I need sleep!

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Barri & Sonny

Barri & Sonny

Member Since 2015
Ever since switching my DM kitty to non perscription food, he has started an awful behavior...meowing from 330 am until he gets fed at 5am. I give him his last meal at 11pm so he should be fine without eating. I try to ignore it in hopes that he will stop but after 20 min i actually leave the bedroom and sleep on the couch so at least my husband can get some sleep. His BG is fine...he is OTJ and acts totally normal. What can i do to stop this awful behavior so i can get a full nite sleep!?!.
 
It sounds like he might be hungry. How is his weight?
When my cat Sheba was OTJ she used to get really hungry in the afternoon and she would ask for food by meowing non stop. My vet said to give her a small amount of mince....about 10 or 15 grams.
Have you ever tested his BSL to see what it is when he is asking for food?
If it is really low he might just need a small amount to bring it up a tad.
Do you have an auto feeder? You could set it to open at 3.30 am with just a small snack.
Good luck......being woken every night at 3.30 is no fun!

The other option is to shut him in a room at night.
 
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Jones is a meower also, but he's pretty considerate - he lets me sleep until 10-15 minutes before his morning meal, and then he'll start meowing outside my bedroom door. It's funny how accurate his clock is!
I would highly recommend getting an auto feeder. I just recently got one so that I could shoot Jones at lower numbers and not feel terrified to leave the house, since he'd be getting those little BG boosts through the day. I was wary of them, since a lot of the reviewers said that their cats quickly learned to break into them. Jones whaled on it pretty hard the first time I put it down and he could smell the food inside, so I thought that was it for it. But then a couple hours later when he saw/heard it go off, he was totally terrified. Took several minutes for his stomach to override his brain and make him eat out of it. Now he keeps a respectful distance until it goes off. He goes over to sit by it about a half hour before it goes off. No meowing or clawing at it. He seems happier to be getting those extra snacks too (not actually extra though - he's getting the same amount of dinner as before, it's just stretched out.)
Here's the feeder I got - it seemed to have the best price/reviews:
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GEWHNS?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20
I just found out that some friends with an EXTREMELY food focused cat have the same one and haven't had problems.
 
Goof does the same thing, (and he's trained the others to work with him :banghead::mad::arghh:) I've been sleep deprived sincehis diagnosis December 4, 2014. I'd love to try the auto feeder, but do they even make one for 6 cats???
 
Mogmom and Goofus said:
Goof does the same thing, (and he's trained the others to work with him :banghead::mad::arghh:) I've been sleep deprived sincehis diagnosis December 4, 2014. I'd love to try the auto feeder, but do they even make one for 6 cats???
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You would need a separate dining room just to line up 6 feeders! I can so relate to the sleep deprivation.......
 
Thanks everyone. Its wierd....he gets fed at
5am
11am
5pm
11pm
He ONLY meows in the middle of the night...could be he is just nocturnal and wants to play. Or he just wants ME! Even though he knows he has free reign over the apartment and always sleeps on our bed! Some sites told me to ignore the behavior, that even negative attention is attention...that i shouldnt even leave the bedroom and go in the living room and especially not to feed him because thn he will never stop the behavior
 
Maybe try some active play in the evening for a good 15-20 minutes to help tire him out.

Maybe try 3 mini-meals per 12 hours rather than 2; he may get too hungry on just 2.
 
He does get active play for 30 minutes! I play chase the string...he runs after a bottle cap etc....maybe i could try giving him more food at the 11pm feeding before bed...thanks!!!
 
Diabetics do much better on smaller meals rather than bigger meals. I was feeding Doogle every 3-4 hours like half a can of FF. Even in he middle of the night (although its hard to get up). It takes the strain off the panreas as well. I have 18 other cats and they get fed 3 times a day but Doogle did much better on smaller meals. You may want to try getting a timed feeder which will help with those late night feedings as well. Are you testing in the middle of the night? If so (as you should to make sure numbers are going down), feed after you test.
 
Try freezing some and put it down when you go to bed. I have to do it a few times and it seems to help.

Also try the prescription food he was on just at bedtime. There must might be something in it he needs. It's probably a little higher in calories or protein which will hold him longer.
 
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Anitafrnhamer said:
Have you had a thyroid panel run? When Squeaker began yowling it was low thyroid.
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This caught my eye. Sometimes Saoirse makes brief, unusual vocalisations; typically after a meal, frequently with a trip to the litter box around the same time. Could such behaviour be related to hypothyroidism? (She has tested low for thyroid several times this year.)


Mogs
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Netty N. said:
Jones is a meower also, but he's pretty considerate - he lets me sleep until 10-15 minutes before his morning meal, and then he'll start meowing outside my bedroom door. It's funny how accurate his clock is!
I would highly recommend getting an auto feeder. I just recently got one so that I could shoot Jones at lower numbers and not feel terrified to leave the house, since he'd be getting those little BG boosts through the day. I was wary of them, since a lot of the reviewers said that their cats quickly learned to break into them. Jones whaled on it pretty hard the first time I put it down and he could smell the food inside, so I thought that was it for it. But then a couple hours later when he saw/heard it go off, he was totally terrified. Took several minutes for his stomach to override his brain and make him eat out of it. Now he keeps a respectful distance until it goes off. He goes over to sit by it about a half hour before it goes off. No meowing or clawing at it. He seems happier to be getting those extra snacks too (not actually extra though - he's getting the same amount of dinner as before, it's just stretched out.)
Here's the feeder I got - it seemed to have the best price/reviews:
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GEWHNS?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20
I just found out that some friends with an EXTREMELY food focused cat have the same one and haven't had problems.
Click to expand...
Just in case you want another suggestion for a cat feeder, I use the CatMate:
http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Mate-Bowl-Feeder-Pack/dp/B0002YHUPC/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20
Comes with an ice pack that keeps the food (we use wet only) cool for a few hours. I set it for 4 hours, I don't know if it would keep fresh longer than that unless you put it in frozen, especially in the summer. Ollie is always hungry too ... this feeds him at around 3 am so I can get some sleep. Good luck!
 
PeggyS-bb said:
Just in case you want another suggestion for a cat feeder, I use the CatMate:
http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Mate-Bowl-Feeder-Pack/dp/B0002YHUPC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450236921&sr=8-1&keywords=cat mate c20 feeder
Comes with an ice pack that keeps the food (we use wet only) cool for a few hours. I set it for 4 hours, I don't know if it would keep fresh longer than that unless you put it in frozen, especially in the summer. Ollie is always hungry too ... this feeds him at around 3 am so I can get some sleep. Good luck!
Click to expand...

It looks like the one I just bought. It didn't come with ice pack and the small one I have is to big for it.
 
Woodsywife said:
It looks like the one I just bought. It didn't come with ice pack and the small one I have is to big for it.
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Try putting some ice cubes in with the food to keep it cool. As the ice melts the water will also help to keep the food moist.


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
Try putting some ice cubes in with the food to keep it cool. As the ice melts the water will also help to keep the food moist.

Mogs
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I've been freezing the food. Not sure how wet it stay, but he eats it.

I'm going to look for smaller ice packs if they come small (one I have is quite tiny) or mini ice cube tray.
 
How old is he? If he's older and it's not thyroid related, you can try Chlorodin-Fel. I was skeptical of it, despite its good amazon reviews, until a friend tried it for her older cat and found her to be much quieter in the middle of the night. But of course, checking thyroid and the amount of calories you're feeding should be the first things to verify.
 
Critter Mom said:
Another thing that might be worth looking out for is a small one of those plastic softgel packs that are used to keep stuff cool when shipping.
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I have 2 of those but still not small enough. I'm going to look for smaller ones or mini cube tray. They have cylindrical ones for water bottles so those might work.
 
I had the same problem with both Dusty and my civie Beni... What I do now is I leave them about half a FF can each that's been refrigerated and I cover that up with half a can each room temp FF right before bed time; total one can each The refrigerated portion keeps the room temp food fresh and once it gets to room temp they'll start munching on that portion. It basically slows them down so they don't gulp it all down and still have enough to last them all night. Uninterrupted sleep at last!!
 
Critter Mom said:
Another thing that might be worth looking out for is a small one of those plastic softgel packs that are used to keep stuff cool when shipping.
Click to expand...
You just have to be careful it's non-toxic in case he bites into it or anything from inside the pack leaches out. The Cat Mate is good for about 4 hours. I wonder if using ice cubes would give it more time keeping the food fresh. I'll have to experiment.
 
PeggyS-bb said:
You just have to be careful it's non-toxic in case he bites into it or anything from inside the pack leaches out. The Cat Mate is good for about 4 hours. I wonder if using ice cubes would give it more time keeping the food fresh. I'll have to experiment.
Click to expand...

The soft gels will fit under the food tray. So that will be okay. But just have to find smaller than what I have.
 
PeggyS-bb said:
The Cat Mate is good for about 4 hours. I wonder if using ice cubes would give it more time keeping the food fresh.
Click to expand...

My previous residence was like a sauna in the summer months. I used to chill the night time feeds and land varying numbers of small ice cubes onto the timed feeds; the longer the delay, the greater number of cubes. It worked well for Saoirse, even in the very hot environment.


Mogs
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Yep, my girl sometimes cries or walks all over me at 3:00 OR 2:30 this morning. Can't remember the last night I slept. I figure oh well, get up and test her. I have a phone set for 3:30 too but it is rough, no doubt. You can't shut their cry out and for me, I feel she should get something and it usually lasts til 5:30 and I go back to a short nap. She is banging on a folding door, wants food! That is the other habit. Crazy but they do communicate. Hope schedule normalizes for you.
 
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