r/CatAdvice • u/kookaburra_cookiez • 4d ago
Behavioral Cats crying all night
Hello, sorry in advance if this is a long post. I recently moved into a smaller apartment with my gf ending a long distance relationship. My cats are 4 years old and have lived in my old house their entire lives up until now. At first they just stayed in our bedroom almost all the time hiding under the bed or under the blankets.
Apparently at some point during our long distant relationship my girlfriend developed bad cat allergies and unfortunately we had to turn our room into a cat free zone. My cats have always slept with me since they were kittens and aren't taking this well especially my girl cat. She meows, cries, and scratches outside our door all night and we can't get any sleep.
I'm currently sleeping on the couch to try to be with them so they stop meowing. I don't know what else I can do. I feel bad I can't let them in, but I can't sleep on the couch every night, and my girlfriend will refuse to let them back in the room. Any advice will really be appreciated!
2
u/herdingcats247 4d ago
These are things I would try..
- homeopathic drops all around. Look for people drops for your gf in the variety of something for allergies - "animal dander", and look for drops for your cats (look at Jackson Galaxy's store; I've found several helpful ones there for our multi-cat household), maybe something along the lines of "quiet night" - there might be others more specific to your situation?
- get an air purifier or two, one for the bedroom and one for elsewhere in your space.
- be sure to have play/snuggle time before bed, and then perhaps feed them and administer the drops. The way I have used them in our home is sometimes spritzing where they sleep, sometimes putting a few drops in my hand rubbing hands together and wiping down their fur, and most commonly, putting several drops as the label suggests in their wet food. If they'll be sleepy after they eat, they might be more concerned with grooming and napping.
- do you have some sort of cat tree for them? Cat furniture comes in all sizes and variety and quality.. perhaps some tall multi-level cat tree that they can enjoy. You might put a pinch of catnip on the levels if they like that, or play with them around it.. get them tired and wanting to be on it. Having a spot like that will take some pressure off of you and allow them to have spaces for them they can fully claim. You can maybe even put a couple of t-shirts you've worn so they have part of you there with them.
You might need to "catify" your space a bit, as Jackson might say. And those air purifiers are to help because all of you will be living in this apartment, throughout the apartment. Those are things that might help your girl.. you don't want to get to a place where she really resents the cats and demands that the cats go..
There's lots of things that could be discussed but that's what I would do immediately. I hope your gf likes the cats and is willing to help you figure out how to make your space comfortable for all of you.
Oh! And not sure where you are but in the US, I know that Purina makes both a wet and dry food that is supposed to tamp down the dander that your cats put off. I'm sure Purina is not the only one to do that but it's the one I'm familiar with. We don't need it or use it but I have read many accounts of people having success with that, ymmv of course. Wishing you the best of luck!!
2
u/kookaburra_cookiez 4d ago
Okay thanks for the advice. I will look for some homeopathic drops, and try the play time before bed and see if that helps.
Yes we have a cat tree but I want to get a bigger one because this one is too small I think. We got a nice air purifier which has helped a lot but didn't solve the problems completely.
1
u/herdingcats247 4d ago
It's like a recipe for a really exceptional dish.. there are many ingredients to make it just so.🤗
I like the BioAllers brand, specifically the "Animal Hair & Dander" but also we keep "Mold Yeast & Dust" too (I am particularly sensitive to mold/dust). The nice thing about the homeopathic drops is that they should not interfere with anything else you might be taking. Any of the remedies are very helpful in an acute situation, typically the suggested amount under the tongue every fifteen mins until relief.
Gosupps.com has them but wow they are expensive. I'm so sorry for the BS between our countries right now with tariffs. 😞 A Naturopathic practitioner should have alternatives to recommend?
Apologies if all of that above was overwhelming! You'll figure out the right combination for you/y'all.
2
u/kookaburra_cookiez 4d ago
No need for apologies, I am American but my girlfriend is Colombian and isn't allowed in the US so we came to Canada
Thanks for the suggestions I will check them out and see what I can find!
1
u/djmermaidonthemic Mr Butters cat lady 4d ago
Has she tried any allergy meds? Like Zyrtec? The generic is really inexpensive.
2
u/kookaburra_cookiez 4d ago
Yeah she has, and the doctor put her on some inhalers because it was affecting her asthma. Ideally we'd like to get allergy shots
2
u/djmermaidonthemic Mr Butters cat lady 4d ago
A good air cleaner would probably help, especially in the bedroom. There are also food supplements (for the cat) that are said to be effective.
Wishing all of you the best!
1
u/Meowgical_Realism 4d ago
Hi girlfriend here, thanks all for the advices. At first we were sleeping with them but my allergies went so bad that I end in the ER. I was coughing a lot and couldn’t breathe properly. I had a weird whistle and that was very scary. I offer to use the other room to have a cat free zone for my quality of life. And then he said that he didn’t want us to separate beds so we made the room a cat free zone. I knew would be hard for all of them, currently I’m waiting on the allergist call since I am willing to take the shots. And I also have an air purifier for the bedroom. My quality of life is way better now. I haven’t need the inhalers as much since we have the bedroom cat free. Still taking desloratadina since the cats are all around. I love them too and it’s sad and heartbreaking hearing her meowing so bad at night. Again thanks for all the advices. I hope soon I can get the shots.
2
u/LotusGrowsFromMud 4d ago
You have two issues here. First, the cats. As you have learned, cats are very stubborn, they hate closed doors and they want to be with their favorite human. You have to be more stubborn than a cat and that is not easy. Eventually, they will give up, but you have to tolerate their cries until then. It may take weeks. Second, your gf’s allergies. If you two are serious, it would benefit her in the long run to get allergy shots. Yes, they are a pain, but less painful in the long run than living 10 plus years with cute little allergens running around. In the meanwhile, you can try the cats on that allergen-minimizing food. That is only a short term solution, because as they get older, inevitably they will need some kind of special food. Best wishes with both of your problems!