Neutered Older Female yowling

[Marc_M]

Hello all!

We have a female calico who was a neighborhood stray for a few years before we took her in and had her neutered about 8 years ago.

All of a sudden she has begun yowling as if she is in heat and she became extra affectionate. When I go to the kitchen, she follows and meows lightly as if for food. She will only eat dry food, accepts no treats, canned food, bacon, tuna, you name it. She also has become very needy and hops up to be scratched and petted five or six times a day.

I took her to the vet and after $300.00 of tests and whatnot, he could not find anything. I have great trust in this doctor. He also said that perhaps when she was neutered 8 years ago, they missed an ovary that developed in a place that they normally wouldn't look.

That was about 3 weeks ago and she is still displaying this behavior. In fact, she has started to embellish her yowling with squeaks and meows. Her weight has stayed the same. There are no other observable symptoms.

Any help would be sincerely appreciated,

Marc Miller
Pennsylvania, US

[bobbys girl]

Hi Marc

there are other, far more experienced folk on here that might know exactly what is causing this. But until they happen along I would ask, do you know how old she is and if the vet tested her for deafness (or you could do that).

Sometimes when an older cat's senses start to diminish they can become a bit clingy. My Willow has just turned 13 and she has started to get quite affectionate (which is odd for her!) and wants to interact with us far more than she did.

[Jacks]

I'm afraid I'm at a bit of a loss if the vet has drawn a blank. I wonder how old she is, if you've had her for 8 years and she was stray before that. I have heard of cats yowling when they're going deaf. I wonder whether he checked her hearing?

[Crewella]

I'm at a bit of a loss too. I agree it's worth checking out her hearing, and do you know if your vet tested for thyroid issues? They require a separate test and cats with thyroid problems do sometimes get unsettled and call more. Worth asking.

[Kay]

my 14 year old starts yowling for no apparent reason too, and she is certainly not deaf, nor does she have any other health issues

I have put it down to early signs of feline dementia, as it seems to be linked to some kind of disorientation, and she stops when I call out to her

[Marc_M]

No, her hearing is very good. We have a 16 rm old farmhouse and whenever I call her, she appears promptly. The yowling goes on all day, and she follows me in the kitchen giving me looks as if she wants something to eat accompanied by plaintive mews. We've tried several veterinary formulas of dry food and just about every brand from the grocery. I just hope she is not in pain.

Just placed another call to her doctor this a.m. and waiting for a return call.

[Marc_M]

I'm at a bit of a loss too. I agree it's worth checking out her hearing, and do you know if your vet tested for thyroid issues? They require a separate test and cats with thyroid problems do sometimes get unsettled and call more. Worth asking.

Thank you Crewella, and thank you to all who have kindly responded. No the vet didn't check thyroid, I will follow up on that.

[Marc_M]

I'm afraid I'm at a bit of a loss if the vet has drawn a blank. I wonder how old she is, if you've had her for 8 years and she was stray before that. I have heard of cats yowling when they're going deaf. I wonder whether he checked her hearing?

Thank you Jacks! I certainly will check this out. Over the years I've had a few deaf cats, but they didn't yowl. But hearing is definitely suspect!