Thanks Nina, I'll take any suggestions even ones you consider silly ... and now to find a cuddly stuffed cat for her ... I'm so tired today, I'm having a problem concentrating at work.

Perhaps fostering a cat of similar age.

I am dealing with the same thing. My cat is 14 and the last survivor of 3. It does seem that all of the cats that I have known have become more vocal as they get older. The one thing that my cats all loved are fleece blankets. Take an old fleece throw and cut it up . place these pieces where you want them to rest. My cat will always find one to curl up on. She wakes me up 2-3 times a night now. I hope that you find something that helps.

I would suggest the same as woodnative. Bring in a foster cat, either a young one or an older cat the rescue is having difficulty adopting out. Each rescue group is different so try to find out all their rules & regulations before fostering. Any vet bills should be paid by the rescue and some even pay for the food.

I know at some point I'll be down to only one cat (have 4 now) and don't intend to bring in another one permanently. But, I've fostered before and would do it again. Besides helping that animal you're also making it possible for rescue/shelter to take in another one.

Thanks all, but I'm really not adding another cat. Foster or adopt .. I've been living with cats for over 30 years, and my allergist is thrilled that I am finally down to one cat. I've ordered a Snuggle Cat, it purrs and has a heartbeat ... we'll see how that works. I'm taking the dogs to the vet on Saturday and will ask if there is anything else they recommend besides the tranquilizer.

One other suggestion. Have you tried leaving lights on in one room, along with the TV or a radio? Sometimes the background noise can be calming to them vs the total silence.

Of course it helps if one of her favorite sleeping spots is in that room.

I've ordered a Snuggle Cat

aww, i hope it works for you. i'll be interested to know so please update when you can.

annztoo, I'll have to think about that one. Her favorite place is on my bed .. so lights and a radio wouldn't work while I'm trying to sleep .. but maybe in the room where her food is. I'll have to see if that would work.

Nina - I'll let you know .. they use the Snuggle Cat at rescues, so we'll see if it helps.

Best of luck with the Snuggle Cat - I look forward to hearing how you make out with it. Re your cat, any chance she is deaf - we had a born deaf cat and she LOVED to meow at very high frequencies. Our dog who is 15 (and very cat like) is now deaf and loves to bark - truthfully he has always been a barker, but now it is much worse. He can hear certain frequencies so I expect that is part of it. I feel sorry for him because how do you explain going deaf to a dog. I hope you get some rest.

By the way, we failed fostering - as in the fosters became ours. I greatly admire those that can do it, but we can't. Better to know though.

thanks eccentric .. she reacts to noises, especially the cat food can opening, so I don't think she's deaf. And I would fail at fostering too.

One of our cats sometimes meows at night, usually bored (from sleeping all day) and other times demanding to be fed even when there's food out in the kitchen. I can't function without sleep and my life saver has been a scat mat. (Don't know why I didn't mention this earlier!) I place it outside my bedroom door and with the door closed I can sometimes hear meowing but it isn't enough to completely wake me up. There are cheaper versions of the mat available but I have owned my Scatmat for 8 years and it's still working great. Just replace batteries as needed, which isn't often. It rolls up for storage and lays flat when unrolled.

The mat has 3 levels of 'strength' you can set it to. When introducing a cat to it I set it at the lowest level. To me, it feels like strong static electricity so it's not painful but does get ones attention.

Now, most of the time I don't even have to turn the mat on. All it takes is for the cats to see it and they walk the other way. Sort of like flag training with invisible fencing. : )

Your kitty may not be happy not sleeping in your bed, but it sounds like neither of you is sleeping anyway. :/

Also, I've been the tranqulizer route with another cat and it only made her condition worse, plus her whole personality changed. Wasn't worth the effort and $$ for me.

Nina asked for an update on the Snuggle Cat, but I can't say one way or another if it's helping her. Sometimes I think it does, other times I don't.

The vet prescribed gabapentin for her, which I give to her before bed the nights I have to work the next day. She's generally quiet until about 5 am, when she starts yowling loudly .. I get up at 6 am to get ready for work, so I can deal with that.

I give her a break from the meds on the weekend, and am learning to go back to sleep after she's finished yowling.

It's now been almost 2 months since my other cat passed, I keep hoping she will get used to life the way it is now.

thanks so much for the update! wish it had worked out better for you but it sounds like you have things under control. at least she isn't keeping you up all night. can i ask why gabapentin? i take it myself for nerve pain and my dane girl, olivia, also takes it. i have never noticed any sort of sedation effect is that's what you're after. hmmm...

Nina, it is used as a calming med for cats ... she said it's often used for cats that have too much stress when coming to the vet. And we also think she has some arthritis issues, and it can help with that.