I would suggest taking your cat to see the vet. I had a 17 year old cat who started doing this for a few weeks. It wasn't non stop, but it happened very frequently when we were home with her. Then one day out of the blue she sat on a chair under the dining room table and would not move. We thought she was lost and were calling her for about 1/2 day. It was almost like she was frozen on that chair. When I picked her up I discovered that she had lost all strenght. Her legs would not move, she could not even stand on all fours. Poor thing! I took her to the vet the next day and the vet said that she had literally shut down and was ready to stop living. There were many expensive tests I could have had done to determine exactly what organs had shut down, but the fact was, she had a long life and it was now over. I didn't get the tests done as they were not going to save her and I knew just by looking at her that she was very, very ill. The howling was the warning sign for us. I'm not saying that your cat is terminal, but 18 years is a good long life for a cat. And your cat is probably "warning" you of something that requires your attention. I would get it checked out just to be on the safe side. Good luck, I hope your problem is fixable!

A vet visit is definitely in order but there are other possibilities besides organ failure. It could be senility or pain related.

for sure a visit to the vet is required. i will tell you that i have an 18 year old cat that does the same thing and by the way he has been doing it for a few years now. he has kidney problems, arthritis and a thyroid condition. to make a long story short, my vet told me that it could be arthritis pain, vision trouble or perhaps even senility. His blood work is all good considering his age and health problems, so we have just decided that he likes to complain! When he isn't complaining, he is very content. At any rate, go get a blood work up. could be something serious that is easily treatable. Good luck.

Yes, a visit to the vet is always good. But we've seen this happen with most older animals, dogs and cats. We've had some 12 year old Newfoundlands who would bark and bark, rhythmically often when they reached about 11 years old. Once we would make contact with them, they would stop. Our vet thought it could be older dogs who have lost some of their keen senses and they are trying to establish contact with the pack in some way. Maybe ears, nose, eyes aren't as keen as they were, maybe the mind doesn't comprehend as well. But a touch seemed to make it all better. 3 of our cats have done this, usually starting around 15-16 years old though one cat didn't do it until she was 19. Again, once we make contact with them and they may feel secure again, they stop. It's always the same kind of yowling, too. Similar to the one they make before they are going to barf but without that throaty sound.

I, too have a 16 yr old Calico that is howling like a fire siren. Although she does not make this noise all the time, it is primarily at 3am and continues until 6am when I leave for the office. She has done this off and on for the past year, however it has become very dominent (every day and non selective as to the time) for the past two months. She increasingly becomes louder and louder as she does it. I am taking her to the vet on Wed Aug 13 and will let you know what they tell me. She tends to stare off into space and has a lost look when she is wailing.

He is sooo old. He may hurt. He may have arthritis, his bones might hurt. My old cat had an infected tooth and howled like that. Take him to the vet, he's asking you to:(

Wow, all these answers scare me. I have a cat that does the smae thing, usually while staring at the water bowl, which is fresh and full. Sometimes just lying in the room, it sounds like someone is trying to kill her. The vet just chaulked it up to being old and quirky behavior. Seems like she may be losing weight however. I will probably take her to the vet again, (a diff. one)

sounds like feline alzheimers

I had originally posted a very similar question, I can tell you that I took my Sassy girl to the vet to learn that her front canine was terribly infected! They removed the tooth and all was well for about a week, she is right back at it although not as frequent. The vet stated her blood work and everything else is fine, it may be feline senielality. (similar to that of Dementia or Alheimers in human form). For now before bed she gets a turkey dinner to help her rest at night. But yes a recommendation to see the vet to make sure all is well is highly suggested. Keep us posted...

Sounds like what cats do when they see something outside that they can't get or they are horny? Maybe there is a cat of the opposite sex teasing yours through the windows that you are not aware of? My Pye, likes to howl and yell when there is a lizard outside that he can't get... He did it just this morning and climbed the damn curtains too!

Our cat is 20 and had a stroke and has arthritis and is deaf. All we can do is make her comfortable. She howls all the time so we pick her up more for lovings. We put a hot water bottle under her cat blanket on our bed. We made a step down from our bed to the floor. We noticed that she was constipated so we gave her pure pumpkin. At first she didn't like it by spoon and now she licks it off of the saucer.I think it is trial and error with them. Whatever works for your pet. Perhaps your cat had a small stroke like ours and that's why it just sits there. I am now giving ours water at times via a medicine measurer. She forgets to drink. All the best.Love him as you always have.

My 21 year old cat used to "complain" about twice a night too, from about 15-19 yrs. As said by others, most times some love (pat or cuddle) would relax him, other times he'd just get louder and have that lost look (he found the bathroom had the best accoustics!). I agree it could be a fear because of changes in hearing or vision. Now he only makes noise if he senses movement or someone has walked past him in the night. He is arthritic and has lost a lot of muscle definition, but eats and drinks well (not too much water). Vet said he's just got good genes! Due for visit soon, esp as breath is getting rank, poor baby!!

Yeh, our 17 year old fella's been doing this for about a year. From what we read, we chalk it up to feline senility. He's old, a bit lame from arthritis and get's really worried when he thinks one of us is going somewhere (suitcases coming out make him really scared). It's part of the circle of life in our book. (no matter how annoying it is at 3 am....we try to be patient :-) ) We've just spent 4 years with our mom who has Alzheimer's living with us....she and the cat loved each other! But what I learned is that they just need a little extra TLC, patience, love and understanding as they age. Mom's and kitties. We are not going to take any extra measures to have him live longer....we just want him comfy. And he get's to eat what he wants (bacon is high on the list!) and when he wants in be bed with us, we pick him up and put him in. Old folks just need a helping hand! If the howling gets to be constant, I'm sure we'll get some Vet assistance. Other than that, we've stopped going to the vet....the last round of vaccinations were really hard on him, the tooth cleaning was beyond hard on him. I'd hate to kill him by taking him to the vet. Good luck...we've just got some furry geriatrics on our hands and they need a little help.