Wandering Around and Meowing

Three weeks ago we adopted a small, spayed, 3 year-old female cat from
PAWS. When we brought her home she was on the end of recovering from
a cold and was also unsure about her new surroundings and therefore
slept most of the first few days. We were delighted that at night she
slept in her cat bed on the floor by our bed, and besides one accident
(she didn't like the intial place of her litterbox) she had perfect
potty habits. She is our only cat and we were so excited to get her,
so she has a ton of different types of toys, a cat condo, several
cardboard scratchers, and two humans who dote on her every second we
are home (we both work 9-5 weekday jobs). We took her to the vet for
a check up and they confirmed that all was well. After a couple of
days she warmed up to us and began playing around and exploring the
house, although she still slept at night in our bedroom.

After about a week and a half, she stopped sleeping with us at night
and instead would roam around the house, meowing LOUDLY. I read that
cats become active and night and therefore we tried to wear her out
with play before bed and by feeding her a meal right before bed, but
her behavior just got worse. We tried ignoring her, as many websites
suggest, but that didn't help either. Instead, she started meowing
all day and night, with a repetitive, loud, forceful meow (and
sometimes growl-like sounds), while she wandered around the house.
Her wandering seems to be a "circuit" of the entire house, and she
stops at windows and doors, as well as wherever we are sitting/
sleeping. Sometimes she claws at the window, too. She is eating and
drinking fine, and can be distracted with toys for about 10-15 minutes
at a time before she seems to "remember" her little habit and wanders
off to howl and pace around the house. She doesn't appear to ever
sleep, and her meowing at night is incredbly loud - with earplugs in
and the door shut I can still hear her, and I know my neighbors (we
live in a duplex) must hate me, although they haven't said anything
yet. Finally, today she peed on my mattress and duvet. The last
straw!

Her history is that in her previous home she lived with two pitbulls
(she hid from them) and three other cats (she "tolerated" them). So,
even though she is used to being around other animals, I don't think a
companion is the answer for her. She did used to go outside at her
old house for about 2 hours a day. I was initially opposed to letting
her out, but would now consider it because she is driving me crazy.
It seems odd that her behavior wouldn't have started from the
beginning, if that's what she's crying for. Also, even though she was
spayed at the shelter, the doctor noted on her chart that she could
not find her left ovary, meaning, perhaps she is in heat. Other signs
that she could be in heat are that she does roll from side to side
sometimes and she is affectionate and likes to rub her face on objects/
us.

She is going in to the vet tomorrow so they can test her to see if she
is showing signs of increased hormones, and hopefully I can have a
doctor take a look at her overall to see if there are any other
telling signs. But if anyone out there has advice or has been in a
similar situation I would love to hear your comments!

"Jen" wrote in message
oups.com...
Three weeks ago we adopted a small, spayed, 3 year-old female cat from
PAWS. When we brought her home she was on the end of recovering from
a cold and was also unsure about her new surroundings and therefore
slept most of the first few days. We were delighted that at night she
slept in her cat bed on the floor by our bed, and besides one accident
(she didn't like the intial place of her litterbox) she had perfect
potty habits. She is our only cat and we were so excited to get her,
so she has a ton of different types of toys, a cat condo, several
cardboard scratchers, and two humans who dote on her every second we
are home (we both work 9-5 weekday jobs). We took her to the vet for
a check up and they confirmed that all was well. After a couple of
days she warmed up to us and began playing around and exploring the
house, although she still slept at night in our bedroom.

After about a week and a half, she stopped sleeping with us at night
and instead would roam around the house, meowing LOUDLY. I read that
cats become active and night and therefore we tried to wear her out
with play before bed and by feeding her a meal right before bed, but
her behavior just got worse. We tried ignoring her, as many websites
suggest, but that didn't help either. Instead, she started meowing
all day and night, with a repetitive, loud, forceful meow (and
sometimes growl-like sounds), while she wandered around the house.
Her wandering seems to be a "circuit" of the entire house, and she
stops at windows and doors, as well as wherever we are sitting/
sleeping. Sometimes she claws at the window, too. She is eating and
drinking fine, and can be distracted with toys for about 10-15 minutes
at a time before she seems to "remember" her little habit and wanders
off to howl and pace around the house. She doesn't appear to ever
sleep, and her meowing at night is incredbly loud - with earplugs in
and the door shut I can still hear her, and I know my neighbors (we
live in a duplex) must hate me, although they haven't said anything
yet. Finally, today she peed on my mattress and duvet. The last
straw!

Her history is that in her previous home she lived with two pitbulls
(she hid from them) and three other cats (she "tolerated" them). So,
even though she is used to being around other animals, I don't think a
companion is the answer for her. She did used to go outside at her
old house for about 2 hours a day. I was initially opposed to letting
her out, but would now consider it because she is driving me crazy.
It seems odd that her behavior wouldn't have started from the
beginning, if that's what she's crying for. Also, even though she was
spayed at the shelter, the doctor noted on her chart that she could
not find her left ovary, meaning, perhaps she is in heat. Other signs
that she could be in heat are that she does roll from side to side
sometimes and she is affectionate and likes to rub her face on objects/
us.

She is going in to the vet tomorrow so they can test her to see if she
is showing signs of increased hormones, and hopefully I can have a
doctor take a look at her overall to see if there are any other
telling signs. But if anyone out there has advice or has been in a
similar situation I would love to hear your comments!


Also ask about testing for thyroid and UTI. Excessive crying can be a sign
of hyperthyroidism (but may also simply confirm your own suspicions of being
in heat), and urinating in inappropriate places is often a sign of UTI.

MaryL