# Cats have become too vocal



## Delraypete (Jul 29, 2009)

We have (2) 14-month old domestic shorthairs that are brother and sister. The only real problem is that if they are awake and we aren't sitting on the couch or in another room with the door closed, they are constantly meowing and whining for our attention. This has increased around reaching the 8 month mark to now. They are both fixed, have toys, each other and there are always bowls of food and water, which they like, available for them. But when we walk into, through, or are standing in a room they will not stop meowing.

It's especially annoying in the mornings when either my wife or I gets up early and the second the bedroom door opens there's a frenzy of meowing, which can of course only be stopped by making louder noises. Sure it's nice that they are generally quiet through the night, but this new "unsnoozable" alarm clock is not appreciated by either of us.

In hopes of training them that it is not OK to meow incessantly we shout "NO" or use a compressed air bottle, which stops them for a few seconds, but they generally sense that it was a short burst and get right back to meowing. I realize that they are mostly happy and loving cats so I don't want to scare them from that behavior, but this meowing has got to stop so I'm here to see if there is another way to train cats to be quiet.

PS - I read that someone here used an airhorn to train their cat against bad behavior (couch scratching). Anyone else had any luck with this?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Well, if you are already awake ... why are you trying to get them to shut up?
I know this is going to sound "crazy-cat-lady" ... but they are happy to see you! They are talking to you! Talk with them! Ask them about what they are telling you! Have a conversation with them!
If you talk with them, you acknowledge them and they won't feel they need to try so hard to simply get your attention.

Now, if they are meowing and carrying on *before* you wake up, then I would make an effort to quiet them or at least convince them that meowing at the bedroom door where people are sleeping is not very effective or fun. 
When one of my cats gets it into their head to meow at the closed bedroom door I park my vacuum in front of it for a night or two and they leave it alone. 
_Just don't forget the vacuum is out there and stub your toe in the morning._ :wink _...don't ask me how I know..._ :dis


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Coming from someone who owns an extremely vocal cat...

You're probably stuck with it. Embrace it. You've got talkers. There may be methods to get them to shut it, but you could end up scaring them or putting tension on your relationship. I gotta agree with Heidi- if you talk to them and acknowledge them, you might get them to shut it a little. Another thing I do with Nito, when he absolutely won't stop carrying on, is to go pick him up and give him so many hugs and squeezes and cuddles and kisses that he ends up annoyed and regrets it because he just got too MUCH attention. More than he bargained for. 

That might work for you! If they are meowing and carrying on, just go get them and 'hold them captive' until they've had more than they can take. Then hold them for another few minutes just to be safe. Let them go and just SEE if they come asking for more! At least that gets you 15 minutes or so of quiet until they get back at it.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I've had Siamese cats in the past 10 years, and I loved to hear them talk. I guess I'm an eccentric cat lover! As long as I'm not in the middle of doing something intricate, it doesn't bother me. Now, if I were sleeping.....That's a different story!


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## heavyharmonies (Jul 20, 2009)

Color me crazy, but I love having vocal kittehs. The louder and more talkative the better. I would never dream of trying to discipline a cat for being talkative. It's what they do.

In short: It's not a "them" problem, it's a "you" problem.


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## Owned_By_Two (Mar 30, 2010)

For "cats" substitute "dogs" and for "meowing" substitute "barking". I'd take the former any day. If you can't tolerate a little attention and affection from your loving cats maybe you should try an iguana.


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## straylover (Mar 9, 2010)

My house is currently empty without the sweet sounds of delightful carnivores. I would take all that meowing anytime...


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Delraypete said:


> PS - I read that someone here used an airhorn to train their cat against bad behavior (couch scratching). Anyone else had any luck with this?


Never use negative reinforcement with an animal. There are plenty of effective ways to train a cat not to scratch furntiure.


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## Owned_By_Two (Mar 30, 2010)

Mitts & Tess said:


> Delraypete said:
> 
> 
> > PS - I read that someone here used an airhorn to train their cat against bad behavior (couch scratching). Anyone else had any luck with this?
> ...


Besides the air horn being loud (which startles the cat), how is it different than spraying the cat with a water bottle (which startles the cat)? Do you believe in using spray bottles?


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Owned_By_Two said:


> [quote="Mitts & Tess":da7ubdpp]
> 
> 
> Delraypete said:
> ...


Besides the air horn being loud (which startles the cat), how is it different than spraying the cat with a water bottle (which startles the cat)? Do you believe in using spray bottles?[/quote:da7ubdpp]

Only if its life threatening type situations where they wouldnt accept possitive reinforcemnt. Then Id use a spray bottle. Like door dashing for example.


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## mimitabby (Apr 20, 2010)

I think an airhorn is a horrible idea for use with cats. Do you want to teach them that you are a big scary animal?
Can you put them "to bed" somewhere that you can't disturb them (or vice versa) during the night?
Do you feed them when they meow?
Do you play with them? are they meowing when you play with them?


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## Owned_By_Two (Mar 30, 2010)

mimitabby said:


> I think an airhorn is a horrible idea for use with cats. Do you want to teach them that you are a big scary animal?


The point is to hide so the cat doesn't know where the sound came from, then the cat will not associate the sound with the human. I've used it a few times in the last 10 years on my difficult cat and he's not afraid of me one bit, but he respects me when I say "No!".

I* would NOT use an air horn in this case however* (because they are too vocal); I think that the OP doesn't realize the difference between natural behavior and bad behavior.


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

Mia talks more than most people I know. It's a great insight into her mood. People on the phone have told me to "go feed your cat" but I'm multilingual. She's just commenting on the conversation.


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

There's now a facebook page for meowing back at your cat.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Meowing-b ... 721?ref=ts

Complete with a great video.

http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=2 ... 4062330945


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

Of all the cats I've loved and lost, I miss the "talkers" most. :luv


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