Cats and Excessive Meowing

Why do cats meow?

As they develop from kittens into cats, the causes alter. When kittens are cold, hungry, or terrified, they meow to their mothers. However, as they age, cats switch to different vocalizations like growling, hissing, and yowling to interact with one another. They only use meowing to communicate with humans.

Of course, each breed and even each cat will meow differently. Oriental breeds, particularly Siamese cats, are renowned for being excellent “talkers,” therefore anyone who dislikes meowing should generally avoid owning one of these species.

And while some cats only appear to like hearing their own voices, others appear to desire to converse with their owners. If you don’t like how much your cat is talking, try  to figure out the cause first. Once you know the reason, you can then work to get your cat to meow less.

Why Does My Cat Meow So Much?

Cats meow for many reasons, from the serious to the attention-seeking. They include:

• Illness. The first step is a thorough checkup by your veterinarian. Numerous diseases can cause a cat to feel hunger, thirst, or pain, all of which can lead to excessive meowing. Cats also can develop an overactive thyroid or kidney disease, both of which can result in excessive vocalizations.
• Attention seeking. Despite what some people think, cats don’t like being alone a lot. Cats often meow to initiate play, petting, or to get you to talk to them. If you want to cut down on attention-seeking meows, stop responding when it happens. Only give them attention when they are quiet. If they start to meow again, look or walk away. But don’t ignore your pet. Spend quality time each day with them, playing, grooming, and talking to them. A tired pet is a quieter pet.
• Wants food. Some cats meow every time someone walks in the kitchen, hoping to get a bite. And many cats become very vocal when it gets close to their feeding times. If this is your problem, don’t feed your cat when they cry. Wait until they are quiet to put down food, and don’t give them treats when they meow. If this doesn’t work, get an automatic feeder that opens at set times. Now kitty will meow at the feeder and not you.
• Greeting you. Many cats meow when their people come home, or even when they just meet them in the house. This is a hard habit to break, but look at it as kitty saying they are happy to see you.
• They are lonely. If you pet spends too many hours a day alone, think about getting a pet sitter to enrich your pet’s life. Put a bird feeder outside a window they can watch. Leave foraging toys out with food inside. Get them a kitty condo and rotate different toys that you leave out for play.
• A stressed cat. Cats that are experiencing stress often become more vocal. A new pet or baby, a move or changes to the home, an illness or the loss of a loved one can turn your cat into a talker. Try to discover what is stressing your pet and help them adjust to the change. If that’s not possible, give your cat extra attention to help soothe them.
• Aging cats. Cats, just like people, can suffer from a form of mental confusion, or cognitive dysfunction, as they age. They become disoriented and often cry plaintively for no apparent reason, especially at night. A nightlight sometimes can help if your cat becomes disoriented at night, and veterinarians often can prescribe medications that help these symptoms.
• Cats that want to breed. If your cat isn’t spayed or neutered, then you’re going to hear a lot more noise. Females yowl when in heat, and males yowl when they smell a female in heat. Both can be maddening to live with. Getting your pet spayed or neutered will prevent this.
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• What Not to Do

  • Don’t ignore it without making sure there’s no problem. Although you don’t want to reward meowing, sometimes cats meow for good reason – they can’t reach their litter box, they’re trapped in a room, the water bowl is empty. Check on them when they meow to determine if it’s something you can safely ignore, or a problem that must be corrected right away.
  • Don’t punish a cat for meowing. Hitting, shouting, and spraying cats with water rarely work to quiet a meowing cat in the long run, but all those actions will make your cat distrust or even dislike you.
  • Don’t give in. If your cat is used to getting what they want from meowing, they are going to meow more, and louder, when it quits working. In other words, it will probably get worse before it gets better. Just keep rewarding quiet behavior and ignoring meowing, and eventually they’ll get the idea.