Help me speak "cat"!

[julia123123]

I've had many cats, and they are always great at communicating their needs to me. But my newest cat is a complete mystery. We've had her for going on five months now, and she's just as mysterious as the day we got her (10 year old female tabby).

She gets me up early and I feed her. I make sure that she has food, water, and toys out. She eats and drinks. Then starts the 1-2 hours of MEOW. She's rubbing on my ankles and meowing, but there's a frenetic quality to it. She clearly wants me to do something. I pet her endlessly. I play with her. She comes right back. If I stand up, she darts for the stairs (we're upstairs) and looks behind. She CLEARLY wants me to go downstairs. I go downstairs and she just sits and looks at me. Food, check. Water, check. Toys, check. WHAT DO YOU WANT?!? She meows, but again, there's a frantic quality to it, like a cat who's begging to be fed. But she has new wet and dry food, AND has already eaten. I pet her and pet her and pet her. More play. More meows. She's not begging to go outside (she's an indoor cat and pretty much ignores the door and windows). She actually acts annoyed, like she's having to resort to attention-begging to get my focus. But she HAS my focus. ARGH!!

The "affection mode" ends at breakfast, when she goes to sleep and sleeps the entire rest of the day. I sometimes see her at night before bed, where she wants a few pets and she's good to go.

I can't figure out her frantic behavior in the morning. She's vet-checked. She's got food and water. She has toys and attention. She doesn't want to be picked up. She's begging me for...something. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

 

[vansX2]

My younger boy is the needy one for constant attention. The Red/ White in the picture. I have setup up a squirrel feeding stand outside my patio door. The corn feeding stand sits directly in front of my Cat stand. only inches of glass separate the squirrel and cat. Jackpot has full view of the squirrel and chipmunk eating. Jackpot is obsessed with the squirrel and sits for hours watching.

 

[verna davies]

One of mine is the same but I've never worked out what she wants, I suspect its just company and a little more attention. You are doing everything you can, it could be her nature. Can you set up something like vansX2 has done, a bird or squirrel feeder.

 

[game misconduct]

talk to her she might just wanna hear your voice(not the annoyed tone)

 

[artiemom]

I am thinking she wants you to Play with her... She wakes you up because she wants company.. and she wants to play..
Try a wand toy when you get up, before breakfast.

I have to take medication on an empty stomach. That means before eating anything. I get up, take my meds; pull out the wand toy and play for about 20 minutes--before breakfast... It is now a routine. If I do not with Geoffrey, he feels something is wrong... something is missing..

 

[julia123123]

She already has a window perch, so it's not that. The feeder is set up right by the window, so she has plenty of birds to watch. I'm going to try more play, but I have to be quick in the mornings so hopefully I can satisfy her with what I'm able to give! She's not a play-interested cat, really. She's never interested for more than a couple of minutes. It's the oddest thing! I do pet her continually (this morning, 2 hours), but I almost feel like she's rubbing against me to get my attention for something else, not for the attention itself. Just something about her behavior. My husband's noticed it too. We're mystified!

 

[aurorabee]

Does she want to be brushed? My cat does a similar thing in the mornings and it's her "I want to brushed!" dance.

 

[D gn]

Maybe a little play time with a lazer toy.

 

[Caspers Human]

Sing to her.

"Kitty-cat, kitty-cat! Oh, little kitty-cat!"
(Like the song, "Lollipop, lollipop! Oh, lolly lollipop!")

Pet her and fuss over her while you're singing. See how she reacts when you do it.

Our cat, Casper, loves it when we sing to him and fuss over him.

 

[game misconduct]

maybe she is trying to get you into a routine she had at her prior home. like maybe her previous owner used to sit on a couch and read while drinking coffee . each morning and she got to lay next to them and nap it took me a bit to figure out graycie wanted this as part of her daily mornings not play,pets, brushing etc just a lap for a pillow after her breakfast

 

[Baker's Mom]

I've had many cats, and they are always great at communicating their needs to me. But my newest cat is a complete mystery. We've had her for going on five months now, and she's just as mysterious as the day we got her (10 year old female tabby).

She gets me up early and I feed her. I make sure that she has food, water, and toys out. She eats and drinks. Then starts the 1-2 hours of MEOW. She's rubbing on my ankles and meowing, but there's a frenetic quality to it. She clearly wants me to do something. I pet her endlessly. I play with her. She comes right back. If I stand up, she darts for the stairs (we're upstairs) and looks behind. She CLEARLY wants me to go downstairs. I go downstairs and she just sits and looks at me. Food, check. Water, check. Toys, check. WHAT DO YOU WANT?!? She meows, but again, there's a frantic quality to it, like a cat who's begging to be fed. But she has new wet and dry food, AND has already eaten. I pet her and pet her and pet her. More play. More meows. She's not begging to go outside (she's an indoor cat and pretty much ignores the door and windows). She actually acts annoyed, like she's having to resort to attention-begging to get my focus. But she HAS my focus. ARGH!!

The "affection mode" ends at breakfast, when she goes to sleep and sleeps the entire rest of the day. I sometimes see her at night before bed, where she wants a few pets and she's good to go.

I can't figure out her frantic behavior in the morning. She's vet-checked. She's got food and water. She has toys and attention. She doesn't want to be picked up. She's begging me for...something. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I would guess that she is anxious. It might be the new home, or a former trauma. I have had rescue cats that will do this, and it is usually because they have some kind of separation anxiety going on and rubbing up against you is giving them some peace of mind that you are there. They are also marking you as theirs. It takes a long time for a new cats to settle into a new place. Just give her some time. I would also recommend buying the product Feliway. These are cat pheromone diffusers you plug into your wall. They are very calming to the cat. Each dispenser lasts about 30 days. If you have a large home you would need to purchase several of them to place around the house. You can get them on Amazon, or any other Pet supply place. Best of luck!

 

[Father of furbabies]

Depending on her history, she could be vocalizing some sort of anxiety. If she got abandoned or was given lots of attention then ignored, she could be anxious about it happening again. She might want to be held or carried around for a bit. Without knowing her history, you will be just guessing till you discover what she is meowing about.

 

[julia123123]

Yes, I'd love to know about her past life! All I know is that her former owner died. So, I've tried Feliway, didn't work for us. She doesn't like to be carried. I do constantly fuss over her (when she's awake). So I'll try brushing and even more play. Hopefully I can get to the bottom of this!

 

[CindyH66]

have you tried "cat tv" ? I know they have videos( DVDs) to entertain kitties ( you tube and Netflix, too) ? it can be "bird watching" or squirrels.. like watching outside virtual windows.. even fish tanks ! what ever they like ! maybe kitty just needs something to do. sounds silly , but it just might work. at night , Peanut lays on the bed with me and watches a virtual fireplace with me as we fall asleep ! It is very soothing .. worth a try when all else fails ! you dont know if the former owner was using something like that ... my kitty snowball liked to bat at the virtual fish tank- wall paper on my PC LOL... good luck !

 

[julia123123]

I might try that! We have big picture windows in the living room, though, with a cat perch and 4 bird feeders right outside. She loves to sit and watch the activity. But maybe some diversity would do her some good!

 

[minish]

A cat is a forever baby whose language is something we don't always understand. But they certainly give us points for trying. Even if you can't find out what she wants, as long as you attend to her, she will be fine. Sometimes minish stares at me from across the room for half an hour. Normally she comes and meows when she wants something but a silent stare? I have no idea. Then I started to say "hey minish, I see you, would you like to come over? You can, if you want. what a beauty you are.." etc, she started to cut that stare short and settle somewhere relaxed.

 

[Father of furbabies]

I might try that! We have big picture windows in the living room, though, with a cat perch and 4 bird feeders right outside. She loves to sit and watch the activity. But maybe some diversity would do her some good!

Shade and Noka loved watching youtube videos of fish tanks.

They also look out the front windows now to watch the birds and squirrels at the feeders. I have a cat tree condo sitting in front of the window where they can lay and watch the birds eating seed from the window feeder.

These are older pictures but they still do this.

 

[Pretty Punkin]

Hello, I'm currently dealing with the same issue. Constant Meowing is driving me crazy. Sometimes he settles down on his own, but I never know what the problem is, or was. When he finally quits, he just lays down and goes to sleep, leaving me thankful for the peace and quiet. Whew. Good luck.

 

[Baker's Mom]

Hello, I'm currently dealing with the same issue. Constant Meowing is driving me crazy. Sometimes he settles down on his own, but I never know what the problem is, or was. When he finally quits, he just lays down and goes to sleep, leaving me thankful for the peace and quiet. Whew. Good luck.

I'm not sure how old your fur baby is, but I had a similar problem with mine. He was not neutered, and that contributed to the problem a lot. Meowing became deep-throated howling, especially at night. His instinct to roam and search out a mate. After the neuter a lot of that calmed down but not all of it. I've had him about 6 weeks now, and I have found this behavior for him is a communication tool to me that he's not feeling settled. He's feeling a bit anxious. So when he gets into one of his constant meowing and/or unsettled wandering the house until exhausted phases, I make sure to give him a lot of pets, pick him up and hold him, speak to him in a reassuring tone and tell him he's a good cat, "everything's okay" ,'you're okay", etc, and this past week I have noticed the meowing has been reduced quite significantly. Oddly, cats use meowing as a communication to humans, not to other cats, although they will vocalize to other cats. It's hard for us humans to figure out what they're trying to tell us. Try a few different things one at a time for a few days, (talking to him, petting, brushing, playing, treats, cat TV, music...) and see what he responds favorably to. Best of luck with your little one.

 

[Meowmee]

I've had many cats, and they are always great at communicating their needs to me. But my newest cat is a complete mystery. We've had her for going on five months now, and she's just as mysterious as the day we got her (10 year old female tabby).

She gets me up early and I feed her. I make sure that she has food, water, and toys out. She eats and drinks. Then starts the 1-2 hours of MEOW. She's rubbing on my ankles and meowing, but there's a frenetic quality to it. She clearly wants me to do something. I pet her endlessly. I play with her. She comes right back. If I stand up, she darts for the stairs (we're upstairs) and looks behind. She CLEARLY wants me to go downstairs. I go downstairs and she just sits and looks at me. Food, check. Water, check. Toys, check. WHAT DO YOU WANT?!? She meows, but again, there's a frantic quality to it, like a cat who's begging to be fed. But she has new wet and dry food, AND has already eaten. I pet her and pet her and pet her. More play. More meows. She's not begging to go outside (she's an indoor cat and pretty much ignores the door and windows). She actually acts annoyed, like she's having to resort to attention-begging to get my focus. But she HAS my focus. ARGH!!

The "affection mode" ends at breakfast, when she goes to sleep and sleeps the entire rest of the day. I sometimes see her at night before bed, where she wants a few pets and she's good to go.

I can't figure out her frantic behavior in the morning. She's vet-checked. She's got food and water. She has toys and attention. She doesn't want to be picked up. She's begging me for...something. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I am not sure what it could be but all the suggestions are worth a try if you haven’t yet tried them.

Is she an only cat? Maybe getting her a cat companion to distract her will help, she could be lonely. She may be missing her past person and home.

Zena, who is a recent dumped cat rescue, sometimes gets anxious and meows a lot. Usually he is hungry, but sometimes it may be something else. I talk to him and tell him it’s time to sleep now etc. and eventually he settles down.

I think unfortunately he still wants to go outside. Partly to get the dry catfood my outdoor kitties get. I have to be super careful because he tried to go inbetween my legs yesterday while I set the plate down by the door.

I am working on training him to stay away from the door with a coffee can / coins but he is very persistent.
I am training him to be picked up now as well so hopefully soon I can carry him to stay in the garage when I put the food out.

My rescue Merlin, another former outdoor guy, escaped once, also to get the catfood but he came back tg in 2 hours. He has no real interest now except the food, but he hasn’t tried it in ages.