8 year old Burmese Male constantly meowing

[sarahk19]

Hi Everyone!

I am completely new here so hope I am posting this correctly

I have just adopted an 8 year old burmese male (neutered) and i am a first time cat owner. He has been in my house now for a week and he now has stopped hiding and is eating, drinking etc normally so feels like he is making some really good progress in his new home. He has a great personality and loves attention and being picked up. However he is now constantly meowing and has been for the last 4 days. I do understand that burmese are a vocal breed and will constantly chat, however I just don’t know if his howling is normal! Unless he is asleep or eating he is meowing and yowling! In his former home, he did used to live with two other cats and two dogs and now it is just me in his new home so I was wondering whether he is lonely? Or maybe he picked up this bad habit in his former home? I make sure to play with him everyday and give him attention, he also has toys and his scratching post. I have tried ignoring his meows and trying to give him food and attention when he is quiet. I have tried leaving the room when he is getting really bad, and he will stop but as soon as i come back he will start again.

I think I have got him into a routine now so i don’t think he is hungry. I was just hoping for some advice to see if I am doing anything wrong or should try something different? I am really hoping someone will tell me he may become a little less vocal as he settles? or is that wishful thinking?

[Mollycat]

It's hard to know from a description but I think I would turn it on its head (your approach, not the cat) and try giving attention when he asks for it by yowling. Cats think very differently to dogs and the behaviour-reward relationship isn't quite the same. I would think it's more likely to be a natural stage of settling in, rather than a behaviour to be trained out of. A week is still early days.

Is he wandering around yowling, or sitting staring at the wall or some furniture yowling, or is he looking straight at you calling for your attention? I've found some cats regardless of breed seem to go through a phase when they are ok enough to come out of hiding but not fully settled, when they get very talkative. My response is to talk back to them, call them and chat a little. It makes for some funny conversations but it seems to help us bond and in some way confirms to them that the hoomans in this house are ok.