Help! My Cat Will Not Shut Up!

In My Humble Opinion
1

Seriously, the way he carries on you’d think he was an abandoned and unloved stray. He’s always been a bit chatty, but lately it’s just gotten ridiculous. The noise is so unbelievably grating and constant. I don’t believe he has a health issue - he’s generally a healthy, happy cat with plenty of energy to run and play. He likes to meow at the birds - fine. He likes to meow when I get up in the morning - irritating, but okay. But lately he just carries on every second I’m not spending time with him. Right now he’s in the bedroom all the way down the hall, and I can hear him meowing like a fiend. I don’t understand what he wants.

This is not a cat who lacks proper attention and care. Yesterday morning I spent an hour cuddling and petting him in bed. Not even 15 minutes later he was back to his meowing shtick. I don’t understand it. Aren’t cats supposed to be independent? Mine’s not. He’s co-dependent, and it’s driving me nuts! I generally ignore it, so I try not to reinforce this behavior, but when I ignore it he will try to climb in my lap, which forces me to push him away and then I feel guilty. I love my cat, but I cannot spend every minute of the day with him. It’s just not realistic.

Any cat behavioral experts want to take a shot here?

Thanks,

Christy

2

Your cat has plenty of food, right? Mine can still have plenty of food but becomes a whiny pain in the ass once she can see the bottom of the bowl.

If your cat is vocalizing, it means something. Food, water, something.

3

Is he an older cat? Sometimes, older cats get a little deaf or a little dementia and they start vocalizing a lot.

Since it’s a behavioral change, I’d consider taking him to a vet for a thorough checkup.

4

Or worse, he might be in pain and need to see a vet. Usually the sound of the meows will indicate a problem, though. If it’s the same normal, relatively pleasant meow you always hear, I’d agree it’s most likely a behavioral issue, but if his meows sound more like moaning or crying it may indicate some kind of distress, especially if making the noises when alone.

When I read the thread title my fist guess was that the cat’s in heat, but seeing that this cat is male, I’d rule that out.

5

An increase in vocalization can be a sign of hyperthyroidism. Just sayin. If he is old and has a great appetite, but has lost weight, you might want to have him checked. Our cat was treated a few years back, and the decreased meowing was worth the $$$.

6

He’s six years old, which is still pretty young I think.

I just checked his food, water and litter, but nothing’s awry there. His meows are pretty moany and loud and warbly, but he stops immediately when I pay attention to him. I hope he’s not suffering in some way. :frowning:

He’s due for a vet appointment anyway. I’ll get him in as soon as I can.

7

First, don’t fret. Frankly, cats is weird, so it could just be weirdness.

If he tends to find specific places to yodel and cry, it might be more likely to be the deafness or dementia that I mentioned.

He’s not too young for hyperthyroidism, but it is a treatable condition, so don’t fret about that one either!

Good luck.

8

My cat does that. She normally follows me around the house and as long as I acknowledge her presence (even by just talking to her) she is happy to just hang out in the same room as I am.

But if I don’t she will walk to ANOTHER ROOM and start howling and yelping at the top of her lungs. I usually just have to call her (‘what’s wrong, baby?’) and she comes running happy for a little pat on the head and settles in again.

The only other times she is vocal is when she needs food/water or the litter needs cleaning. I ask her what’s wrong and she will trot over to the offending object.

Even cats can be needy.

(It’s worse when I am not home. She howls endlessly at my husband and paces by the door. All night, apparently.)

9

Increased vocalization is a symptom of several common issues, including hyperthyroid, and deafness. Deafness is usually not noticed in cats until it is fairly profound because they adapt with other senses. Try whistling at different tones, high and low, to see if your cat can hear the full range.

The vet can check thyroid levels.

I would tend to rule out senility, since he’s only 6. But I guess you never know.

10

I’ve known a couple of clingy cats who are constantly all up in your grill for attention. Does your cat respond or carry on a conversation with you, if you meow back or otherwise talk when he talks?

Is he part Siamese?

11

Have you tried Feliway?

12

My older girl (12) has hyperthyroidism and just like your subject title says, she NEVER SHUTS UP. In fact, the second I opened your thread, she wandered by and just let out this massive meeeooooooow! like I had kicked her. She meows at furniture, she meows when the phone rings, she meows when I’m Skyping a work conference call (that’s always fun), she meows when the wind blows a single leaf across the back porch and it catches her eye.

Her hyperthyroid symptoms are pretty obvious, but that’s because she’s had it for over a year and we can’t get her medication dosage right. She ‘talks’ constantly, she is always starving (and if anyone has food that she can see, she’ll jump on them, whether she knows them or not - considering she used to be scared of everyone, that’s definitely noticeable), she pees a LOT, and she drinks water for ten minute stretches at a time (loudly) every few hours. She’s also lost a lot of weight - her butt looks like Kate Moss with fur.

She gets her bloodwork done every two months, and sometimes, it holds steady, but most of the time, it’s steadily creeps up - however, our vet has said that she’s not the norm. It’s definitely easy for the vet to test, and if it is a thyroid issue, it can be detected and he can get on a medication regimen pretty quickly.

OTOH, I did have a cat growing up who was part Siamese, and she just ‘talked’ nonstop for the hell of it. No physical issues, she just thought everyone needed to know what she had to say. So if he has any Siamese in him, that’s an easy explanation.

And just to second jsgoddess, cats is weird. Maybe he has a new imaginary friend. Or he just discovered his paws. These are the same animals that freak out over air.

Good luck! Let us know if you find anything out at the vet.

13

My Himalayan has been yowling, too. Day and night. He likes to go in the basement or the upstairs hall where there are echoes and let loose. Doesn’t seem in any distress. Eats and eats, drinks and drinks. This is NOT new, either, he seems to go through phases. I personally think he’s bored. He’s hardly a live wire. He bats around his toys for a minute or two and loses interest, he’ll follow a string around the house for a few minutes and lose interest. I don’t know what to do to entertain him. He will sit out on the deck for a minute or two and then sit at the glass door looking pitiful. Feel sorry for the boy, I kind of know how he feels. He’s about 7 years old and no energetic kitten.

14

My cat has needy days too (like yesterday), when she needs me to play with her all day, needs me to pet her, needs me to read her little walnut-brain and figure out what whim she has that isn’t being fulfilled, etc. She is 12 and has hyperthyroidism, too - we are treating her, but I don’t know if we’ve got her settled down yet.

My husband’s cat is part Siamese, and she does the, “go into a different room and moan like someone’s cutting her paws off” thing, too. If we yell at her from where we are, she usually comes out and quits yodelling.

15

It’s 2012 now. Mayan prophecy. Time is running out and your cat knows it.

Is your cat Ceiling Cat or Basement Cat?

16

My cat yaps nonstop too, only at NIGHT. He sleeps all day long, then at night he runs around the house yowling. And he doesn’t meow like most cats, but makes this loud squeaky noise like nails on a chalkboard. He’s only two and very healthy–I just took him to the vet to make sure. Vet thinks he is “bored” so I got him some catnip and a bunch of toys. Helped a little but still all night I can hear him chasing cloth mice around, rollling around in catnip, running up and down the stairs, and STILL squauking up a storm. No solutions for you, just sympathy. FYI we have 2 other cats, so this one has playmates, but oddly enough the other two are busy SLEEPING at night…

17

My cat seems to forget where her food is. She’ll meow at me and I’ll have to show her the bowl of food and she’ll shutup and eat. She goes on and on like Timmy is in the freaking well but no, it’s just “Where is the food bowl?”

18

Maybe she’s just going through a phase. My cat occasionally likes to pretend she’s an orphan in a Dickens novel - she’ll sit just outside the living room door and meow quite sadly. “Why am I alone?”

19

In my experience with boy cats, this means they want you to play with them.

20

That’s just plain sick.