Meowing

[Emma Hodson]

My 5 year old Male Black indoor cat (Neutered) has just started meowing at night he has been to the vet and spent 24 hrs there and they can't find anything wrong with him they did blood tests. has anyone else experienced this excessive meowing in their cats?

[fjm]

Pippin got noisier when he was hungry in the early stages of hyperthyroidism and wanted breakfast at 5am, but I am sure your vet will have ruled that out, and it would be very unlikely in such a young cat. Tilly makes more noise when it is raining outside so she can't hunt and she is bored, especially as the mornings get lighter. Have you ever got up and fed him or played with him when he has been noisy in the night? Cats are crepuscular (wonderful word - means more active in twilight), and love to be up and doing in those early, half lit hours. It doesn't take long for it to become a habit if you once indulge them!

[Antonio]

Emma, can you give us more details about your cat?
How long have you had him? What does his day look like? Do you make him play before going to bed? Does he sleep with you? Do you leave some food out at night?

[Ruth B]

It could just be that his routine has been interrupted by his visit to the vets and he is after a bit of reassurance when everything goes quiet at night.

[Emma Hodson]

I have had Blitz since he was 3 months old i did change his food from whiskas to harrington's then he started vomiting and having a funny tummy he spent 24 hrs at the vet and is now eating harrington's fine and he is not vomiting any more and his tmmy is fine he has biscuits down usually all day but since he was vomiting i stopped giving them to him i have started giving him his biscuits since he came home from the vet but he still meows a lot he is not aloud in the kitchen and he meows more if the kitchen door is closed

[Kay]

I'm rather afraid what you are describing is normal cat behaviour in a good proportion of cats, especially crying outside a closed door

how much do you feed him, and when? any chance he is hungry when he is being particularly noisy?

[Lilith]

Hi Emma, yes, agree with Kay - that can be cats for you.

I have a girl of almost 17 who does that dementia howling at night (your Blitz is too young for that) but all her life she's been a right little pain in the posterior when it comes to my doing anything active. She likes me sitting down (and then she can choose whether she'll sit next to me) but let me get up and potter about ... taking a shower; no you can't. I'm here in front of the cabinet ... chopping onions ... loud roars of, I want some! When the fish lived indoors I had to shut her upstairs because it was impossible to keep running in and out of the living room with equipment and buckets of water for tank cleaning, with an Emily under my feet. Talking all the time.

In my experience, with a cat like this, the only thing to do is leave all doors open (unless that's dangerous, like my tank cleaning) and talk back to the cat; often I think they just want to hear my voice (I confess I'm an eccentric old bat who talks to herself a lot So they probably expect to be talked to ... sometimes I just miaow back at them ... hell, I talk to snakes, who only hear vibrations ... )

And yes, they ARE spoilt.

Good luck with Blitz and fusses to him

[Antonio]

I agree.
Closed doors are a real issue with some cats.

Many years ago my cat used to meow at night, when the door was closed and the lights were off. So I would get up, play a few minutes with her, then go to bed again. It would happen 2-5 times per night.
Until this bad habit died off on its own.

Probably Blitz had a psychological trauma at the vet's and now he has some kind of fear at night and wants you with him.
Try to reassure him before bedtime, and if necessary during the night too. In time he could find some peace again.

[lilynmitz]

He's too young for dementia or hyperthyroidism. It's possible he just wants some attention, particularly if he has been feeling poorly and is now recovering from the trauma of the vet visit. Do you pick him up and/or play with him much? It's worth a try. A friend's cat was a terrible wailer until she realised all she wanted was a cuddle.

While I realise this was a recent change, do you have toys out for him to stimulate him? Elsie can be a pain when she's bored.

Also as others have said, doors can be an issue. Our Zig could not tolerate a closed door, he would destroy the carpet till you opened it for him. We even had to tell visitors to leave their bedroom door open enough that he could squeeze through (he never used to disturb them, just needed to be able to go in and out). We got used to taking a shower (etc, ahem!) with the bathroom door wide open as he would barge in.

But meanwhile do make sure there is always enough food down for him. Wailing for food or clean water can also be a trigger.

[lilynmitz]

[quote="lilynmitz"]He's too young for dementia or hyperthyroidism. It's possible he just wants some attention, particularly if he has been feeling poorly and is now recovering from the trauma of the vet visit. Do you pick him up and/or play with him much? It's worth a try. A friend's cat was a terrible wailer until she realised all she wanted was a cuddle.

While I realise this was a recent change, do you have toys out for him to stimulate him? Elsie can be a pain when she's bored.

Also as others have said, doors can be an issue. Our Zig could not tolerate a closed door, he would destroy the carpet till you opened it for him. We even had to tell visitors to leave their bedroom door open enough that he could squeeze through (he never used to disturb them, just needed to be able to go in and out). We got used to taking a shower (etc, ahem!) with the bathroom door wide open as he would barge in.

But meanwhile do make sure there is always enough food down for him. Wailing for food or clean water can also be a trigger.

You might find some of the tips in this link helpful.

https://www.catchat.org/index.php/meowing