen years old is a time when age may may him prone to senior cat illnesses. Kidney disease or urinary tract infections may also make him seem to be jumping out of his skin or desperate to go outside frequently.
get a dog.
I read this online – you can basically scare your cat into silence if they are scared of the vacuum cleaner. Keep it near your bed, where you can reach it, and when they start whining in the night turn it on. Do it every single time, don’t get up and give them what they want (EVER) and they should stop.