New timid cat yowls all night

[LolaDad]

Five days ago, I adopted my first cat and she has been yowling all night from 12 am until I get up. I need some sleep and I would like to ask for advice from experienced owners in this forum.

My new cat Lola was a feral cat and the rescue group found her with kittens. She has been in 2-3 foster homes before I adopted her. Along the way, she has been separated from her kittens and spayed. Now, she is a little over 1-year-old. She is extremely shy and I heard from the previous foster parent that she did yowl at night, but she would yowl less if she had some playtime during the nighttime, which many people suggest for yowling cats. In the past few days, I had no success in getting her engaged in playtime and she still yowls all night.

Some background information in her new home, I live alone in a two-bedroom apartment with no other pets. I prepared a dedicated room for her and placed a litter box, food bowls, a cat tower with a cat cave, a couple of scratchboards, cat toys and a plug-in Feliway diffuser. I also installed a security camera to figure out what she does during the night.

Because she is an extremely shy cat, she did not come out from her carrier the first day. I saw her come out at night and explore the room. She didn't eat at all on the first day (which I learned that it is normal for a new cat) and started to yowl. From the second night, I left the safe room door open so that she could explore the apartment if she wishes to (and hopefully yowl in the living room). Now, she would even come into my bedroom and yowl at night (my mistake to leave my bedroom door open in the first place). I find this interesting because she would hide somewhere and never come out during the daytime. She is terrified of encountering me and would freeze when I see her. But at night, she would come into my room and yowl loudly. If I come out at night, she would hide until I go back to bed, and then come out and start yowling again. In the morning, when I come out, she would hide wherever is closest to her and stay there the whole day until I go to bed. I have seen her hiding in the cat cave, in the bathtub, under the sofa, and under the bed. I think I should have ignored her entirely all those times, but I tried to interact by either leaving a treat near her, talking gently or using the teaser wand toy to engage her in some playtime. She would completely ignore me and try to run away. Now, she thinks all those places that I encountered her is not safe and avoid being there. Now, she would run and hide behind a semi-transparent curtain in my bedroom. Because I learned any interaction with me frightens her, I decided to pretend not to see her when she is behind the curtain. She stays behind the curtain during the daytime, not moving at all. When it becomes dark, she will go to the (supposedly) safe room and eat, use the litter box and start to yowl.

I found that some reasons that a cat would yowl are 1) when they have health problems, 2) when they feel stressed, 3) when they feel bored and more.

I think she does not have a health problem because she is young and she had a health check-up one month before my adoption. Videos show that she walk normally at night. She uses the litter box without a problem and her stool looks normal. She didn't eat the first day, but she slowly gained appetite, and now, she eats close to what she is supposed to. I think she drinks a little less than what I would expect, but I think it shouldn't be a problem. Since there are no definite signs of health problems, I want to avoid taking her to the vet because it would be traumatic for her and make things worse.

I think she must be yowling because of a combination of 2) and 3). I find it impossible to get her engaged in any sort of playtime because she is so shy and afraid of coming out of her hiding place during the daytime. I hope I can reduce her stress, but because my apartment is small, I think she feels she is cornered and threatened whenever and wherever she sees me. Maybe this is why she did better at her much larger previous foster home (~twice larger than my apartment). Also, the fact that I am a male larger than all her previous foster parents, who were all females, makes it worse.

My questions are...
- What can I do to reduce my new timid cat yowling? I really need some sleep... I thought I could be patient and wait for her to open up, but I doubt myself after the non-stop yowling for several days.
- I thought trying to interact with her will result in some playtime, which will reduce her yowling. It turns out anything I try to do with her, even leaving a treat near her, is stressing her out. Should I do nothing and just wait then? Will she ever get to know that human companionship is good when I have no interaction with her?
- I am thinking of keeping my bedroom door closed although her yowling will still awaken me at night. To do that, I have to chase her out of my room, which will give her another negative experience. Is this an okay idea?
- Should I try to keep her awake during the daytime? Probably, keep appearing within her eyesight and disrupting her naps. Will this help her sleep during the night or result in hating me more?

I find that the combination of a shy character and yowling at night makes it really hard to solve. Thanks for reading a long post. Any advice or comments would be very much appreciated. Please help me!

[Kay]

I'd be surprised if her timidity and yowling don't improve gradually if you just continue as you are doing - she is sussing you out when she hides away - she would probably be even happier if she could watch you from a high position, such as the top of a wardrobe, if you could arrange things to give her access

she will realize - albeit slowly - that she has nothing to fear from you, and you are right not to force yourself on her - the longer you can go without alarming her the quicker she will come round - the only possible reason to take her to a vet is if you suspect she could be deaf, as that can be a cause of yowling, but I would have thought one of the fosters would have spotted it

have you tried to engage her with a laser toy? because it can't touch her she might find it less threatening than a wand

as for the yowling, I can only think earplugs might help until she quiets down - as she will if you can stick it out - you clearly want to do your best for her, and the current problems you are encountering are going to make the small advances you will make with her all the more rewarding

[Mollycat]

It's one of those cat behaviours that nobody really knows why they do it, and there can be lots of different causes. Some are physical, like hyperthyroidism or pain. Sometimes it's confusion, disorientation or insecurity. Other times it's a call for attention, affection, playtime or something from you.

Remember Lola has had it especially rough. In one year she is on at least her 4th home, she has never had the chance to settle or bond with anyone before being whisked off to new places, new people, new rules, new routines, new foods and so on. Even if everyone has been kind and gentle with her, Lola doesn't know settled or home for life yet. She may be missing other animals from the other places she has lived, or at least be calling to them to come and play with her or just to see if there's anyone around.

You are absolutely on the right track being there for her but not in her face and you've already learned by experience that when they really want to be hidden we should pretend we have no idea where they are. But you can sit in the same room and talk to her, read aloud to her or even sing to her, to let her get used to you being around and being a kind person.

Cats are most active at dusk and dawn and our homes stay in daytime late into the night then switch to dusk at the flick of a switch. Unfortunately this is when we think it's time to sleep, but for the cat who sees in one sixth of the light we do, this switch means play mode. It's early days for a timid Lola and she may not take you up on your offer for a while, but don't stop offering play and if you can manage it you could try turning the lights off first. She may also respond better to something hidden and rustling like prey in autumn leaves or scratching in a burrow. Sound focuses a cat's attention really well. If she doesn't react in say 10 minutes, let her know you are getting up and move gently away and go to bed. Every time you do this establishes a routine and should be helpful to her even if she doesn't show it.

My Molly is a timid yowler and I've got some bad news for you - after 7 years she is still yowling. You do get used to blocking it out and sleeping, it also should get better, but this may be a lifetime thing. I hate saying this is possible because I really really hope you're not going to send Lola back for rehoming again, but it's not use saying yes no problem you can do x y and z and she will let you sleep peacefully if there's a fair chance that might never happen. Molly's yowling is for attention, preferably play. When I got her I had another cat and if booted him off the bed he would go to her and they would play and she would stop yowling. Later when he stopped playing she started coming to sleep on the bed with us if I kept calling and encouraging her. Then my man and his dog moved in and Molly finds the bed overcrowded, but it's still just a few yowls at bedtime and then usually she is quiet the rest of the night, but not always. I hoped her hyperthyroid treatment would end the yowling but it has not.

Five days is nothing for a cat that has been through so much already, but she could already be calling out for you, she may already be bonding in her own way and asking you to love her and protect her. Timid cats are a lifetime of hard work, learning and diamond rewards (tiny and easily missed but incredibly precious) and boy do they test you. You are in at the deep end taking on Lola but I really hope you will stand by her, she desperately needs someone kind and patient and I will stake money on it that in 6 months time you will start to see why fate sent her to you. Often, cats that have experienced cruelty are suddenly loving and trusting the instant they decide you are not one of those. But a cat that has never experienced active harm but only passive neglect, instability, general insecurity etc and only knows that humans are unpredictable (like my Molly and probably Lola too) can sometimes be much much harder to win over.

[LolaDad]

Thank you Kay and Mollycat. It is very encouraging to hear that I am on the right track. In the past few days, I did see some improvement. I think leaving her alone and pretending that I don't know that she is behind the curtain helped. She still yowls but much less. Also, thanks for suggesting earplugs. Somehow it didn't come up to my mind, maybe because I thought it would be uncomfortable, but it is a lifesaver. It is good to know what to expect. Don't worry! I have no thoughts to send her back or rehome her. Plus, her yowling doesn't drive me nuts anymore.

Nowadays, I leave treats 4-5 feet away from the curtain where she hides. I know she is watching me when I leave it on the floor. Hope that will leave a good impression on her. I will slowly try all the things both of you have suggested. I have let go of my expectations so that I could be patient on her. Hopefully, I will see some progress in the next few months and find the gem of having a feline companionship.Thanks again!