I was recently speaking to a pet owner about her elderly cat, Edmond. Edmond seemed to have his nights and days confused. He would walk around the house all night, yowling, and sleep all day. His behavior made it very hard for his owners to sleep.
Edmond’s owner tried a few different things. Her conventional veterinarian had prescribed Prozac. It did not help, except that Edmond really fought being given the pill. Edmond’s family tried a calming herbal formula. That didn’t help. Next, Edmond’s owner tried an herbal blend for the agitated, nervous, anxiety ridden patient. That didn’t help the family sleep either.
The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like it was simply a matter of Edmond being confused between his days and nights. Logically, cats are born to be nocturnal creatures, but, through interaction with humans, they switch to being awake much of the day and sleeping at night. Because of Edmond’s social nature, he was lonely when he was up all night – therefore he’d cry at night.
At first, when they caught Edmond sleeping during the day, they would wake him up and get him to interact with them. Then the owner had an truly ingenious solution! At nighttime his owners put a big fuzzy blanket on the bed and Eugene would sleep all night. The blanket was only for nighttime – that’s what makes it so special.
Now the whole family sleeps well, Eugene does not prowl or yell. And the biggest bonus – he doesn’t have to have any medication anymore! Brilliant!