# Yowling for hours at night... Isis is driving us crazy again



## Nini (May 6, 2007)

Some of you may remember that Isis has always had a tendency to "sing" at night, usually whenever we turn the lights out. We had managed to curb that in our former apartment, after weeks of suffering in silence and completely ignoring her meowing... she had become very good about it.

Now it seems that moving to the new place has brought the old behavior back... she will yowl and yowl in a bazillion different tones at night, carrying her favorite furry mousie in her mouth, and dropping it (and often several of them) at the foot of the bed or on my pillow. Of course I know better than to give in and throw that darn mouse, but she keeps meowing literally for HOURS on end... DH is getting sleep-deprived and grumpy, and we are worried that she will keep the neighbors awake too, and that they will end up complaining about her. We just moved here in a pet-friendly building, and we would like to keep as low a profile as possible!

I have tried everything... I ignore her whenever she meows to demand something; we play with the four cats for a good hour every night (they end up jumping around and racing like nuts, this is no quiet playtime) in an attempt to tire them out - works for the three others, but not for Isis; squirting water at her will only make her retreat away from the bedroom and yowl in the living room, so I don't even try it anymore... scolding her makes her meow in an even more plaintive tone... sometimes (very rarely) she will jump on the bed and snuggle next to me, and decide that sleeping is a good option too. But that's usually around 2am, after two hours of yowling her head off. :? 

I am at my wit's end... she is obviously not in pain or lonely... she has lots of playtime during the day - at least two hours of intense play with us and the other cats, and sometimes some additional time one-on-one with me with her favorite toys. She gets fed and gets her playtime at about the same time every day. We ignore her vocalizations as best we can. She just walks around with her toy and seems to think that the natural thing for me to do would be getting out of bed and play with her... and she is so stubborn that it takes forever for her to finally get tired of it and go to sleep. 

I don't know what to do... I will try to include another play session right before we go to bed, but that's usually when she is curled up snoozing on the cat tree - and then after ten minutes of us being in bed, Evil Kitty wakes up and starts her recital. I want to ignore her completely, and I would if there wasn't the neighbor issue... tonight I had to get out of bed, she was driving me up the wall! I did not play with her however, I ignored her completely, just told her in no uncertain terms that I was not too happy with her. After ten minutes of scratching the couch and batting at her mousie, the brat went up to her sleeping place and curled up there... now all that is left to do is find a way to keep her there every night!!!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated by what's left of my nerves 8O


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

Added as an afterthough: I keep reading that cats with hyperesthesia are prone to excessive meowing, often at night. Isis does show signs of skin rippling on her back and racing off in random directions every once in a while, but her meowing at night does not seem random or frantic at all. It sounds very deliberate and insistant, she actually has an amazing range of weird meows reserved for that particular occasion, that we never hear at any other time of the day... could it still be related?

Another thing... even though we don't do it anymore, and even though she had become so much better at the older apt, could she still be functioning this way thinking that positive reward in form of mouse-throwing will occur sooner or later?


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

I really don't know the cause, but some thoughts popped into my head (that's scary, I know). Is she afraid of the dark? Can you leave a light on for her? Also, how about the feliway plug in things? Maybe a few of those until she gets totally used to the new place?

It must be sooooo frustrating. I have a couple who call out in the night, but it doesn't last for hours.


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

Toby does this sometimes - but usually only when being looked after by my flatmate when I am away. I think its possibly because he gets much more snuggly time with me at bedtime (I think my flatmate tends to neglect his emotional needs) so he is forced to ask (very loudly apparently) for that love he has every right to expect.

How did you manage to stop it at the old apartment. I can only imagine she has started up again because the place is still new and strange to her and she might settle on her old accord.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I think you should send Wicket and Chewie to San Diego for a visit and see if that helps. 

No, no - don't thank me. It's who I am. I'm a giver.


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

Hehehehe... well, to be totally honest with you, I hope cats can't think in terms of past, present and future, because otherwise the big girls would surely regret the good old times every now and then :lol: 

Leazie, I would be tempted to say that she is not afraid of the dark, since she did not use to do every night, but what do I know? It won't cost anything to try and let a dim light on in the living room  

Allie, we stopped it by completely ignoring her at the old apt - but there we did not have any immediate neighbors, and the walls were very thick, so we did not worry about her bothering the whole building... 
I might give her another course of the Bach essences I have for her, see if it helps. I have a feeling it did help a lot at the other place. I am pretty sure the novelty of the new place is just causing her to revert to old habits... I just hope she can snap out of them in not too long 8O 

I usually "talk" to her during the day, and she has a variety of meows to talk to me, I guess I will have to make sure I ignore every single meow that is a request for something... just to be sure she does not get confused about what is allowed and what is not. I love our conversations, but her solos at night are getting more than we can handle :?


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## BinaBaby (Oct 11, 2007)

I suspect cats like to howl more in homes with large rooms and no carpet, or small rooms with no carpet and sparse furniture. Kind of like the effect in the bathroom where you get kind of an echo. They just LOVE to hear themselves. At least that was my experience in my last house. Took me a while to figure it out. Now that I own a home with carpet, excessive howling means "pay attention to me." I just grab her, hold her on her back and tickle the heck out of her until she's had enough of me. Doesn't take too long. If time permits, play is always preferrable tho.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Does Isis only yowl when carrying her toys?
Squirrely-Jo will yowl when she plays with her favorite toy (plastic milk gallon ring). She carries it around and yowls. If you speak to her, she drops it and will respond with a different tone of meow. 
Her 'yowls' really sound sad and pathetic, like she is crying or in pain. But when you speak to her she will give you a happy meow as if she is glad of the attention or recognition. I have also noticed her eyes will be dilated when she yowls with her toy. I don't know what this signifies. 
When I speak to her, she usually gets distracted enough to drop the toy and come over to me for a quick pet or cuddle and then she is off about her business and forgets all about her toy and the yowling.


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

Heidi n Q said:


> Does Isis only yowl when carrying her toys?
> Squirrely-Jo will yowl when she plays with her favorite toy (plastic milk gallon ring). She carries it around and yowls. If you speak to her, she drops it and will respond with a different tone of meow.


Yes she does exactly the same thing as Squirrely-Jo: she walks around carrying her favorite mousie in her mouth, yowling her special "mousie yowl". Every now and then you can hear her dropping it and batting at it a little, then she picks it back up and carries on her rounds... she will jump on the bed, and let me pet her, and meep pathetic tiny high-pitched meows, but I never throw the mousie, so off the bed she goes, and back to her yowling. If I try to keep the mouse, she takes off to get another one.

She really acts like she wishes someone would play with her - whenever I did (mea culpa) throw the mousie in the past, she darted after it with all the speed she could muster, and batted it around like crazy.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

If I have this right, you've just been in your new place barely a week, right? Sounds like she's just getting used to her new surroundings and testing out the fab acoustics with the new hardwood floors!  Bach Flower can't hurt since she may be a little stressed from the move and some extra play before bed.. Other than that, I think she'll settle down if you just ignore her again. Also, I would imagine you're not fully settled in yet either and once you are, that will help too.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

What happens if she doesn't have a mousie? Maybe try hiding them at night? Worth a shot....


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I wonder....
...could this behavior (carrying something and yowling) be some sort of maternal behavior? Sort of like a false pregnancy carried through, and beyond, to 'imaginary kittens' and the toy is the substitute kitten?

...or maybe a hunting behavior? Like: 'Look at the kill I made and want to share with you?' sort of thing?


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## chaoticborders (Nov 27, 2006)

What about a radio left on, but real quiet? I have to do that here. If it's silent at night I've got like 3 or 4 cats running around screaming :roll: :lol:


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

Guys, I love all of your suggestions!  

I do agree that she does not feel fully at home yet... after all we have been here for only 6 days  And knowing her, she probably *is* testing the acoustics!! I just want to be prepared with creative ideas to help curb the behavior before she makes a habit out of it.

It might have something to do with hunting behavior too... when we first got her at 4 months, she had a favorite furry mouse with a rattle in it and feathers on its butt, and she would walk around carrying it in her mouth, meowing. We would joke that she was trying to meow the mouse to life, but now I can definitely see the parallel with what she is doing now. For what it's worth, she always does this with the furry mousies that rattle, never the nylon cord ones, or the "silent" ones. She just loves to pick up the mouse by its fur and shake it to hear the rattle - maybe she is a little obssessive-compulsive? :lol: 

I will give a shot to the dim light and the radio on at night... I do that when I know I will be gone most of the day: I leave the radio on some "talking" station, the volume just high enough to create a quiet hum in the room. Don't know if it helps, but it certainly can't hurt! I am glad that our new apartment's windows open on the building's central courtyard, this way they can watch people come and go, and other people's kitties sitting on their balconies.

And, last but not least, I will try hiding all the furry mousies tonight. With my luck she will notice and come meow all her frustration out in my ear... but it is worth a shot (it would be so simple too!)


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

So....did you get any sleep last night?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Shhhhhhhh. Maybe she's sleeping now.


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

doodlebug said:


> So....did you get any sleep last night?


YES!! 

I tried the simplest solution first: I put away all the furry mousies in a drawer right before we went to bed - stealthily, so Miss Isis would not sit by the drawer and bawl for me to take them out. 

Both Jason and I participated in a very intense one-hour long play session with all four cats beforehand... there was an assortment of beating up the kitty tent, jumps in all directions, mousie chasing, da bird chasing, and other energy-consuming activities.

5mn after turning the lights out, we hear Isis meow... but not her mousie meow, her "I want something" meow. She was patrolling the apartment looking for a mouse and could not find one. After a few minutes of meowing in a surprised and inquiring tone and being thoroughly ignored, she jumped on the bed and nestled next to me... YAY!  

To punish me for that small victory, all four kitties decided to sleep between my legs ... I woke up on my back, unable to move because Mew was hugging my ankle :lol: and two of them pooped under our noses in the bedroom litterbox this morning (while the other two were clean)...

It was sweeeet to be able to get to sleep so fast! I hope the strategy will get positive results tonight too!! Thanks for the idea!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

That's great, Nini! :yellbounce :jump :wiggle


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## camel24j (Jan 12, 2007)

thats great i have been luckiy midnight only sometimes has meowing spats in the kittchen at night my olld cat sadie us to do it every night but since he has been gone midnight has been doing it but only sometimes. im glad you got some needed sleep.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Very cool! Hope it continues to work.


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

Second night without yowling!  

I don't know if it's related at all, but this morning I woke up with Isis lying on my back, very comfy :lol:


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)




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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Yay! Ehat's great! What good little kitties, keeping you all tucked in.


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

nanook said:


> Yay! Ehat's great! What good little kitties, keeping you all tucked in.


Seriously... when I woke up Isis was on my back (heavy!), Wicket was curled up right in the middle of my pillow, leaving me only a puny corner to rest my head on, and Chewie and Mew were between my legs, hugging my ankles... no wonder I feel sore when I get up :lol: 

As for the yowling... the solution was so simple I am embarrassed I did not think of it a long time ago  (and I did find two furry refugee mousies in the bedroom this morning... I guess Isis did not see them either)


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Nah...sometimes you're just too close to the problem. I read through this thread several times before it actually dawned on me.


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

So last night we dragged ourselves to bed early, exhausted, and I forgot to pick up the furry mousies. After 5 minutes, of course, Isis started walking around with one in her mouth, yowling and yowling... I was too lazy to get out of bed (it was cold too, hehe) but I finally managed to coax her onto the bed with me after 15 minutes or so - she snuggled and purred and SHUT UP :lol: 

I won't forget the mousie-picking tonight, that's for sure!!


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