Howling cat

We have two female cats. The oldest is 15 and the younger one is around 10. The older one has always been quite vocal, but it has become excessive lately.

The cats can't come in the bedroom because there is a flat screen TV and they have already knocked over one and broke it. Plus, the dogs sleep in the bedroom and the male dog has a very strong prey drive. We have been working on doing supervised introductions with him and the cats, but he gets overexcited and stresses them out. So, the cats have access to the living/dining area and their room at night.


The older cat has started loudly howling at the bedroom door in the middle of the night. It can go on for hours. It is disrupting our sleep. On top of the howling, we have new neighbors with a truck that beeps when they are in reverse. They take the truck in and out at all hours of the night and their driveway is close to the bedroom so the noise sure doesn't help with sleep either.

I did some reading and it seems that she could have some sort of feline dementia due to her age. I also read cats often vocalize more loudly with age because their hearing is not as good.

I have tried calming treats, sprays, and Feliway. At times they seem to help, at others not so much. The cats are due for their annual visit to the vet soon, so I also plan to mention it to him.

I was wondering if anyone else has dealt with this and maybe had some ideas that I haven't thought of. They like to sleep downstairs, so I don't want to have to make them stay in the upstairs room. They already spend part of the day there due to the dog.