noisy cat

Goodshape

My cats about four or five years old at this stage, sort of thought it would grow out of this but it hasn't (yet at least). His number #1 way of looking for attention, regardless of what it wants, is to sit in the room and meow constantly.

Wouldn't be a huge problem if it were only an occasional thing, like when there was actually something it needed, but the bowl could be full, the window open, no great lack of TLC, and he'd still be sitting there, staring blankly at nothing in particular and meowing away to his hearts content.

It's the family cat so I only get to see it on occasions (like Christmas) but it's driving the mother and younger sisters crazy to the point where the cat just gets chucked outside and forgotten about as best they can, which isn't fair on anybody.

Anyone have any similar experiences? Any advice for how to get him to shut the **** up? Or are we just stuck with an ignorant, noisy cat?

eth0_

Yeah he's so 'ignorant', he's clearly meowing just to p1ss you off :rolleyes:

Have you taken him to the vet? He might be in pain from something which could be causing the excessive meowing.

Or maybe he's just a chatty cat.

Goodshape

I was assigning him human like qualities when I said 'ignorant' - as in the type of person who interrupts and chats away at inappropriate times. Don't look too much into that.

It most likely is just a chatty cat. Doesn't make it any less annoying though. And it acts differently when it has something which causes pain or needs attention -- quite a clever cat, he knows how to get what he wants -- what I'm talking about is more passive (and constant).

rediguana

My cat's KIND of the same. I've had some success with the following strategy:

1. Cat miaows inappropriately.

2. I SIMULTANEOUSLY say 'SHHHH!!!' in a loud, sudden way.

3. Cat looks alarmed and stops, but starts again a few seconds later.

4. Repeat Step Two.

5. Cat knows something is going on by now. Miaows lower in volume, but become more plaintive.

6. With repitition, cat quickly learns that its miaowing leads to unfavourable consequences (Disturbing shhhushing from me). It decreases its antisocial behaviour to avoid this.


*Note. I haven't moulded a mute cat in my own image. She still miaows but usually she's quiet.

nando

Has it developed recently or has it always been this way?

Also is he neutered?

Goodshape

He's not neutered and it's always been that way. LOVES the attention this cat.

I've done the "SSHH!" thing before and it more or less works in the short term. Perhaps I'll just keep that up and try to convince the family to do the same -- they're more irritated by it than I am, and also unfortunately more likely to just loose patients with him.

bounty_hunter

My cat is exactly the same, I actually posted a thread on a subject similar to this a while back. He was always noisy, but since he's been neutered and become more cuddly it's increased tenfold.

If you've had your cat fully vet checked and there's nothing else he could conceivably be looking for, I wouldn't worry about. It's perfectly normal for some cats to just want to chat to their family. Mine announces every little thing he does, he even sometimes stops in the middle of eating to tell me that he's eating. Apart from when he's asleep, there's not a moment when he's not nattering away to himself.

If you haven't done so already, first point of call is taking him to a vet. You say he acts differently when he's in pain, but you can never tell when some health problem might manifest that he's unsure how to display to you. After he's got the all clear from the vet, and assuming this isn't just a new thing (which would suggest there's something he wants that you haven't discovered yet), the only thing you and your family can do is just learn to appreciate your cats personality, and if you can't do that then to rehome him to somebody who will.

Goodshape

Cheers, bounty_hunter, a helpful post.

Your cat got worse after getting neutered? I would have thought it would be the reverse. Good thing I didn't go down that road.

I'll get him to a vet next week, make sure he's healthy.

Don't think re-homing him is an option really at this stage, nor a necessity (affection towards him does seep through the irritation occasionally ), he spends most of his time outside anyway and there's plenty of houses around where he's a welcome guest. Sort of a neighbourhood cat really (although ours at the same time, if you know what I mean). He's actually just back after three days and looking fully fed and happy as could be. Cat's got more of a social life than I do.

But everyone complains about the meowing.

nando

Some cats are just more vocal than others and especially certain breeds like Siamese.

The most common cause of excessive vocalisation in an older cat is Hyperthyroid disease but this has other symptoms including weight loss, poor coat quality, agression and hyperactivity - and is unlikely if the cat has always been noisy.

Cats that are not neutered are also often more noisy - obviously the queen in heat, but males can caterwaul too when they are in the mood. I have have two 10 month old males myself that both began doing this from around 5 months on, once they became sexually mature. One was since neutered and has stopped. The other is still entire and still does this for no apparant reason. Of course at this stage it is possible that even when neutered he will continue if it has become a learned behaviour now.

Cats can also suffer from a number of nervous conditions and this type of caterwauling can be part of these as a compulsive behaviour.

The best advice is to completely ignore the cat when it is vocalising (once you are certain the cat is not in pain or hungry etc.). Give it no attention at all - petting, shouting, sshhing etc. Instead give the cat more attention when it is being quiet.

If this has become a really serious issue in the house and if it proves to be part of a nervous condition or a compulsive behaviour, then there are anti-anxiety drugs that your vet can use as part of the therapy for these conditions. Drugs are obviously not a first choice and not suitable in all cases but they can help in certain situations, particularly if the problem continues through the night.

FranknFurter

Please get your cat neutered, despite what has been said above, it actually is likely to help. Also it will prevent possibly hundreds of unwanted births and ensure him less diseases and more comfort, and make him much less likely to stray and get hurt.

Your cat may be frustrated and seeking a mate, this would explain the constant meowing, frustration can be very upsetting for any animal.
Bring him to a vet asap and tell the vet the full extent of this behavior. I am sure he /she will have come across this before and be able to advise.

B

bounty_hunter

Goodshape wrote:

Your cat got worse after getting neutered? I would have thought it would be the reverse. Good thing I didn't go down that road.

No no no, I didn't mean this the way it sounded at all! My cat is an exception, it should be the other way round. It was only that he's become so much more affectionate following being neutered (which is a common occurence if you get it done while the cat is very young, BEFORE they have a chance to develop into a fully-fledged male complete with male habits, etc.). This will not happen with your cat, as you have left it too long and he will already have spent a large portion of his life developing male habits.

Please have your cat neutered. nando and FranknFurter have already provided you with a very good list of the reasons why you should do this, but I just want to reiterate though how important it is.
Even if neutering your cat doesn't improve the vocalising and you can see no other reason for doing it that will directly affect you, just think of all the other poor, starving, homeless little kittens that your cat will be creating on a daily basis if he's allowed to roam free.