Extremely vocal kitty, what is he trying to say?

[Kieka]

Letrice speaking of drama, minish always announces her evening poop. As she goes to bathroom (on her way, not in the box) , a yowlish cry echoes from the walls. I used to check whether it was constipation hair clumps etc. nope! Just wants to be heard for this important ordeal! And after poop, trilling entry to the living room for some night zoomies

Link does that too! Although if I don't go clean it when he tells me its dirty I get a very perturbed cat in my face shortly for ignoring him.

 

[Cwade086]

I have a young kitty, some variety of domestic shorthair tabby mix, who has yowled at me almost constantly since he came home with us in November.

If I were to go by tone alone, I feel like he is complaining of something, but not sure what it could be. He is SO talkative that even his photo at the shelter was taken mid-meow, and other than the constant vocalizing, he seems content and healthy. He is EXTREMELY affectionate, such that he purrs immediately upon being picked up by anyone, and if it is ME, then he will place his paws on my shoulders in an embrace and duck into my neck to lick me along with the purring. He will announce his entrance to any room or upon waking from a nap and be fairly consistent , perhaps giving you time to respond to each meow with a "hello!" or "how may I help you?" of your own before making a new demand of sorts which I cannot decode.

This is not unusual behavior as he has done this daily for the entire time we have had him, and we have just taken it as him just liking to speak and be the center of attention when it isn't addressed by feeding or door opening or some more obvious demand, but sometimes I wonder if I might be missing something wrong, just because he sounds so much like he is yelling at me about something. He was just doing this for about ten minutes and now he's just quietly laying next to me, seemingly relaxed as always. Other than all the noisy, he is really an unusually mellow beast, even not stressed by sharing space with the 110lb puppy mutt, having apparently fully forgiven him accidentally put a hole in his paw by playing too rough earlier this year. ( I REALLY got an earful during the six weeks he was confined and splinted, but it was more obvious that he was complaining of his confinement situation then.)

But the general rule is seemingly that if he is awake, he's got some commentary to share. He will often plop down on his side, stretched out or belly up, and is amazingly accepting of being treated like a dog who is inviting belly rubs when he does this. Is he just weirdly conversational or is this maybe something that could have been overlooked by a vet on all the times we've been back and forth? For a while we were going nearly 3 times a week when he insisted on kicking off his bandage every other day or so. Once she said he might have a slight heart murmur, but otherwise seems normal. Well, normal-ish, if having a cat who behaves this way is normal, but I find him unusually trusting and affectionate for a cat. Much more like a dog might be in that regard, but he doesn't seem to have any other odd issues in behavior besides being a bit verbose.

It's not problematic, but it is weird that I don't really know what all the talking is about half the time. We've kind of just put it down to he likes hearing himself chatter, and that the tone is just how his voice sounds. I can't imagine what he might be complaining of, as he doesn't seem to have any pain or anything. Could it be that he just wants to be the center of attention? It usually stops after several rounds of "dialogue" which leave me giving up on having the last word and then he will settle in nearby, perhaps after a good snuggle.

He is neutered, and about 9 months old, in a household with 2 dogs and another 10 month old kitten, oscar, whom he was initially aquired for keeping him company. sometimes I interpret his complaint as wondering where his brother is, when Oz is not immediately present. Oz is actually unusually silent for being a siamese-y type flame point. He only chirps inquisitively on occasion, but otherwise is pretty mum about everything.

Are there just some kitties who are exceptionally this chatty? What else could he be trying to say?

This sounds like my cat! I was told that Siamese cats are very vocal, but mine is calico. Jackson Galaxy, the Animal Planet "CatDaddy" has a good video on Youtube on what your cat may be saying

 

[pearl99]

I was gonna say is there some Siamese in there? I have a siamese and she is so talkative, she is such a cutie bug with it. The conversations we have, especially at bedtime, in the morning, and if I wake up in the night and she knows it. I cracked up when you said it sounds like he is yelling.
How much fun he must be.

 

[Cwade086]

This sounds like my cat! I was told that Siamese cats are very vocal, but mine is calico. Jackson Galaxy, the Animal Planet "CatDaddy" has a good video on Youtube on what your cat may be sayingg/QUOTE]

 

[VOXLEO]

What a beautiful kitty you have! I only knew my DIL’s two cats who tend to keeps their thoughts to themselves. I think we have cats who should be in the theatre. When I cone home from an hour long walk outside, I am greeted with the saddest, most pathetic little sounds as if to say, “I was bereft! I thought you had left me forever!”

Here's one for theatre!: We had gone to the vet for something very routine, or perhaps it was a follow up for something that was already dealt with, I don't remember why, only that there was nothing at all wrong with him, and as the place was devoid of other customers at the moment, I had Phantom in my arms as we were checking out at the desk, such that his head was right by my ear with both his front paws on one shoulder, when another woman entered and assumed we were dealing with a directly necessary vet visit. Her attention went immediately to Phantom, and he just took his cue like a pro when she gushed sympathetically, "AWW Does kitty not feel good?"

I kid you not, this cat, who was FINE and dandy, then took in a supporting amount of air with a breath so deep it was literally AUDIBLE when he inhaled in preparation for the most ridiculously long and drawn out, morose sounding wail evoking as much pathos and tragedy as a Shakespearean death soliloquy with his "MMMmmmmmmRRRRaaaaaaaaaoooooooooaaaaaaaaaooooooooouwwwwwwwwww!" It was pure melodrama to the point where I actually could imagine him taking one paw up to his own brow and clutching his heart with the other as he flopped backwards before a cartoon lily popped up on his chest! I had not realized he was THAT much of a ham, playing right into her expectations of an ill creature enduring great suffering -- WHAT AN ACTOR! Truly impressive, however phony the motive!

...and of course immediately rewarded with the cooing and coddling,"OH POOOR KITTY!!" fawning over him with great concern and petting and undeserved pity.

It was A - MAZING, I tell you. It was so good, it made my bray of laughter somewhat suspect. I had to defend my character by explaining that there was nothing wrong with him at all, and even then I am not sure if she believed ME when I accused him of being a big faker putting on a performance for her benefit!

That cat was so smart it was spooky. He played all the people on the block, all the three times we moved over the years, the neighbors always met and talked about HIM first before meeting US.

I consider it a great honor to be chosen by a beast like that. They are benevolent rulers who are a pleasure to serve. He too, would greet me daily upon my return home, usually in the driveway by jumping on the hood of the car if I took too long before getting out...

And we also had a "Casper" that didn't appreciate being left behind at the house -especially if we took the dogs somewhere. We had to sneak out or he would follow us on walks around the neighborhood, much to the amusement of people at the small park nearby. I forgot stealth mode one evening when I went out in a bit of an annoyed huff in search of the home of the incessantly barking dog at 4am, taking the puppy with me. It was a good 2 miles at least, due to the winding roads and the way they wrapped the hill, and I didn't even realize that the cat had tagged along until I happened to turn back around to look for a house number and saw him panting as he lay there on the sidewalk all exhausted! I scooped him up and carried him the rest of the way back home, but that was surprising he was so determined to stick with us that long rather than go back home on his own. Good thing I saw him, as I don't know if he'd have made it home otherwise since we were walking a loop that didn't backtrack at all.

Some cats, often the talky ones, just seem a little more human than others. Wouldn't we love to have such self confidence in ourselves as a cat does!

 

[VOXLEO]

And yes Phantom was a siamese mix - had the bluest blue eyes I had ever seen and fur softer than a rabbit. Oscar is the siamese in this pair, and really one of the only unusually quiet ones I've met. The Burmese breed shares some siamese lineage, and that could mean sharing that chatty quality too. Fizzy's the talker, and fits more the description of the Burmese than Siamese but I have no idea what is in his gene pool except for the tail indicative of some orange tabby. (I have noticed they are often quite affectionate and outgoing, though) The initial plan when he was adopted as company for Oscar, was that he was to be called "Felix" as per The Odd Couple, but his yammering was so reminiscent of this scene from The Dark Crystal that he ended up with a different namesake, and spoiling the joke.

 

[Lectrice]

Link does that too! Although if I don't go clean it when he tells me its dirty I get a very perturbed cat in my face shortly for ignoring him.

View attachment 333181

Here's one for theatre!: We had gone to the vet for something very routine, or perhaps it was a follow up for something that was already dealt with, I don't remember why, only that there was nothing at all wrong with him, and as the place was devoid of other customers at the moment, I had Phantom in my arms as we were checking out at the desk, such that his head was right by my ear with both his front paws on one shoulder, when another woman entered and assumed we were dealing with a directly necessary vet visit. Her attention went immediately to Phantom, and he just took his cue like a pro when she gushed sympathetically, "AWW Does kitty not feel good?"

I kid you not, this cat, who was FINE and dandy, then took in a supporting amount of air with a breath so deep it was literally AUDIBLE when he inhaled in preparation for the most ridiculously long and drawn out, morose sounding wail evoking as much pathos and tragedy as a Shakespearean death soliloquy with his "MMMmmmmmmRRRRaaaaaaaaaoooooooooaaaaaaaaaooooooooouwwwwwwwwww!" It was pure melodrama to the point where I actually could imagine him taking one paw up to his own brow and clutching his heart with the other as he flopped backwards before a cartoon lily popped up on his chest! I had not realized he was THAT much of a ham, playing right into her expectations of an ill creature enduring great suffering -- WHAT AN ACTOR! Truly impressive, however phony the motive!

...and of course immediately rewarded with the cooing and coddling,"OH POOOR KITTY!!" fawning over him with great concern and petting and undeserved pity.

It was A - MAZING, I tell you. It was so good, it made my bray of laughter somewhat suspect. I had to defend my character by explaining that there was nothing wrong with him at all, and even then I am not sure if she believed ME when I accused him of being a big faker putting on a performance for her benefit!

That cat was so smart it was spooky. He played all the people on the block, all the three times we moved over the years, the neighbors always met and talked about HIM first before meeting US.

I consider it a great honor to be chosen by a beast like that. They are benevolent rulers who are a pleasure to serve. He too, would greet me daily upon my return home, usually in the driveway by jumping on the hood of the car if I took too long before getting out...

And we also had a "Casper" that didn't appreciate being left behind at the house -especially if we took the dogs somewhere. We had to sneak out or he would follow us on walks around the neighborhood, much to the amusement of people at the small park nearby. I forgot stealth mode one evening when I went out in a bit of an annoyed huff in search of the home of the incessantly barking dog at 4am, taking the puppy with me. It was a good 2 miles at least, due to the winding roads and the way they wrapped the hill, and I didn't even realize that the cat had tagged along until I happened to turn back around to look for a house number and saw him panting as he lay there on the sidewalk all exhausted! I scooped him up and carried him the rest of the way back home, but that was surprising he was so determined to stick with us that long rather than go back home on his own. Good thing I saw him, as I don't know if he'd have made it home otherwise since we were walking a loop that didn't backtrack at all.

Some cats, often the talky ones, just seem a little more human than others. Wouldn't we love to have such self confidence in ourselves as a cat does!

That’s an amazing story at the Vet’s! I had no idea that cats had such quirky personalities. As a first time cat owner, I am learning a lot. My jack is a tuxedo cat, I think, and have no idea if there is any Siamese in him. It has been so interesting to me to read this thread. I’m so glad to have found this cat forum !

 

[Lectrice]

My boy tends to either want attention, want my to go to bed or to tell me there is some critter outside bothering his sleep. At least thats what I've kind of figured out by his actions and reactions. The critter ones he will usually put a toy out near the door or window to tell me where it was. I kind of think he expects the toys to report back if there is a problem....

 

[Lectrice]

Link does that too! Although if I don't go clean it when he tells me its dirty I get a very perturbed cat in my face shortly for ignoring him.

View attachment 333181

What a gorgeous kitty! And what an equally gorgeous patio! You folks in SoCal have no right to publish such lush green yards when in Wisconsin we’re barely beginning to see some tiny green buds!

 

[VOXLEO]

What a gorgeous kitty! And what an equally gorgeous patio! You folks in SoCal have no right to publish such lush green yards when in Wisconsin we’re barely beginning to see some tiny green buds!

Indeed - the EYES on that one! Such a deep blue!

Update on the yowler: Maybe kitty has just been a bit gassy? A concerning bout of retching earlier in the week, repeated again the following evening had me worried I'd be looking at another vet bill, but as a hope it might be something easy to fix, we started adding some probiotics to the food at mealtimes and he maybe seems a little less obnoxious with the vocalizing now, as well as seemingly no longer hacking at all. He still makes a lot of noise, but he seems less LOUD with it in general, so maybe that has been bugging him enough to make him uncomfortable. He seems more mellow now.

Still very vocal, but maybe the tone is lighter...Or maybe he's just chilling out some as he gets older, since he's still under a year old. It's in such contrast to Oscar being so silent for the most part...

 

[ladytimedramon]

I'm still trying to get used to Delilah's talkativeness. Sometimes she does this meow/yowl walking around the apartment like she's looking for me... and she walked right past me.

I'm expecting an earful on the way to the vet tomorrow.

 

[danteshuman]

I was going to ask if the cat could be part siamese btw that meowing is nothing! It is soft & almost polite in the second video that I watched!

Jackie likes to yodel, talk to me & try to boss/annoy me into letting him out. His yowling singing was the worst & he lives to do it in the bathroom where it echoes! I have found that if I call him and talk to him, then he will stop singing and come join me (& I love on him.) The going out meowing fits? I refuse to reward & ignore or distract him! Good luck!

Both brothers have siamesetraits. Jackie is lynx point & obviously half siamese. Nick (House panther) has the coarse siamese hair & I think a bit of siamese in his face.

Either way your talkative baby is precious!

 

[VOXLEO]

)

I was going to ask if the cat could be part siamese btw that meowing is nothing! It is soft & almost polite in the second video that I watched!

Oh yes, THAT was quite the polite commentary... But that might have been one of the first days after we adopted him, and he was only about 10 weeks old. Like I said, the grown up voice is a LOT bigger. But he's quite the character and such a loving little bugger, the purring starts the second you pick him up, no matter what. We've decided that it's mostly complaints that he isn't immediately the center of attention at any given moment. I admit, he's won me over completely either despite the chatter or because of it. He's my favorite, and I can tell he's starting to have the same effect on Chad when I hear him talking back too or see that expression on his face when he looks at the cat like he's wondering how in the heck did HE get suckered into liking him so much. I actually am amazed at the fact that even when the injury was still fresh he didn't seem to be at all resentful or fearful of the dog in the slightest despite him having put a hole in his foot and shattering the metatarsal bone. But then again, it was clearly accidental, since if it had not been the damage would certainly have been much worse from a dog that weighs 100lbs. But he still hangs out with him and gets right in his face without hesitation like it never happened, so he's very forgiving and trusting. My mom is amazed that he so readily shows his belly and lets her pet it - even her own cat won't allow her to do that! (In fact, I could almost hear her own disappointment when he got injured and she asked which one of the kitties it was because I don't think she would have been as willing to help with putting up the cash for the other one to go to the ER, but Fizzy got her hooked too... )


I am really noticing a lot less irritation or impatience in the tone, though, ever since starting the probiotics. He's still very vocal but the demanding insistence is more obviously directed at specific things like food or complaints about the closed door. The rest has become more conversational in tone, without so much unspecific angst involved, so maybe we hit on it by accident what was making him uncomfortable. If it seems like he's cussing us out again, I guess we'll have the vet see if he can figure it out, but so far so good.

 

[danteshuman]

Jackie screams in the bathroom if he gets the runs. He rarely gets them anymore because I stopped letting him pork out on dry food when he visits Nana’s house.... I just feed her cats 2 extra wet food meals to keep Jackie on his regular 4 meals a day I also put him on probiotics for 3 months & it worked. I use Jackson Galaxy’s probiotics but I think other brands would work to!

You might want to take him to the vet or on his next visit ask the vet to look for signs of allergies (just in case.) For 7 years I thought Dante had a sensitive stomach because he threw up a few times a week unless he was on sensitive stomach dry food. He didn’t! What he had was allergies. The beginning signs of allergies are easy to misinterpret. Then his lower lip swelled up & the vet pointed out he was missing belly fur (I thought he was getting fatter so more punk showed through ) My point is a vet can help you pinpoint the why.

As for the conversations; well I’m guilty of talking to my cat. It seems to comfort him and gets him to shush. I crap up when he gets all stroppy outside in his harness and gives me the meowgrowl when he doesn’t want to go where I want to go or I interrupt his hunting with a leash jiggle. I just pick him up and carry him for a minute or two & place him back down. He generally walks me but sometimes he needs to move or not go through a fence.

Maybe discreetly video your bf talking to your cat sometime? You might treasure the memory years for now or it might give you a good laugh.

 

[PJBoy]

Both my cats, Gnocchi and Wonton are incredibly vocal! One thing that helped was beginning to feed more frequently (I feed them 3 times a day now.) Although that certainly hasn't stopped them being vocal! They are also both very active and young, so I dedicate quite a bit of time each day to getting their energy out by playing with them. Both of these things helped me, but in the end I think some cats are just incredibly vocal and there isn't necessarily anything you can do that about!

 

[ladytimedramon]

Leaving some kibble out at night for Delilah helps with her nighttime talking.... except when I am up for a bathroom run. I can hear her collar tinkling my way, meaning she's up and going to try to convince me to give her more attention than a couple of pats when I'm in the bathroom.

I wonder though, if her previous family had someone working from home. When I was doing my video conferences with students (I'm a teacher), she was quietly napping or watching birds and squirrels at the window. When I finished she was up and at it.

She is also becoming my alarm clock. By 7am she is at my bedroom door asking for breakfast and attention.

 

[VOXLEO]

2 year update on the cat chat:

It seems that he just has a lot to say about everything. I have come to really enjoy anticipating him arriving after hearing the distant inquiring meow as he approaches. He brings me joy and a smile and I just respond, "Yes, my love,hello! I am here. What is it?" whenever he beckons.

Every day he announces his entrance into a room from just outside the door, calling out, "Helloooo?", "Is anyone hoooooome?", "Wheereee IIIISSSS everybodyyyyyyyy?" and presumably is going on about whatever his day has involved once he has confirmed we are paying attention. He has the most varied vocal expressions I have ever heard, and I would not be surprised to find him one day having mastered speaking full sentences. He came quite close to saying my name once, and we have at least categorized some of the simpler chirps and purr-mrrows as one word answers to things we might ask about. He is generally hilarious, especially when the long sing-song meows can go through so many pitches in a single breath. These we tend to think are him scolding us for being so dimwitted at the time we are not quite sure what it is he wants.

Mostly, though, he seems insistent on being picked up. If he keeps yammering after that, it's usually because he's hungry and wants something other than what we have offered already. I can also tell when he is looking for his brother and doesn't know where he is, and when he is sometimes just bored and whining about it. There is a tarp over some of the backyard that he and his bro have taken to using like a sort of trampoline or kitty amusement park feature by leaping onto the high end and sliding down the slope of it, and it will eventually rip under such abuse, at which point he complains about that being out-of-order. Once, it took me a better part of the afternoon to figure out that he was bitching that the neighbors were having a garden party with a visiting dog and he had not been invited. It was finally enough to shut him up when I sheepishly interrupted their uno game to ask if they might not mind just greeting him so that he felt included.

I have determined that his voice just sounds a bit irritable in general, as a neutral quality. I've gotten to the point that I can tell when he is really actually disturbed about something as opposed to just making conversation about everyday things. It took me a bit to figure out that he had a tapeworm once when he was out of sorts, but then I got that sorted quickly enough and could tell he was back to his regular running commentary again. He clearly understands US perfectly about everything though....

SO WEIRD.

 

[rubysmama]

Awwww.... he sounds pawstively purrfect.
Thanks for the update.

 

[Alldara]

We were told Calcifer was chatty when we first brought him home. Well, we were used to Magnus (told he was quiet...but he's the most vocal cat I've ever encountered).

His voice sounds like everything is a protest. We were concerned he hated being picked up at first or we were causing pain. Then he started copying Magnus's behaviours to get picked up but still makes the same, "Waaaah" sound. I really should get it on video. It's so odd. I've never heard this tone in a cat before.

Magnus and Calcifer both can make the longest cat sounds I've ever heard.