I've been holding off on asking about this mostly because I'm not sure how to present the situation properly for your assessment. It involves my 20 year old Siamese cat, Mimi, who is driving the entire household crazy with her constant loud howling, especially at night. I understand this behavior can be common with elderly kitties but there seems to be nothing we can do to comfort her long term and quiet the noise... and we are losing sleep and becoming a household of grumps because of it.

So, I'm wondering how Mimi's case could be presented... or if such detail is even necessary. If detailing her history would be appropriate, should I follow the usual homeo questionaire with obvious modifications for animals? Would this be considered an acute situation or a chronic condition brought on by feline senility and old age. Might Bach's Rescue Remedy be worth a try first? I'm putting out feelers here to see what folks suggest as the best approach. The last thing I want is to tell her vet about this and be forced to refuse tranquilizers or other mind numbing meds. She's always had unusual or bad responses to many meds throughout her lifetime and I can't imagine giving any drugs to her at this stage of her life.

We seem to have many here who tend to furry family members, so I hope no one will mind that I chose this forum to post on.

Waiting to hear (with ear plugs poised)

Melin

Melin, I have no idea about your main question, though i do know that you aren't obligated to fill in the vet (unless you know She/He is Homeopathiccaly friendly) and even if you accept that dreaded prescription, it doesn't mean you have to administer it.

Ive gone through those issues with my non-vacced children and it sometimes makes it smoother if we ~sort of~ lie by ommision.

I'm looking foreward to seeing how you will work this case Kali

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Blessings, Kali

You should give more details about your cat. her nature, past medical history, the duration and probable reason of changes and any other significant thing.

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Dr. B<br /><br /><a href="http://www.doctorbhatia.com" target="_blank">www.DoctorBhatia.com</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.hpathy.com" target="_blank">www.Hpathy.com</a><br />Homeopathy for Everyone

Melin,
When did the cat start the howling episodes, can you connect an incident to the beginning. Have there been any other changes in behaviour coiciding with, or just previous to this change...such as sleeping habits, interest in companionship ect... any physical changes, changes in eating habits? anthing that has changed....
As far as Rescue Remedy goes, I think it is worth trying, if nothing else it might rule out the howling being connected to fear and/or insecurity...if it helps we can assume it is part of one of those, with animals, it is hard to do more than an educated guess when it comes to mentals....
Are there any other indicators that would make you consider 'senility' as a problem? Denise

Dr. B, Denise and anyone else who is interested...

I hope this gives you more to work with.

Background:
Born March 1982. Only silverpoint female kitten in a litter of six purebreds. Never mated. Spayed and front paws declawed January 1983. Regularly vetted for an annual PE throughout her life. Has always been an indoor cat except when taken out in the yard on a leash. Has been a very social animal with all people (including strangers), adored attention and play and was extremely bright (learned to roll over, did somersaults, could find and retrieve a specific toy if asked and both initiated and responded in conversation). I always felt a special communication and bond existed between myself and Mimi. For many years, I could not imagine life without her. I was definitely her favorite person, too and she would show jealous aggression toward her companion cat if he demanded too much of my attention.

Throughout her life she has generally been in good health. Never had worms of any sort and never came down with any illnesses. Ate a varied diet, enjoyed her food but never became overweight. Always appeared thin and delicate... kept herself beautifully groomed. Unfailingly used the litter box. Preferred sleeping in my bed or very nearby. Loved petting and snuggling.

Medical History:
Early on, it became evident that she was very sensitive to insecticides that kill fleas. Putting any preparation on her coat (even if she didn't ingest it)caused her to act oddly. Her eyes would glaze over and she would lose motor control. After trying a few different preparations, I stopped all together.

From around the age of seven, she started having chronic gingivitis. Through the years, 3 teeth were removed due to decay and loosening up. Almost annually, I would have the vet scale her teeth to remove tartar which built up quickly. For quite a few years, this was done manually but then she was anesthetized for the procedure. During one of these sessions her lower jaw was broken because the dental hygenist used too much manual pressure, though it never caused her any obvious discomfort or problems.

But Mimi always had trouble reviving after the anesthesia and remained groggy and unresponsive for 2-3 days. She also acted unlike herself while taking the follow-up antibiotics prescribed after the cleanings. For the past 5 years, I no longer allow her to be put under and have insisted the vet do the best she can with yearly manual scalings. As a result of her chronic gum problem, her breath is quite foul... but she still eats fairly well and enjoys her soft food.

Until 5 years ago, she had always had an annual FVRCP and also had a rabies vaccination every three years.

She was treated in 1999 for one bout of constipation which resolved quickly.

Also, that same year she, along with a new kitten we adopted that was infected with an intestinal parasite, received some pills to treat the problem.

Two years ago or so, the vet did a complete blood profile and discovered her kidneys were begining to fail.

Current Problems:
The meowing began about a year ago but was less frequent and not so loud. At that time, Mimi generally started becoming disoriented. She would become "lost" in the house and not seem to know why she was in a particular place.. and she would cry. Sometimes, I would find her sitting in the bathtub or standing in a closet for no apparent reason. When I'd remove her, she'd simply go on about her daily routine and seemed okay.

Slowly, through this year, her daily routine has become more limited to seeking warmth and sleeping, eating, using the litter box, howling and not much else. She no longer wants to play or be social. Her interest in grooming has fallen by the way. She has become progressively unsteady on her feet and she walks stiffly much of the time. She can lose her balance if I pet her with too much enthusiasm, so she has weakened alot. She has severely impaired hearing in her left ear.

Our young cat, now nearly four, has begun to bully her more. This takes the form of chasing, biting, cuffing, hissing and knocking her over. In the past, Mimi could stand her ground and defend herself but that's no longer the case.

Now, sometimes, her yowling/squawking can go on non-stop for an hour or more... this would be the extreme. Mostly, it's for 5-10 minutes at a clip and it's often. Despite her overall weakened state, her sound keeps getting louder and harsher. It truly can hurt our ears. She cries whether people are near her or not. If she wakens in the middle of the night, she'll cry, even if she's just changing her position. She'll yowl for no apparent reason when we're all together. I can't find anything particular that triggers the calling and I don't think she even knows why she's doing it. I just hope someone can help her to stop!

If you need any more info please let me know.

Thanks everyone.
Melin

Kali,

I appreciate the advice. I am just hoping we can get this kitty squared away before her annual PE rolls around.

I'd just love to be able to tell the vet the problem was resolved thanks to homeopathy!

Melin

I did a small repertorisation based on the little information we had with the following rubrics-

Weeping, night
Weeping, aloud
Weeping, causeless

The only for medicines that showed all the three are Lyc, Puls, Nat-m, and Sulph - in that order. But considering that a cat particular about grooming has become less attentive to that and also her forgetfulness, I would initially suggest Sulph 200.

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Dr. B<br /><br /><a href="http://www.doctorbhatia.com" target="_blank">www.DoctorBhatia.com</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.hpathy.com" target="_blank">www.Hpathy.com</a><br />Homeopathy for Everyone

Dr B.

If you have further questions, please ask. I would be happy to respond as best I can.

Also, I forgot to mention that Mimi urinates alot now... both in amount she produces and number of times she needs to relieve herself (6-8 times daily). And she no longer covers it up.

Melin

Melin,
Does the cat appear to be yowling for no reason...you said it will do this when it changes position...do you think it is complaining...do you think there is pain...
Could you explain it's gait again...
Is there any change in it's need to use the litter box...
You mention it is no longer social...does it dislike attention?

I agree, Sulph is a possibility, but my repertorization shows another possibility and I would like to see if we can do a little more differentiation...

It may benefit you to change the cat's diet gradually to a raw food diet...this is very helpul in keeping teeth free of tartar, as well as being healthier in general...you can purchase 'pre packaged' raw foods (frozen) if you don't like dealing with meat... just adding raw meat (ground turkey would be good)
as a top dressing helps...I had a very old dog whose teeth were horrible, started top dressing raw meat and after a month or so his teeth were clean.I beleive it is the enzymes in the meat that the animals require to keep their teeth clean...
Denise

Hi Denise,

My feeling is that the majority of the cat's yowling has no rationale. Sure, there are yowls (again pretty much non-stop) when I know she'd like a table scrap, when she greets a person she knows or desires acknowledgment but, after all her needs are met, she continues on as if she can't stop. Nothing anyone can do or say to her makes any difference (which has not been the case throughout her life). Telling her "no" or reprimanding her with an occasional squirt of water serves no purpose. In fact, she then cries louder than ever and you can hear the hurt inflected her voice. Siamese are known for their talkative nature but this cat was always a rather quiet soul until a year or so ago. Since then, her noise has been progressively more intense and frequent to the point of overwhelming the rest of the household, including our younger cat.

I don't think she is complaining when she cries while changing body position and I don't think she's in pain. This is what happens. She will rouse from sleep, uncurl and stand up in her bed.. stretch a bit. If she sees someone in the room during this time, she'll always begin making noise (if she thinks she's alone she is less apt to cry in this particular situation). She'll begin to turn around in circles to lie down again and then stop... just hang mid-motion for 2-3 minutes (as though she's forgotten what she was doing) while meowing loudly the entire time. Sometimes, she'll wake up, leave her bed, walk halfway out into the room, turn around and go right back to bed.. all the while crying loudly. Again, I sense she had an idea to do something or go somewhere and then forgot what it was. She sees her bed and so returns to it as a familiar place.

Some triggers for the yowling appear to be encountering a person, seeing a person move or change position (if she is being quiet for awhile and I'm in bed in the early morning, the moment she sees any body movement on my part, she starts in.. or if I'm sitting in a chair and she's nearby, if I get up, she'll howl). But she carries on when she can't hear or see anyone, as well (as I write, she woke up and is walking down the hall to her food and hasn't stopped howling the entire time). Also, being cold can cause her to cry. She wants body heat or artificial warmth to soothe her. Recently, the tenor of her voice has taken on a very hoarse, almost barking, quality due to overuse.

Her gait is stiff and rigid as though her joints can't bend easily any more. Sometimes when I watch her move, I imagine her walking on stilts or having her legs in plaster casts. She rarely runs (or jumps) anymore but when she does try, it seems an unnatural gait... and she will often lose her balance and nearly fall over in the process.

There has been a slow change, over time, in her use of the litter box but I would say, since last autumn, I noticed a definite increase in the amount of urine she eliminates and the number of times she goes. I have felt this is symptomatic of chronic kidney failure. She still has one bowel movement daily.

Mimi doesn't dislike attention so much as she will ignore it now. Most of her life, if a petting hand was extended in her direction, a lap was vacant or a toy was offered, she would be interested in interacting. Now she will walk by as if nothing mattered to her. She still enjoys being brushed on occasion (this used to be a nightly ritual) but not for long any more (I have to brace and hold her to withstand the force of the brush now as she hasn't the strength to stand up on her own). Sometimes, she tries doing the easier tricks she's learned through the years but even this is a rarity. She's back to basics... eat, drink, eliminate and sleep. But the yowling is so bad these days, I have actually thought of having her put down.. and I can barely stand myself for ever admitting this to a single soul.

And thanks, Denise, for the tip about top dressing with raw meats to help reverse dental disease. I'll be checking out the ground turkey tomorrow.

I really appreciate your help and concern.

Melin