Oh my god why will my cat not stop meowing/how do I get him to stop before I go crazy?

I’m looking forward to feedback on this, myself. My cat started doing the same thing this year.

Does he have any feline friends/is he fixed?

Déjà vu. An ex girlfriend had two had when we lived together. They howled at night, every night. I am sensitive to noise – she could sleep through cannon-fire. She didn’t get it, I became a different person on minimal sleep.

I should have asked a veterinary if there’s any solutions, or ways to change this behavior. I know from animal behavior that you can exhaust the behavior with short-term punishments (within reason). Because they won’t be able to relate the cause-effect otherwise. I tried throwing things around them close to the meow-onset, water guns, uhh… maybe it would have worked eventually. But gave up and thankfully the relationship ended :)

All ears for a better answer – there is a chance this will happen in the feature. I love cats… but never had this issue because my family always had inside/outside kind of cats.

@tedd yes he is fixed. he does not have friends (lol) sometimes he stares out the window and starts screaming when he sees the neighbor cat…but not a good scream. its very scary actually.

Well fixed rules out the wanting to hook up with other cats.

It couldn’t hurt to get him another cat friend. Keeping in mind the integration will take time, before they’ll get along or at least co-exist.

Having a few cats will give them someone else to bother. Cats are very good at entertaining one another.

If you do get another though, read up on introducing a new cat. It can be “delicate.”

@deni could the other cats be causing this problem? I know that sometimes my own cats will start acting up and getting vocal if they can smell a stray cat outside, somewhere near our house. I may not always notice the other cat, but they do right away.

@tedd my gf’s cats were two. And still naughty at night :) The female would bite plastics etc.. and sadly I could also hear that noise.

Easy fix. Take the cat to the vet and request his vocal cords be surgically removed. Problem solved.

@gorillapaws that crossed my mind a couple of times. But I was fairly certain my girlfriend would poison me for even thinking that…

Let him out. Trust me. My cat always tried to get out of the door and windows, and pestered us constantly for it, just let his front claws grow and let him out assuming there are no big angry dogs or rednecks with a shotgun who hate cats in your neighborhood.

My cat ran away for three days, then she went back and never left again, we still let her go in and out of the house at will but she never goes beyond sight of our window, plus she stopped asking to let her out.

@gorillapaws, thank goodness I’m not your cat. ;-)

Just to add to @Thammuz – if you do decide to let the kitty out, i wouldn’t do so unless he’s under your supervision at all times, in case he does get curious and ventures beyond your yard (i don’t know whether you have walls around your property or not, this will certainly make keeping him in the yard a little easier, but still under supervision).
Maybe he’s bored? Does he have toys to keep himself busy with? Maybe mobile toys will help – bouncy strings with toys on the end tied to the top of the doorframe or something.

@Austinlad if you were my cat, you wouldn’t be talking back to me, now would you? :P

I worry about letting him out since he is declawed and has no teeth….when I sit outside with him he’s usually okay, sometimes he “sprints” away but I don’t always have time to sit outside with him….like today. I’m being driven up a wall!

have you recently moved or has someone moved out? What breed is it because I’ve heard siamese cats are pretty vocal. Thing is, if your cat is meowing for attention and you are giving it attention, it’s bad becuase the cat will always meow for attention. Break the habit, and re-train your cat. Buy some toys, and cat nip, and possibly and empty box to keep kitty active… good luck!

Well shooting it is illegal, so i would take it for a long walk on a short peir. Just kidding try some cat-nip, that way you can be entertained.

@cowboyBob64 although that’s very creative. I would say this may make things worse. Now the cat will think, oh let’s meow – I have a chance of getting what I want – AND a chance for fun catnip. But only if I do it at morning hours ;)

Is it a siamese?

My boyfriend’s cat used to holler all the time at all hours. Usually playing with him helped, but only for a few hours. Since we moved into a new apartment, he stopped. The differences were: Larger apartment (from a very small 1-bedroom to a larger 1-bedroom); the apartment has a balcony (bigger window; more to see); plus, at the time, I had 2 cats, so he was never alone when the humans went to work. (One has since passed, so now there are two, total.)

I second @NaturallyMe‘s and @christos99‘s point about getting him active. As long as you know all of this basic needs are addressed, the more playtime a cat gets with you, the happier they are likely to be. Observe what he likes play with, and go from there – all “cat toys” are only defined by us humans – cats themselves have their own idea of what they want to play with. Some like string, some like sticks, some like things that roll around, where other like things to be tethered. If you try to play and he doesn’t seem in the mood, wait a bit and try again later. Most cats enjoy some playtime every day (there are exceptions, especially if they are up-there in years.)

As always, keep an eye out for any strange behavior like unusual lethargy, not be able to urinate, or going outside the litter box. These can be signs of medical issues.

Good luck!

Our cat is a Siamese and he is extremely vocal – similiar to yours.. When my mother got a job and wasn’t home during the day, this puss drove me up the wall: “Meow… meow… meow… etc.” Non-stop.

It could be an indication that your cat has a health problem (for instance a urinary tract infection). If it continues for awhile, you may want to get him checked.

It’s likely because he wants attention. He’s bored, wants you to pet him, wants you to hold him, wants to talk, etc. Get him some toys and when he meows – play with him for about 5 minutes, then leave him with his toys.

My male cat was yowling and yowling at night, so I decided to get him a buddy. He and his little female buddy pal around the house together and bathe each other, and there’s no more yowling, thank God!

Our original plan was to get two cats. We were set on Barry but after we were already set we found out he does NOT do well with other cats. She said that later on it would be a possibility but we just recently adopted him so we’re not going to bring another cat into the mix just yet.

He is not siamese. He is a big jolly tabby.

He has a toy or two but he doesn’t ever play with them, all he likes is string. We had a long play session last night and he’s moody today….I left and came back and now he is quiet as can be. I don’t get it.

@WillWorkForChocolate I wonder if my ex’s female cat friend hated him and he kept howling because of that, or vice versa. Glad this worked for you!

Is he elderly? Over 10 yrs. old?

Cats often become demented in their old age and this sort of behavior fits the cat dementia ticket. Or he is simply neurotic, bored, and needs more stimulation, attention.

He sounds like he has anxiety, maybe some OCD issues, that’s why I ask about his age.

I have had many of cats become demented in their senior years. lol

Let him out. He may well be able to take care of himself out there.

Where did you adopt the cat from? How long have you owned the cat.

There are numerous reasons your cat could be doing this. Is this a new behavior? If it is there is some sort of stressor that is setting him off. A vet check is in order. If this is a chronic problem, the reason kitty meows is because he gets what he needs that way. He has trained you. You have to retrain the cat which is not difficult, but does take time. I always recommend the book “Starting From Scratch”. There are great techniques you can try that can help eliminate the problem. The book is great for any cat person to have around.

I agree with @Spider, @Disc2021, and @tinyfaery. It may be pure boredom and needing more stimulation. My cat was a bit of a terror in the apartment when I first got her (we named her Kali after the goddess of destruction), but then when I moved into a bigger place with more people and more animals, all the bad behavior went away. I realized then that she’d been really under-stimulated even though we played with her every day.

Squirt bottles can be useful cat training tools, but you have to do it while he’s meowing so he relates that to the unpleasantness of getting squirted (anywhere but in the face). :)

Ok! He is 8 years old. We adopted him a month ago from the Humane Society. He went to the vet a week ago and everything was good. I guess I’ll see if he keeps doing it on a more regular basis and go from there.

@MissAnthrope good idea about the squirt bottles, I forgot that’s how we used to teach our cats not to do certain things. thanks!

Maybe this cat behavior site will help. 1. Ignore vocal blackmail 2. Give attention 3. Be patient 4. Ask your vet.

I think your cat loves you and he’s a morning person.
There will come a day when that noise will be missing from your life. And you’ll miss it.
Love him while he’s with you. . .

@boffin i just got a lump in my throat and teary eyed

@boffin I am going through my old questions about Barry and I am heartbroken all over again :’( I miss him so much. Lesson learned.

I’m sorry for your loss.