# Cat won't stop meowing!



## farmgirl (Sep 20, 2006)

Hi, everybody. This looks like an active forum, so I'm hoping you might be able to help me.

We got a 6-month-old male kitten a week ago, from a "free to good home" ad. He's a grey tabby, and we named him Bruce. The people who gave him to us told us that they had adopted his sister at age 6 weeks. Their neighbors liked her so much that they wanted one, so the people went back and got Bruce at age 8 weeks, to give to the neighbors, who then decided that they didn't want a cat after all.

When we picked him up they warned us that he was "highly vocal." I guess, at that point, we should have asked "Exactly what do you mean by 'highly vocal'?" But we didn't ask, we found out through experience. Bruce meows non-stop any time a person is within his sight. He stops to eat for a few seconds, sometimes, and occasionally he sleeps for a short time. He loves to lay on his back and have his belly rubbed, and doesn't meow quite as much while he's getting affection, but he meows for several hours a day. He only stops when he can't see anybody. Right now, I'm in my room and he's sleeping in my son's room alone. As soon as I come out, he'll start up again. I am a prisoner in my own room!

We brought him to the vet to be neutered and have his first set of vaccinations and to be checked out. He's "perfectly healthy."

It's driving me out of my mind!! It's like having a colicky baby or something! I can't concentrate on reading anything or talking to anybody. I give him food, water, attention, toys, catnip, sometimes milk. It's not like a happy meow - it's a loud "I want something" meow, very insistant.

Please help!

Update:  Time to get ready for work. I crept out of my room and looked right and left. Perked my ears. No meowing! I tiptoed down the steps. Still no meowing! I rounded the corner and there he sat, crouched pitifully under the dining room table. "Row?" He said. "Meeeeeooooowww! Meow." If cats could cry, I would expect to see tears. I tried to pet him, but that was not what he wanted. During my bath I had solace, but as I exited the bathroom he resumed his pleas for help and understanding.

On the brighter side, any mice for miles around have run off just to get away from the noise.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Ha ha ... that's a pretty humorous post. I can picture it exactly and it's got me chuckling.

Having been on the short end of a running battle with a "highly vocal" cat for some time I don't have any sure-fire solution to offer you. I suspect he'll probably moderate somewhat when he's a mature adult and comfortable and confident in his own skin and in his place in life. But that's two and a half or three years away and by then you'll probably be in the loony bin.

The usual suggestions of "just ignore him and he'll get tired of it" probably won't work with this cat; but the inverse does hold: if you try to silence him by giving in to what he wants, then he'll certainly get worse. When you need some peace and quiet, just shut him in a room by himself. Hopefully that will shut him up long enough for you to get your wits back. Or buy some earplugs.

Oh, and he's NOT "crying" so don't do the guilt thing. I'm sure even in this short of a time he's learned to be very effective at getting under your skin. It's pretty difficult to be a good enough actor to fool a cat.

Good luck and best wishes.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

He might be missing his sister, too.


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## blackeyedgurl (Jun 29, 2006)

Do you have any other cats? He might be lonely, or as suggested, be looking for his sister. A kitten buddy might be what he needs. Some cats need the constant companionship of another cat. I know mine will call for each other if they haven't seen each other in a while (they're brother and sister). 

Putting him away for a "time out" might be a good idea. Park him with a bowl of water, a comfy bed and a litter box for an hour when he starts to drive you to the edge.

Ignoring it will not make it go away. But I can guarantee that he knows if he complains loud and long enough you give in and start giving him things (food, toys, nip). Stop. Don't do it. Let him cry his little baby eyes out, but do not give in to him. 

I have 2 vocal cats, one whom is very vocal. When he starts talking, I talk back at him, people will think you are nuts, but I say "Is that so?" meow "And then what happened?" meow "Wow, I can't believe it!" meow "How was your day" meow eventually he seems to get bored with this game of talk back and forth. Sometime's I'll just say "I don't know what you want!" and he shuts up. Most of the time when he's really bad it's cos he missed me, or wants me to pick him up and hold him. I swear he has some Siamese in him cos he has to keep me updated on everything in his life all the time! He talks to his toys too, which cracks me up. For a while everynight we had what was pleasantly dubbed @$$-hole time, when he would run around like a freak and meow at the top of his lungs. I swear the neighbors must of though I was conducting vivisection in my house! As he gets older he's getting more relaxed about it, but he still loves to talk!

My parents say that my cats do it cos they think they are very short people who walk funny and don't look like their mamma. They are trying to talk to me, and cos I'm a jabber mouth, so are they. who knows!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I have a vocal cat and at first I thought it was fun and cute to hold conversations with him. But I think it was I who created the monster. I wonder if I had never talked with him so much if he'd now be less vocal.


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## karebu (Sep 12, 2006)

*vocal kitties*

I really don't have any good advice for you and Bruce other than I know how it can drive you up a tree with the meowing! My 16 yr. old decided to occupy his time with howling on the top of his lungs, day and night. It got so bad, I was throwing water on him to keep his big mouth busy so we could get a few minutes of peace! Now, he gets a sheet thrown over him and put in a 15 minute time-out in the bathroom with the lights off. He is starting to realize that he isn't going to like what happens to him when he howls at us. He still tries to howl, but immeadiatly stops when I growl his name and point at him. Bruce's meowing is different than mine because Bruce stops when nobody is around...mine didn't. Do you ahve other animals that Bruce can wrestle and snuggle with? He sounds like he is just very lonely. I know mine is lonely, but I can't get a second cat since I live in an apartment complex that only allows one pet. When i moved in with my two cats, I talked the landlady into letting me bring them both because of their age and the fact that they have never been seperated.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

My cat did that for a long time after his brother died. Perhaps he is missing his litter mates? If you're open to getting another cat it might help. Of course, it might not, so you really need to want another one. :? That's what I would do.  
The only other advice I can offer is to agree with not ever giving in when he does it and giving him some "time out" when he won't stop. Some cats are just very vocal, although your guy does sound excessive. If you haven't had him that long it also may take some time for him to settle down.


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## farmgirl (Sep 20, 2006)

Thank you all for your kindness in answering!

I did try a time-out the other day. I stuck him in his room, and my husband and son busted a gut laughing as he howled and stuck his paws out under the door. I told my husband he needs to make that room soundproof. Bruce will be getting lots of time-outs, after your posts!

I thought he might be needing a friend. I have two dogs, but one doesn't like Bruce, and Bruce doesn't like the other one. At work, I was venting about him and a girl I work with says she has one that's almost as vocal. She wants to find her a new home. Perhaps I should get her and they could have a duet?

I'd heard cats could read minds, so I held his face in my hands yesterday and looked into his eyes. I tried to vividly imagine him meowing loudly and being thrown outdoors, permanently, to live a life of near-starvation preying on field mice and chipmunks out in the cold winter. Unfortunately, he read my deeper thoughts instead of the image and now he knows he'll never have to so much as step foot outdoors and he can meow to his heart's content.

His meowing might not last for long, though, because his curiosity may actually kill him. He crawled into the drier when I was loading it, he crawled in the dishwasher, and yesterday he actually crawled into the wood-burning furnace while my husband was trying to fire it up. That was dangerous - but nothing compared to what happened later. He opened the bathroom door while I was on the toilet and stuck his head between my legs to check out what was going on in the toilet. If he does that when my husband's in the bathroom, it will be an instant horrible death as his nostrils and sinuses turn immediately to ash and his brain gets fried by the stench.

Thanks for all of your answers, and your sympathy.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

And thank *you* for entertaining us with such humorous posts!! And even more so, maintaining your sense of humor in a frustrating situation.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

OMG, you're killing me!! That's the best laugh I've had all day! I love the image of the kitty duet!


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## farmgirl (Sep 20, 2006)

I can tell this is going to be a great place to visit!

You won't believe this, but Bruce has actually decreased his meowing. He's acting a little bit like a normal cat. Yesterday, he caught a mouse (which must have heard the sound of silence and decided to come back). All three of us and the two dogs crowded around and watched, and he got stage fright and the mouse escaped. Next time we're going to give him his space.

He's been climbing up on the kitchen counter while I'm trying to do dishes. I sprayed him with the sprayer thing, and he thought it was raining, so he ran and hid under the dining room table for shelter.

Unlike most cats, though, he doesn't like to lay on my chest and pur. He leaps onto my chest and springs from there onto other things (surprising the heck out of me) or lays curled up right next to me in the morning, purring and kneeding the blankets, but he doesn't like me to hold him.

We've made him some nice little sanctuaries, up away from the dogs. One shelf has his food and water on it and another has a basket full of soft blankets. He prefers to sleep on the computer desk, though, directly over my husband's computer. My husband tends to be on the nonobservant side and hasn't noticed the cat up there. I'm not going to tell him, either. I can't wait to hear him hollar when Bruce leaps onto his keyboard.

By the way, if you have a teenage son who likes cats, you probably shouldn't name your cat Bruce unless you want to hear your son saying things like "When I was sleeping with Bruce last night . . . " or "Bruce loves it when I rub his belly," or "I can't believe how affectionate Bruce is!" Too bad there wasn't a cat owner's manual available when we made that decision!


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## Willow771 (Jun 20, 2005)

Aww...he sounds like a normal kitten...Sophie still talks to me but its like shes trying to hold a conversation...complete with different tones and pitches and lengths for each meow. we call it babeling because it sounds like she is talking to herself...but then again she DOES talk to herself...she sits in the bathroom in the bathtub and babels away....but man...you should hear her when she decides in the middle of the night that empty showers in a quiet house are for singing in! i swear sometimes she will hold a note for 10 seconds and it reverberates through the whole house waking us all up!

he does sound like he needs a friend tho. he could just be crying out of lonliness or want of attention...


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## farmgirl (Sep 20, 2006)

Willow771 said:


> she sits in the bathroom in the bathtub and babels away....but man...you should hear her when she decides in the middle of the night that empty showers in a quiet house are for singing in! i swear sometimes she will hold a note for 10 seconds and it reverberates through the whole house waking us all up!
> 
> 
> > ROFLOL!!!! That's hilarious. I can see all of you laying in bed with your eyes like saucers, listening to her caterwalling in the shower like my grandma. I'm sitting here laughing out loud.
> ...


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

farmgirl said:


> ... I kind of miss it, actually. ...


I'm sure he'll be more than happy to start up again if he knows you feel that way. :wink:


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## Willow771 (Jun 20, 2005)

or he was calling for a female...now there is no balls and no testosterone!  i bet it would still make him mighty happy to have a GirlFriend

Here is our Dim Sum...hes in the middle surrounded by his women on 3 sides


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Great picture - his own harem! :cool


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