Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
Help! My cat won’t stop meowing! He is a three-year-old male. We got him a few months ago, and now my roommates want to start spraying him to stop the meowing. I am concerned that will just make matters worse, and I really don’t want to re-home him! Please, please help me!
~Denelle
Siouxsie: The first thing you need to do is to figure out why your cat is meowing all the time.
Thomas: Excessive vocalization may be a sign of a health problem, so you’ll want to rule that out first. Call your veterinarian and take him in for a checkup, just to make sure he doesn’t have a urinary tract problem (which can cause excessive meowing because of the discomfort and pain) or a hormonal problem like hyperthyroid disease (which can also cause cats to be very noisy).
Dahlia: If your cat gets a clean bill of health, he’s probably meowing because he’s bored or he wants your attention.
Siouxsie: Most humans aren’t very good at picking up the subtle signs that we want attention–staring, walking on your newspaper, walking back and forth in front of you when you’re on the computer, and stuff like that–so a cat may have to resort to yelling and crying so you’ll interact with him.
Thomas: Like human children who are ignored, cats start to act out because they feel that even negative attention is better than no attention at all.
Dahlia: You’re right in thinking that if you spray him when he meows, it will only make matters worse. That’s because you’d be rewarding him for the behavior you don’t want. As Thomas said, your cat is meowing because he wants your attention, and even a squirt with a spray bottle is attention!
Siouxsie: Rehoming isn’t necessarily a good solution, either, because you’d be passing on your problems to someone else.
Thomas: So what can you do to stop your cat’s constant calling? We assume he’s neutered, but if he isn’t, take care of that first.
Dahlia: Behavior experts recommend two courses of action for excessive vocalization–ignoring and distraction. Whatever course of action you take, your roommates are going to have to be on board with it too. Neither of these techniques will work if one or more of you fail to commit to–and act on–these retraining methods.
Siouxsie: We’d recommend that you try distraction first, because it’s hard to ignore a cat that’s howling and yowling constantly.
Thomas: Distraction requires that you be observant. Notice the behavior that happens before your cat starts his meowing phase and pre-empt the meowing by doing something more enjoyable. We recommend a good, energetic play session.
Dahlia: You’ll be amazed what 10 or 15 minutes of play with a thing-on-a-string toy will do to calm your cat down, give him the attention he craves, and stimulate his mind by triggering his hunting reflexes.
Siouxsie: Make sure you provide him with toys to play with when he’s alone in the house, too. The most fun toys are the ones that roll and bounce off things so we can pretend we’re hunting them. Rolling plastic balls with little bells in them are a good option, as are solid foam-rubber balls. Fur-covered fake mice can be batted around and chewed, and that’s lots of fun, too.
Thomas: If your cat likes catnip, consider purchasing him a Plague Rat. These toys are made of linen and other things cats like to get their paws around, and they’re stuffed with catnip for extra goodness. I love my Plague Rat! I can’t get enough of it! (Although since I’m a gentleman, I do share it with Siouxsie and Dahlia sometimes.)
Dahlia: Plague Rats are hand-made in the UK, but the creator will ship to the US and Canada as well.
Siouxsie: In addition to distracting your cat with play, you and your roommates can schedule in regular 10- to 15-minute play sessions as part of your day. Your cat will love you forever if you take the time every day to do something fun and interactive with him.
Thomas: If your cat meows at night after you go to bed, make sure to have a good play session just before bedtime. This will tire him out and get him to sleep, at least for a while.
Dahlia: If you have a spare room that you can use as his “bedroom,” put his bed, a litterbox, some toys, and a bowl of water in there and put him to bed each night before you go to sleep. Also consider putting a radio in there and tuning it to a mellow station, playing at a low volume. If his night meowing is caused by anxiety, the radio might help to calm him down by reassuring him that he’s not alone.
Siouxsie: If he starts crying in the middle of the night, you must ignore him. Get earplugs if you have to, but do not reward him for waking you up when he wants attention but you want to sleep!
Thomas: One other thing you might consider is getting your cat a friend. If your household is very busy and you and your roommates are rarely home, your cat is probably lonely. Getting another cat might help to solve this problem. Also, because he’ll have a pal to play with, he can work off his excess energy.
Dahlia: If you do go this route, we think you’ll have the best luck adopting a younger cat–perhaps even a kitten–with a similar temperament and energy level. We cats tend to get along best with cats of the opposite sex, so get yourself a girl cat. Your local shelter can help you to find a cat that will be a good fit for your household.
Siouxsie: When you bring home the new cat, make sure you introduce her properly into the household in order to avoid other behavior problems like fighting and territory marking.You’ll need to get another litterbox, too, just to prevent any potential problems in that arena.
Thomas: We think that if you take these steps, you’ll be able to train your cat out of his constant meowing habit.
Dahlia: It’ll take time and patience, but don’t give up! Good luck, Denelle.
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
I’ve been cat sitting a cat that does the same thing. I’ll be glad when her owner gets back from vacation. Ohh her owner told me she just talks a lot and yes she sure does!
I just looked this up on line b/c my cat is doing it too and driving me insane. I am going to try rescue remedy (bach flowers) in his water bowl. I have tried locking him outside and it doesn’t matter he will howl for 7 or 8 hours non stop, banging the cat door, body slamming the door until he comes in and up to my bed.
I’ve been dealing with a simular problem, my cat is neutered and healthy, he goes to the vet monthly for check ups.
is fed regulary but when ever I dare to try to sllep. he goes to the door and crys NONE stop because he hears the neighbors in the hall of my Apartment.
The Vet said, He is in perfect health, and he could 1. give him medication that forced him to sleep. (but I dont want to drug him)
2. remove his vocal cords, and I WILL not do that to a poor animal.I try giving him plenty of attension, but He hates being held or touched for more then a few seconds.
I’m to the point I either have to move, find away to fix this situation, or get rid of him. and I will not get ride of my cat for simply being a cat.
My cat patches just started to do this 3 or 4 months ago. About a year ago we got another cat. Patches was still new to the home so I thinked it freaked her out and she went into her shell. I think this meowing is her coming out of her shell and its killing us! After reading coutless websites, I think I am going to try affection when quiet and ignoring her when she is meowing. Guess I’ll have to learn to sleep with earplugs in……..I’ll update everyone!
My cat Romeo does this. He is extremely friendly and seems to never sleep. he meows anytime he sees anyone, doesnt matter who it is. we have three other cats he plays with constantly. we spray him when he gets really bad, he runs away and just does it in the other room. he seems to constantly want attention, as soon as you pick him up he shuts up. but we constantly show him affection and i play with him probably an hour a day, very energetically, and it makes no difference. hes healthy, happy, and extremely vocal. its funny sometimes because he is out of control, but mostly its aggravating. playing does not help, spraying doesnt help, holding him does but its not like hes starved for attention!
My cat Jet meows constantly for attention, but particularly when i am trying to sleep or when my boyfriend spends the night. And if i do get up and try and bring him onto the bed for a cuddle, he doesnt stay for anymore than 10 mins and then he is off running around crying and jumping on things again…..usually at 3 or 4am!!!
I have tried everything and i cannot just leave him to cry as i dont want to disturb the neighbours, I have recently moved from my mothers house into my own unit and i think he is missing the company of her other cats.
I am going to try the distraction technique and see if this helps at all and maybe if all else fails, bring one of his playmates to stay with us for a while!
My cat has done this nonstop since I brought her home with me when she was a baby. She does do it off an on though, like she’ll do it for a week straight and then won’t for a month and then right back at it. I know that she just wants attention, but it’s annoying as hell.
im sure its because of mating. My cat goes out and have sex with other cats and when i leave him inside for 2 days he starts meowing all night! I think we should let them go out when they want to cos they need socializing w other cats! No medications, or cutting the voice chords!
My cat, Bones, is such a whiny little cheek. He will cuddle for hours and purr like a motorboat the entire time. He bothers any guests I might have by rubbing on them and climbing into their laps, continuously. The moment he does not have his way, or you migrate to another room, he starts meowing up a storm. He’s the first lovable cat I’ve owned, so this is new to me, but he’s in tip top health, happy as can be. This really helps, though, thanks for the tips.
My cat Bailey does this as well. She is about 3 or 4 years old and just started meowing non-stop about 4 months ago. She starts at about 5 a.m. and doesn’t stop until I get up and start getting ready. She has constant attention and the vet says she’s healthy so I had no idea what was wrong with her. I feel bad because I know my apartment neighbors can hear her. I might try getting her a playmate to see if that helps…
My cat also wont stop meowing. we found cat-nip in the garden but her meowing and rolling in the dirt wont stop. i dont know what to do. we give her enough attention , she stopped for a bit but it keeps getting louder?? what do i do?? the neighbours are going to start complaining
I adopted a very loving orange kitty a couple of months ago. He was already a year old when I got him and was immediately a bit of a talker and so affectionate he was pushy about it. Unfortunately, its just impossible to let him in my room when I’m trying to sleep! His idea of cuddling is either to lick and chew on any exposed skin (like my face) or to just sleep on my head…. Cute, but not helpful when trying to sleep. Now that I keep the door closed, he starts yowling outside by about 3 am. Yelling doesn’t help. Ignoring doesn’t help. Wearing him out doesn’t help. Midnight snacks don’t help. Cat’s in great shape, despite sounding like he was stung by a bee for hours. Poor guy :(
Wow, Banko…I can’t believe there are still people around that thinks it’s okay to have an unneutered cat and let it go out and “have sex’ whenever it wants. Nice way to make sure the animal shelters are still full and poor animals have to be euthanized because of irresponsible pet owners like you. I’m assuming all the other people here are responsible enough to spay or neuter their cats and their problems aren’t related to mating. Get a clue.
My cat is 13 years old. He has always been a very energetic cat. He was just diagnosed with a terminal cancer. We had a cyst removed from his sinuses to try to buy him some time. He seems to be very happy and has been hunting geckos on our enclosed deck. But, now he won’t stop meowing when he’s awake. It’s especially annoying while we are trying to sleep. Is he in pain? Or does he justs want attention. We gave him LOTS of attention when he came home after his surgery. He also has an older cat as a companion, but the older cat sleeps alot. Should I take the meowing cat to the vet again? It’s only been three weeks from his surgery. Thanks
I have tried all of these things and they don’t work!! My cat isn’t satisfied with a 15 minute playing session and as soon as you stop,he starts up again.
He is neutered,he is in perfect health,young,well cared for,ALWAYS has food,and gets plenty of attention.
Ignoring doesn’t work either cuz he will just keep doing it until I want to hurt something and my neighbors are pissed.
Last night I put him outside and I don’t care if he doesn’t like it,I have to sleep sometime!!
It is coming down to getting his voice chords cut or getting him a new home!
My husband and I recently moved into an apartment where our cat cant go outside anymore. He has always been vocal and was never allowed outside until we had to move back home with my parents. My dad couldn’t take his meowing and discovered that if he let him outside, it would temporarily solve the problem. Well, now we are in an apartment again and we dont want him outside anymore and his meowing that was just kind of annoying about a yr ago has become 100 times worse, because now he meows all day and all night to go outside. My husband and i thought that he would slow down on the meowing after a few weeks of not going outside, but he hasn’t and im afraid he never will. I’m afraid we are going to get kicked out of our apartment and also im pregnant and im afraid he is going to keep my baby up at all hours. I have always always loved animals, but lately i have thought about nothing except getting rid of him, but my husband wont allow it. It is causing lots of tension in our relationship and i know when i have the baby it will get much worse. I’ve seen the show its me or the dog. I am starting to feel this way about the cat. He is in good health and get tons and tons of attention. Help!
My cat began to vocalize and howl during the night about two years ago — excessively, though I didn’t catch on to the problem at first. She is an older cat, and started howling at the age of nine. Turns out she has hyperthyroid condition, which can ultimately kill her because it can damage the heart over time. In addition, it is exceedingly uncomfortable and scary for an animal to have. My vet says that a cat can actually hallucinate when they have the syndrome — much as humans (who can have the same problem). Luckily there is an easy solution — a drug that I give her twice a day, which keeps her thyroid problem in check. Another sign of this problem is panting — cats are not animals that pant — so keep a look out for a combo of those two behaviors.
I have a male cat that started doing this about a year ago and we tried to ignore him we tried spraying him we tried yelling at him and nothing is working the box is clean the water and food bowls are full but it never fails as soon as we get comfy and lights go out he starts in all night log meowing and moaning to go out cause there are a buncha stray cats in our complex I let him go out during the day occasionally but its just not good enough any more he has to go out at night idk what to do
Oh my gosh I am going absolutely crazy-Im going on weeks of horrible sleep because of my neutered male cat. He cries and talks ALL the time. He requires a lot of attention and when I give it to him hes fine. Now its at night time and he contently wants to go out and mouse hunt. If he does not get his way he gets on my head and lets out what I call his war cry-kinda and loud exaggerated meow from HELL! I let him out and about 1-4 hours later hes again meowing at my door but with a dead mouse. Its like this every night now. Im going to try and get him some toys to fill his need for hunting but any other tips would be helpful.
our 8.5 yr old neutered cat has recently began to meow out of control.he lost his older brother just over 2 yrs ago, + suffered badly from anxiety at this loss for 4 months, (constantly searching the very large house at night for his brother). he had a clean bill of health from his vet, has always had excellent health care (better than us!). we tried getting him a younger mate to play with, as suggested by vet, (who has cared for him his whole life). this did not work! he ignored the new arrival for 2 weeks, then suddenly viciously attacked the younger + more street wise cat…it had to be placed with friends.
life got back to normal ie: he had a huge house + garden with many hiding places to play, seemed to sleep most of the day. he was locked in at night as we were running a bar from our house(we live in cambodia) as FIV is extremely prevalent + this caused the demise of his brother. this was normal pattern for 5 years (including since his brother’s demise). we then moved..the preparation to move took 2 weeks he was anxious, as cats do not LIKE ANY CHANGES! we moved to the country with total peace + quiet for 2 months, but much more restriction, including having to be walked on a lead, as he could have easily ‘got lost’. this was all under full inclusion of our efforts from his vet. he has always had a ‘clean bill of health’. we then moved back to the city in a very small self contained villa that is totally ‘wired-in’ with a small garden, but he has a fun ladder for access to look out in the street + acts as our security guard chasing cats away. he has always ‘talked’ a lot, but now its non-stop. only other symptoms is that he constantly ‘scents’ on every piece of furniture or visitor: that is ‘rubbing his face’ on surfaces. he has regular feeding patterns, although the house-keeper tends t ‘spoil’ him + feed on demand many small meals of freshly cooked seafish + some kibble dry food(addicted to this so small amounts), he meows seeks attention, then sleeps most of the day. we play with him, as much as he likes, pat + talk to him! he has never been a ‘cuddly cat’ ie; sit on laps is a no no! he is hyperactive when awake, even though here this is an old age for a cat. he is treated like a child ! what do we do for our baby?, he has a very loud MEOW! no worries re noise it’s cambodia, although the street noises in this houseare worse than the previous. any suggestions.
Branko,
Have you ever lost a friend to AIDS? because FIV is exactly the same symptoms and end!! it is not ok to leave non-neutered cats out to have sex! it puts a strain on animal sanctuaries + causes unnecessary euthanasia. i do treat my pets as children, so i am a little weird! but i do not ever want t watch a perfectly healthy cat go through that again…their main functions; brain, heart etc are fine…it’s the slow demise (that is not painful until right at the end) that is so cruel to a loving animal. our baby survived 3 yrs with this terrible disease, rebounding ‘back to normal’ between bought of sickness + only the last 2 weeks before he was put to sleep were bad.our vet, thought he ‘had the greatest will to live that he had ever witnessed’ + yes he is a great cat lover having 4 + 2 doberman dogs. we can not get anti retros here + no FIV immunisation available, i did not know FIV existed until our cat was diagnosed. so people beware, protect your cats if you can!
My cat has been doing this for several years no matter how much I try to ignore it. Not a meow but more like a person screaming while being murdered. Several times a night. This started she began peeing outside the litter box. Yes, I had her checked out. Nothing wrong, just seriously annoying habits. Maybe when I had to move my mother in with me. She has a cat, also.
She never made a sound when she first came into my life. It’s been 15 years now and the problems have been going on for more than 5years. I can’t kick my mother to the curb. I’m not sure I can justify losing any more sleep over this cat and I won’t burdon anyone else with this annoyance. It’s really, really bad and my vet has no answers.
My Bengal has started doing this. Pretty much only night-time meowing… and it is incessant! He sleeps all day and then meows all night. It was driving me crazy!
Over the past several weeks I have found a few things that help:
1) Open a window so he can it on the sill and listen to the sounds.
2) Play with him! This helps tons! When he is lonely, he will come sit by me. But when he is bored, he will meow incessantly until he gets played with. He likes when we play with the ‘laser light beam’… I have the cat-toy flashlight version, NOT a real laser.
3) If I absolutely have to get to sleep, and I cannot play with him for some reason, I just turn the fan on in my room and it helps to drown-out the sound of the meows so I can sleep.
Good luck to you all, and give your kitty a nice back scratch from me.
:-)
my cat is 6 month old how can i make her shut up ?? plz answer back
Dahlia is right, it is an attention thing. ..I’ve owned multiple cats (not all at once) and my roommates cat does this.
I find it the most prevalent when the owner talks to the cat a lot. The cat mirrors it back. When my roommate is not around I am completely silent with the cat. I will pet him, but at times don’t make eye contact for that is a trigger. The cat is 90% silent with me* and never silent with my roommate. She babies him and constantly looks and talks to him. A hiss with my finger pointed will cause the cat to roller over and be quiet.
I read in a cat book that the best way to train a cat is to do what a mother cat would do when she is upset. She hisses! (never yell or hit- it will exaggerate the behavior). I tried this with my last cat too and with current cat, and if I am consistent it works perfectly. My last cat was completely trained with a simple ‘hiss or a low soft growl’ and the cat would become happy submissive. Speak their language and they understand. :) ( the hiss or grow sound must be believable) I would, of course, reward him for good behavior and give attention.
Well, first thing I recommend is to make sure you’re doing your part in taking care of him. Right amount of attention, playing 10mins a day.
But cats can be attention hores sometimes, at times that cat itself is the problem, not you. My roommate has one cat that he spoiled, gave him too much attention. I moved in and I played with him and later that afternoon he’d be meowing and I needed to work.
I was like “oh no, you’d better shut up, before I give you a wack” and I was dead serious. I did give him a wack. Taught him some respect. He was really startled, and I gave him the major cold shoulder firmly after that. After a day or two he came up and rubbed against my leg, and ever since then hes reasonable, I think he knows I do my part to be cool with him. At least that is my 2 cents. A cat can be spoiled sometimes. People think hitting an animal is always wrong, but it is right when it is the last resort and he needs it.
Another thing is I tell him “shhh You’re okay” if I know I’ve been taking care of him and he gets stupid and is being all desperate.
I think some of it is your attitude and the cat can mirror it, if he feels things are wrong maybe he’ll be meowing more. Seriously, some if it is psychology, not just physical needs.
But I’d give him 10 mins of playtime a day before I tell him “hey, shhh”
Sometimes when a cat meow’s constantly he’s diabetic and always hungry. If he is thin, you should check him out for this. Other times it’s a mating call. And some breeds, like Siamese, are extremely vocal by nature. I have a beautiful boy, Sammy, who never stops meowing, and he is diabetic.
I’ve got a particularly noisy cat as well. I got him at 6 weeks old and now he’s 3 years old and still has some noise issues. When he was a year old he was driving me crazy screaming and howling all through the night, every single night. He would go on the window and yell really really loud, I would throw cups of water at him trying to shut him up, it worked 50/50. But then something happened… (and yes Chase is still alive)
I had to move from my apartment but for 1 month I couldn’t have my cat Chase, I wasn’t happy about the situation. I did managed to convince a friend to watch my Chase, the noisy, unneutered, rough tough litter bitter of a cat.
My friend lived in a house that was split basement and top, he had the basement. Above him lived a dog and Chase has never been around a dog. So Chase lived in the basement and never saw this dog but could hear him walking around upstairs so Chase hardly said a word there and didn’t get much attention. I also wasn’t able to see him much over there so he probably thought I got ride of him and that was his new home. A month later when I was able to take Chase back he hasn’t howled a single night. It was a miracle. Now I tell him if he does that again it back to “boot camp” for him.
Now if he has his fits its during the day, still can be annoying but yeah I suppose he’s just trying to get his way but he has forever changed since that awkward move.
So this is what I suggest if your cat has a perfect life but meaninglessly cries. Try and find someone with a dog and have the cat live in the basement for a month basically alone, when he was with my friend he got no attention and had to sleep in the furnace room because my friend was scared he would bite him. Then when you take your cat back home he’ll realize how good his life was and could be if he straightens up, tough love if you will. It’s important not to see him/her for that period.
I know it sounds crazy but try it, it happened by mistake for me and it really worked wonders.
I rescued a cat a few weeks ago and got her spayed. She is about 8 months old. She was bawling up a storm when I found her but thought it was just because she was hungry and not neutered. But when I got her home and fed her and took care of her health problems, the bawling did not go away. She is as bad as ever. I know she is just a very vocal cat, meowing for attention. She follows me everywhere and always wants to be held and petted. At night I have to put her away in a bedroom with food water and litter box because she keeps my husband and I up at night. He is ready to throw her out. She just does not meow, she BAWLS this horrible noise. She is healthy and happy so no reason for her to be doing this. I’m going to try the cat nip and see if that distracts her. My husband says NO MORE CATS so unfortunately I can’t get her a playmate. She is a sweet heart and has no other real vices.I can’t rehome her because once a prospective taker hears that horrible noise they will run for the door. Ignoring doesn’t seem to help, and neither does other types of distraction. Are we destined to suffer with this indefinitely?
I have three cats, 4 yr old spayed female named Diesel (she snores and purrs like an engine, 2 yr old male Turbo (energy ball) and 1 yr old male Genie I rescued at work when he was 1 month old. Both males aren’t neutered yet, emphasis on the yet, but they will be as soon as we have the money for it.
Genie started meowing and moaning excessively a couple of months back. He rarely meows per say, more of a vibrating moan, but it’s loud enough nonetheless. This was accompanied by spraying all over the house. My cats are getting all the attention they need, and Genie especially gets more than enough playtime since he’s the youngest and I always play with him before going to bed.
He usually starts his routine around 5 am, either bothering us or his older sister, which in turn hisses and growls at him, leaving us with two noisy cats. So I get up, go to the bathroom and do something for him, put some more food, open the door to the living room, just so that he’s distracted. It works for a little while then he starts again till he gets tired of not getting any attention and comes sleep with us in bed as close os possible to me, usually on my pillow.
His brother used to have meowing routines in the morning when I wasn’t at home, but he is quiet enough, even tho he should be far more stressed since he has way more hormones. So Genie didn’t pick that up from any of the cats.
I’m hoping that neutering them will get rid of the problem.
Hi, Vee. The neutering should definitely be a BIG help in relieving the problem. The reason your cat is moaning and spraying is probably related to sexual frustration–probably there’s a female cat in heat in your area (males can smell them from almost a mile away)–and when he’s neutered, that problem will go away. It’ll take a few weeks for the behavior to disappear entirely because the testosterone (male sex hormone) in his system will decrease gradually.
Meanwhile, we’d recommend that you treat the areas where he’s sprayed with an enzyme-based cat urine odor remover like Anti-Icky-Poo or Nature’s Miracle. Use a hand-held black light (available in pet stores and home supply stores) to find all the places where he’s sprayed and treat the areas as directed.
I have a cat that we originally thought was female for the first four years of it’s life because nothing was there to prove he was a boy, who was for the most part very queit. We rent so we’ve had to move alot, but we moved in with my parents who had a male cat, which other then a brief period with a (we’re assuming) female kitten is the only cat it’s been around and our cat would not stop whining and spraying. We assumed it was because it was in heat so we got it fixed, only to find she was a he (male cats testicles don’t always drop both our cat and our parent’s cat had this happen). The meowing has gotten better but still won’t stop, we’re trying the hissing and attention (although I’m home all day so that shouldn’t be an issue, although my husband is his human and isn’t home all day), and he only got fixed a few days ago, so we’re hoping time and the attention and hissing will take care of the meowing it driving our parents, and to be honest me, nuts!
My cat, Six (named so as he is a polydactyl) meows at the door wanting to go out. First and foremost he is the most amazing animal. When my partner and I lost our jobs in California we decided to move to Arkansas. I could not leave six behind so we got on a plane with said Six beneath the seat. He was really calm and well behaved. When we got here we stayed at an extended stay motel where pets where prohibited. We kept him hidden in the room for 3 weeks without a peep out of him….
Lately he has been watching squirrels and birds out the window and has begun to cry at the door throughout the day and night. I don’t see how ignoring him or distracting him will help! I have started chaparoning short trips outside with him, but am afraid that this is only increasing his desire to be out there and will lead to more meowing. When I can afford to put down the actual pet deposit my appartment requires to have him here he will definatley have outside time. Until then, brief visits to outside during the night will have to suffice.
Six gets plenty of attention and play, I’m certain that letting him out (of course he is neutered) will fix my problem. From what I’ve read, some other’s problems seem pretty enigmatic.
My 17 year old neutered male cat started doing this yowling thing right around the time his beagle brother died last November. I assumed he was lonely and wanted affection, as he does better if I let him cuddle in my bed with me; however, boyfriend and I do not like the cat hair in the bedroom. The cat has his own room with plenty of toys and food/water. I recently took him to the vet and he does have an ear infection and possibly hyperthyroidism, although the vet admitted the ear infection could falsely elevate the thyroid results. He is going back for a re-check after all the medicines are completed. He has always been a healthy indoor only cat, so this wailing is new. Definitely get your cat checked for hidden health problems.
My female cat of 13 years meows at you all the time. She does various volumes and sounds…It’s worse when you are trying to be quiet! I have given up trying to shut her up so we just live with it.
Lately though, she has started a really loud meow just outside my toddler’s bedroom door, which has woken him at 4 am. This is not funny and is getting very tedious…My cat is not stressed, she has games every day and has company all day too. She lives better than me!
What i need is someone to tell me something i can do which nobody else has thought of!
Oh Well, I live in hope……
I got my kitten in June so have nearly had her for 2 months now. I absolutely cannon sleep with her in my room because she wants to play, purrs so loudly and is always walking over my head. So I do my best to play with her before bed time, sit with her, give her lots of attention and once its bed time, lights go out and I close my door.
Some nights are fine but most are terrible! :-( If I go to bed at 10pm an hour later she will be scratching and howling at my door to get in. I have tried the whole “ignore her” technique but it doesnt work- she will simply cry for hours and hours. So when I do get up I land up shouting at her because I am tired and she just wont stop when the door is closed. I try sit with her again and then go back to bed.
Every single morning between 5-6am she starts all over again. This morning I tried to ignore her to see if she would stop but she carried on for 90 minutes. As soon as I open the door and she see’s me she is fine and stops immediately!
She is only 3 1/2 months old now so she is still a kitten but I am worried this is never going to stop. I am moving into a unit that will only allow one pet so I cant get her a friend.
I am on the verge of giving her up!! I cant handle this anymore- I even bought ear plugs today!
Any advice? Please help!!!
My cat is a snow mink bengal and is almost 1 year old and lately he is constantly meowing. I have found that bengals are more vocal then most cat breeds, but its getting to a stage where my partner and I are getting stressed out because it sounds like he is distressed. We always make sure he has lots of food and water, his kitty litter is clean and he gets regular check up from the vet , but still keeping meowing. When we first got him, he was quiet as could be and didnt want to get near us. We recently moved interstate, and for the first week or so, he was an angel. Cuddling up next to us and sleeping all the time, rarely making a sound! Within the past week, he has been letting it all out. I think part of it, is he might be bored because we are out most of the day, but when i get home i make sure to play with him as much i can and he stop meowing. As soon as i stop he goes back to meowing.
We dont have many options at the moment, as we live in a small apartment and im afraid he is making too much noise and annoying the neighbours.
Getting another pet is not an option at the moment as we are only allowed one pet and we really dont want to give him away.
Any advice would be greatly appriciated.
I’m not alone with this problem, I see, My ‘howler’ is 2, he’s neutered, he’s seen the vet and he’s fine, he has a brother so he does have company, and he gets plenty of playtime. He usually plays until he’s too tired to run after the toys anymore. He gets snuggles as soon as I come home from work and gets lots of attention.
However, he’s gotten to the point where if he’s not eating, sleeping or playing with me, he cries. It’s constant. It’s to the point where I’ve become as frazzled as a mother with a human baby who won’t stop crying. The other night I was actually crying myself and begging him to just stop, please stop, for five minutes. I have a studio so there’s no way I can go into another room, and if I leave him in the bathroom to calm down, he gets even more upset. Even worse, his brother has started picking up the behavior, so I now have two howlers. Ignoring them does nothing whatsoever. Right now I have to wear earplugs when I’m home.
The vet has me trying Rescue Remedy with him to see if it calms him down, and I’m going to be adding Feliway. I am desperately hoping that these two things work to calm him down.
My cat sabbath is a one year old neutered male and he meows constantly. It’s driving me and my partner nuts. He meows to get outside and then meows to come back in. He meows at the front door at five o’clock in the morning to get inside and I’m worried it bothers the neighbors. He’s fed regularly and gets plenty of attention from myself and my two kids. Please help I’m at my wits end.
I also have a 2yr old cat. i love her to pieces. I give her all the attention she wants.She only meows when I walk around, she has plenty of food and water so I know she is not hungry. also goes to the vet for checkups so she is fine..is spayed
I have a male cat about 9 months old and he has all his parts still. He has been an inside cat since I got him other than a few over night outtings when he’s gotten out an open window or a door left open half a minute to long. His meows vary from a normal meow to a deeper toned one that almost echos in the hall. I leave a window open for him to sit in and listen and smell the outside world even though it reaches -40 outside during the winter. Ive bought him every toy imaginable, keep his bowls filled and his litter box clean. I also give him as much attention as possible going as far as petting him first when I get home from work before I pet the dog. My roommate is getting a lil ticked about it’s annoyingness when watching movies or trying to sleep and now my girlfriend is saying she wants his manhood reduced by 2/3 as far as I’m concerned they’re not mine to take so he can keep them til he sprays one time.
Any ideas as what to do for him other then letting him be an in/ outdoor cat as I live downtown beside a main road and dont want to see him as a blood stain on the road when going to grab something from the store one day.
Our cat had this same Problem – I refuse to let animals sleep in the bed so he gets the laundry room, but he can’t stand being alone & howls every time I or my fiancée get up. I tried feeding him, ignoring him, nothing worked.
Finally, I downloaded the “relax melodies” app on my old iphone and was surprised to find a “purring cat” setting, so I put the cat in the laundry room & set the iPhone at half volume (plugged in/speaker on of course). He hasn’t made a sound all night.
This is not a joke or spam post … It definitely worked for us — hope it works for you
I have also been having this problem, however my cat is not spayed. he is about 5-6 months old, i got him a couple months ago now and every time i leave his sight he starts meowing constantly. I’m almost 100% sure its just an attention thing though, because, every time he starts meowing ill just get out of my seat and chase him around for 10 minutes or so and he will just purr constantly and VERY loudly. As for the meowing at night thing i have just managed to get my cat on the same sleeping schedule as me, he usually starts taking cat naps at around 7-8 pm on his favorite spot on the couch right next to me, i usually go to bed at 11:30 so i just interrupt his naps by petting him until i go to bed and he just comes with me and sleeps by my feet. i suggest you try that, my cats getting more consistent with just getting up at the right time and coming to bed, sleeps all night no problem till the alarm goes off.
i feel like i typed to much… haha
Also, i got a scratching post, duct taped a string to it and tied one of my old storm trooper toys to it. Loves it. I have also heard lazer pointers are really healthy for cats and their so easy to amuse him with when your just lazy and dont want to get up and play.
My male cat does this, my female 8 yr old cat [Fluffy] likes to stay in the living room at night and my male 5 month old cat [Griffin] likes to see both me and this cat at night and I usually take him to bed with me. He cries all night because he wants to see us both, one night I fell asleep on the couch where he could see both me and fluffy and he didn’t cry. If you have another cat and one of your cats cries all night, try getting all the cats in one room with you while you try to sleep.
Reading all of your comments helped me feel like I’m not alone with these cat issues. Last year I agreed to look after a grown up cat (a neutered male, 6 or 7 years old). His master had died and his nephew, who promised to take care of the cat, had to ask someone to stay with him for a few weeks, while he had his house repaired.
I took care of the cat from september to december. I love him to bits; he really showed no signs of stress while living with me. In fact, he acted like he had known me forever. And he loves virtually anyone who comes into the house (humans, that is).
Around Christmas time he went to live with his late master’s nephew. Mind you, he had had no previous contact with him. The nephew has two other young cats (younger than 1 year old) and my Farrusco didn’t get along with them. In fact, he hated their guts and they’d fight and hiss at eachother all the time. He was always stressed out and agressive. His master asked me whether I’d take him back and obviously I said yes.
Unfortunately, ever since he came back, he’s been acting differently. He meows like crazy, specially at night, when I come back home. Sometimes he sounds like a female cat in heat, other like a crazy dog asking to go out. I think he responds a lot to the dogs and cats who make noise outside (there’s a small garden outside and january is, I believe, the month when lady cats get all aroused).
I’ve tried playing with him, petting him and trying to calm him down, holding him and going for walks in my tiny apartment… I’ve also yelled (no good, I know) and locked him inside a room. He’ll just yell more, although sometimes, when I release him, he looks a bit calmer.
He doesn’t do this every night, mind you, but when he does, it’s exhausting. I’m afraid the neighbours will complain and I can’t help but wonder why his behaviour changed ever since coming back from his «country» house (stress, maybe? He was there for two weeks, give or take).
I just wish he’d sound happy again. And that he’d let me sleep.
Apart from that he’s been eating, etc normally and he looks healthy. His fur actually looks luxurious.
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me.
**
I have a 5 year old male cat, ToeDoe He’s fixed and pretty healthy. I’ve recently moved into a new apartment with him. At first he was quite content – only meowed to say hello. Now after 4 months he’s started to meow, what i call an evil meow. He howls when he hears me outside the door and once i’m inside he continues for the next few hours.
I know he’s really lonely. I moved from a house with many roommates and other animals, to a place by myself. I’m hardly home and when i am I’m usually sleeping. He wants attention. He quiets right down when I pet him or play with him. BUT am I rewarding him for “bad behavior”?
I took some advice from the article, i bought him toys from the “Kong” line (i think) which promote independent play. I got him 4 different things. A scratching post with 3 parts, a scratching part, grooming ‘station’ and a toy tethered on top; a Topsy toy… not sure how to describe this one but it’s got a spring with a ball and a bell at the end of it, so when Toe tries to grab it it “runs away from him”; a ball with a light in it; and a crinkle tunnel 3 ft long. I got them in hopes he could entertain himself when I’m away. I do have other toys for him but most of them are teaser toys. I also got them because I’ve been feeling REALLY guilty about being away so much.
I’m interested to see if these things will help. I’m planning on playing with him before i go to bed, and with the new toys hopefully when i get home from work he’ll be happy to see me but not annoying me with his howl.
Hi,
Firstly I wanted to say a big thankyou for all the tips and advice shared on this website and forum. I’m back to report what has worked for me!
My year old cat Terry was being a real menace with his night calling and scratching at our bedroom door. We were pulling our hair out over lack of sleep and he seemed to have the energy to sustain this truely annoying habit all night long. The spray bottle and hissed/yelled threats only worked for a short time, before he worked out that he only had to move back from the door a few metres when he heard us coming.
After reading comments on this site I gave my husband new instructions on how we were going to handle Terry and I headed out to get supplies, namely ear plugs, new cat toys and large peices of foam.
Step one was to buy 1 inch thick foam from Clark Rubber (this is an aussie store, not sure of overseas equivalents). We tied this to the lower part of the bedroom door to prevent Terry (the Terror) from scratching at the door all night, a sound which echoed into the room and was almost worse than his meowing. The foam cover worked a treat.
Step two was to attempt to tire Terry out every evening with pouncing and chasing games – we’re in an apartment and he’s a young cat so he has a lot of energy to burn off. I also left a few more toys out for him in the evenings and hoped he would use them for self play.
Step three was for my husband and I to use earplugs and mild sleeping aids (e.g. valerian tablets), to help drown out the sound and allow us to resist any urge to respond, either verbally or physically to Terry’s meowing. It was hard the first couple of nights but he soon got the message that we weren’t going to be at his beck and whim, and the meowing sessions became shorter in length and has now all but stopped, so no more need to use earplugs. He still has the occasional bout of whining about being locked out, but it’s nothing compared to the nightlong torment he used to inflict on us.
I can’t stress enough important it is to truly ignore them all night… not just for 10, 20mins until you can’t stand it anymore and blast them with the spray bottle or a barrage of expletives. As others have mentioned this is just giving them the attention they are craving and reinforces the pattern that if they meow/scratch long enough you will respond.
Hopefully this advice/experience helps a few of you out there! My hubby was ready to kick Terry to the curb (or to my parents place as he’s studying for an important exam right now) but now we can all just get along… ahhhh!!!
Mel
My cat will do this sometimes, but the best thing to do is give it plenty of attention, including playing with him, and you can get it a comfertable cat bed, but make sure your cat likes the bed. My only other suggestion is waiting for it to mature, because it’s more calm when it’s older.
I tried taking your advice and giving him attention when he meows and now it is even worse! I work from home and it has gotten to the point where I can not work, he knows now that this meowing = attention.