Night time Nightmare!!

[amy hh]

Hello...
I am at the end of my tether and desperate for advice!
My 14 year old indoor cat has always been a bit noisy at night but only in phases, the past few months her night time behaviour is unbearable and causing me huge stress, I was in tears last night over this.
She behaves all day quite normally, sleeps alot, seems in fine health, eats,poops etc then when I go to bed she wants until the lights go off and starts causing mayhem.
She scratches at all the furniture in the bedroom, incessantly, she scratches at the baby gate on my sons room, I feel its all for attention!! I let her up on the bed and stroke her, she purrs and settles down... but then she starts again. We build a makeshift barrier for the stairs which meant she could just say on ground floor at night (we have a 3 storey house), I was sure this would work but NO! She made the most god awful noise and ended up pulling this huge piece of wood and managed to get through!!! My friend has suggested trying homeopathic remedies, is this a common treatment?... I really can't handle this anymore its making me miserable!

[fjm]

Given her age I would start with a full vet check, including blood tests. Is she hungrier than usual? Losing weight? This sort of behaviour can be associated with hyperthyroidism, which is extremely common in older cats. It is very treatable, especially caught early, but can be very dangerous if left.

[Mollycat]

Having just been through hyperthyroidism with a 12 year old cat that was massively overweight and showed no signs except the yowling ... I can't agree more that a full health check with blood panel is your first port of call.

However, my old Sarah from a previous relationship showed similar signs at an unknown but very advanced age, the last 2 years before she died of old age in her sleep, and she was senile.

Pain, fear and anxiety can all produce this kind of behaviour as well as hyperthyroidism and other manageable conditions.

[amy hh]

Thanks for your replies...

She isn't over weight no, she became fussy with food a few months back but now eating a senior special day food which she likes. I think you're both right she needs a check up at the vets...

Thank you!

[Mary1005]

My 12 and a half year old ragdoll in the same!! Im so tired. He's always woken me in the night usually about half 4/5 but lately its every 2 hours and he scrapes at the doors in the room, and the window, then he jumps back and foward over me. I have another ragdoll and its unusual to hear a peep out of him during the night. Looks like ill be contacting the vet this week too. He's also quite clingy during the day, i suppose he's highly strung because if he has to go into a carrier he literally fits!! I love my boys but this is taking the enjoyment out of having them