Cat meowing incessantly

[Anonymous]

We adopted two female kittens (littermates) last summer. They are now around 8-9 months old. We have four family members at home pretty much every day since both adults are working remotely and both children have opted for remote school. The cats are fed three times a day, have their litter boxes cleaned regularly, and have plenty of toys and human interaction. They are healthy, spayed, up to date on shots, and have no physical concerns. (We've had them to a vet to rule out issues.)

One of the two cats has started wandering around the house meowing (caterwauling?) and acting up (scratching furniture, chewing on blinds and blind cords). This can go on for maybe an hour at a time. I have read that it is best to ignore this, but it is so disruptive and stressful. How have others dealt with this. We intentionally adopted two kittens so they would have a playmate. And again, we have children who will play with them when they have breaks from school.

[Anonymous]

OP with a quick follow up to share what I've tried doing when this happens:

--playing with wand toy, thinking she is meowing out of boredom. She no longer plays with this toy or most others... she might engage for 1-2 minutes, so not long enough to wear her out.
--picking her up and petting her a lot, thinking she just wants attention. This works while I am petting her, but after putting her back down, the wandering around and loud meowing resumes.
--ignoring, based on advice I've read online. Again, this doesn't seem to work as she'll continue roaming the house and meowing.
--giving her a small amount of an OTC calm supplement (about 1/2 a kibble) -- it's this one: https://www.chewy.com/pet-naturals-calming-cat-chews/dp/118787?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=Pet%20Naturals&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyZmEBhCpARIsALIzmnIN4-kOOEXZ_WF9yPX69xjQKM9MEvTpcShcXrICoZ0imvRv_cO0tLMaAmVyEALw_wcB

[Anonymous]

The cat is trying to tell you something. A check up with the vet is definitely calked for.

[Anonymous]

When cats are sick or in pain they tend to go quiet and hide. Our cat roams the house shrieking when she is lonely and wants someone to play with her.

Do you have toys like light pointers or feathers on string that you can use to play with the cat a few times per day for about 10 mins?

That will fix it I expect.

[Anonymous]

Yes, by "wand toy" I was talking about a feather on a string sorts of toys. She used to love this, but now will engage with it for maybe a minute, before just lying down and watching it.

To earlier poster, we've already had a checkup -- no physical issues.

[Anonymous]

Get a harness and leash and walk her outside. Open a window for her to sit in. Get her a perch/scratching post. She sounds bored.

[Anonymous]

We had a cat once meowing a lot and turned out she had thyroid issues.

[Anonymous]

OP here

Get a harness and leash and walk her outside. — we do this

Open a window for her to sit in. — we do this (unless below 50 degrees)

Get her a perch/scratching post. — we have multiple

She sounds bored.

[Anonymous]

I'd get a vet appointment. Always good to rule out any type of health issue prior to working on behavior.

[Anonymous]

We adopted two cats 14 yrs ago who were in the same litter. One was "normal" and the other has been vocal the entire time. All day and hours of the night...The vocal one has some siamese like physical features (moreso than the "normal" one) so we think there may be some lineage there.

[Anonymous]

Christ you don't need a flipping VET for NORMAL cat behaviors people.

Also, OP said the cat has been checked. Try to read the thread, it isn't even a page long.

[Anonymous]

Our cat starting meowing loudly but appeared fine. Took her to the vet a few days later and it turned out to be severe bout of e.coli. She went into shock but survived. She had been eating, drinking and using the litter box. Cats are notorious for hiding pain.

[Anonymous]

Lonely and understimulated/under challenged/ bored. A catio, catmint, toy rotation and puzzle toys with high value treats, other enrichment will help.

[Anonymous]

Some breeds of cats are more vocal. One of our cats (domestic short hair) rarely meows. Our Maine Coon meows loudly anytime she feels like it. She wants the world to know she is in the room. She isn’t sick or board. She is just obnoxious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some breeds of cats are more vocal. One of our cats (domestic short hair) rarely meows. Our Maine Coon meows loudly anytime she feels like it. She wants the world to know she is in the room. She isn’t sick or board. She is just obnoxious.