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Unfortunately (?), I got into a bad habit with my "velcro kitty" who follows me everywhere and adores me and is always attached to me. Once I was single again, I began letting him snuggle under the blankets with me at night. It was quite the ritual! I would spoon him, and he'd place his paws and chin just so on my arm, and we would both fall asleep. If I awoke during the night, I would find that he had crawled out at some point and was happily asleep in his bed at the end of my bed. However, as he's gotten older (14) and his health has declined, he's become even more needy and attached to me, and also less sleepy, because now I'm awakened multiple times every night as he crawls in and out of the covers, clawing at them to get in, walking on my pillow and my head, pulling at my hair, and now my sleep is suffering greatly! I've tried to discourage it, but he's not dissuaded, and I find myself barking at him to stop it, which wounds his sensitive heart. He slips off the bed and paces up and down the hall, crying the whole way. I even tried moving his bed, etc., and confining him to another room once, but he cried until he was hoarse and rubbed his nose raw/bloody on the door.
Is there any way to break the habit at this point, or am I stuck with being sleep deprived until he passes away?
This kind of restlessness at night is very common in senior cats. The first thing to do is to make sure all is well physically. Have a senior panel blood work done to check his thyroid, kidneys, liver and so on, and his blood pressure should be checked too.
The pacing and crying in the hallway especially can be an indication of hyperthyroid or high blood pressure.
I would recommend you try Rescue Remedy for pets, at bed time. Give a small wet meal just before bed, with four drops of Rescue Remedy in it. This may help him settle.
This kind of restlessness at night is very common in senior cats. The first thing to do is to make sure all is well physically. Have a senior panel blood work done to check his thyroid, kidneys, liver and so on, and his blood pressure should be checked too.
The pacing and crying in the hallway especially can be an indication of hyperthyroid or high blood pressure.
I would recommend you try Rescue Remedy for pets, at bed time. Give a small wet meal just before bed, with four drops of Rescue Remedy in it. This may help him settle.
This! Make sure your older guy is ok health wise. We have an old guy (19) and he gets restless when his thyroid levels are off (he's hyperthyroid, common in older kitties).
This! Make sure your older guy is ok health wise. We have an old guy (19) and he gets restless when his thyroid levels are off (he's hyperthyroid, common in older kitties).
Well, he has lots of health problems; always has. Was the runt of a defective litter. More so as he ages. He gets regular check-ups and blood work. The "problem" is that he loves me so much, which of course isn't really a problem at all (it's a blessing), but it IS trying to be woken up every hour on the hour every night...
I think the cat will rule. Let him sleep with you while he still can.
I tend to agree. Can you ameliorate the situation somewhat by maybe putting a small snuggly and pillow right beside you just for the cat and getting him used to sleeping there instead? Then he can come and go from that spot without disturbing you as much, if at all. BTW, my sister's cat (I shouldn't call her that any more; I've had her almost 2 years now) crawls onto my pillow as soon as I turn over and sleeps right on my head. I don't mind so much but she's becoming kind of a "chonk".
When this happened to a senior dog and we weren’t getting any sleep the vet said she had dementia and this was a symptom. So a hour before bed she got a Xanax and we all slept all night. Ask the vet about medication.
I tend to agree. Can you ameliorate the situation somewhat by maybe putting a small snuggly and pillow right beside you just for the cat and getting him used to sleeping there instead? Then he can come and go from that spot without disturbing you as much, if at all. BTW, my sister's cat (I shouldn't call her that any more; I've had her almost 2 years now) crawls onto my pillow as soon as I turn over and sleeps right on my head. I don't mind so much but she's becoming kind of a "chonk".
Since a big part of his need seems to involve skin-to-skin contact (his paw pads on my bare arm), I'm not sure this would satisfy him. My other one currently, even older, is more than happy to spend the entire night across the room in his own bed, although he likes to cuddle during the day. They're all so different... I've wondered about dementia since he's been known to wonder the house crying for me when, in fact, I'm right there. I'll call out to him, and he'll come limping (he also has a touch of arthritis), clearly vastly relieved...
This kind of restlessness at night is very common in senior cats. The first thing to do is to make sure all is well physically. Have a senior panel blood work done to check his thyroid, kidneys, liver and so on, and his blood pressure should be checked too.
The pacing and crying in the hallway especially can be an indication of hyperthyroid or high blood pressure.
I would recommend you try Rescue Remedy for pets, at bed time. Give a small wet meal just before bed, with four drops of Rescue Remedy in it. This may help him settle.
Rescue Remedy does work. try it, as I was skeptical that it did anything (even tried in on me) & found out -- it works to calm & create a better state of stress-release for both me & kitties.
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