Help! New Kitten Owner Can't Stop Cat From Crying

[OllieOliver]

I once owned two beautiful cats, both 8 years old when I adopted them. I can't tell you how much I loved them. But they were older and they knew what they wanted and how to ask for it.

But now I have 2 kittens or young adults. One is 5 months, adopted this week, the runt of the litter. HE SCREAMS AT ME. And no matter what food I put out, he won't even look at it. i think he wants food, because he jumps up on the table and tries to get my food. Right now, I have 3 dishes of canned food in front of him, 1 dish of dry food, and a water bowl. He's screaming instead of eating.

The screaming is a big issue with me. I'm a retired man and I would like to get some peace. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

(I actually have several problems with my cats, but I'll make separate posts).

 

[Neo_23]

Have you taken him to the vet yet? If not, get him checked out. There could be something else bothering him.

 

[OllieOliver]

Thanks for the response. He's going to the vet tomorrow. I just think it's diet because he keeps jumping on the table while I"m eating, like he wants my food.

 

[LTS3]

Do you know the history of your newest cat? There may be something in the cat's past that is causing him to refuse cat food. Was he a stray or former feral who is used to scavenging from trash cans?

Another thought, maybe he prefers cooked food to cat food? You can feed a cat a homecooked diet but you need to first learn how to do that properly. Just cooking meat and plopping it into a bowl isn't a complete diet. There's a forum here on TCS where you can get more info on homecooked diets and recipes: Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food

Do you play with your cat often? Bored cats often seek out things to do.

 

[danteshuman]

Assuming he is fine physically, is it possible he just wants some dry kitten food? Do you know what they were feeding him before you adopted him? I think wet food is great and all but my boys are dry food addicts. I feed them wet food once a day. The healthy good for them venison wet food, I wind up throwing half of it away... uneaten. I found out later that they spray the outside of dry food with animal fat. Also playing devils advocate here, can you put him in a room with some food of his own while you eat? At least for a couple of weeks. Every time he jumps on the table, tell him down, then put him on the floor or in the room. Like puppies, cats need to be trained.

 

[OllieOliver]

I give him the same dry food he received at Petsmart when I adopted him. He won't eat it now. I did find that he eats Fancy Feast indoor dry food. The problem is, he goes through all his crying before he gives up and eats.

 

[danteshuman]

Hmmmm honestly I would try a different brand, transitioning 1/2 & 1/2 for a week. That is if you are going to feed dry food and can afford to feed a good brand or limited ingredient dry food. Is he allowed to free feed? Being the strict meany I am, I would be locking him in a room during his meal time for a couple of weeks. Then if he bugs me, he can eat in the room. My punk was obnoxiously screaming at me. I pay attention to his small meows & body language. When he screamed at me, I told him 'sush' then lightly touched his nose. Then I ignored him completely for 5 minutes or so. In short I rewarded the non obnoxious behavior. (I feed my guys Taste of the Wild & I'm trying out a small bag of Merrick this month. One of my cats are allergic to chicken. Otherwise I would feed them Science Diet or some limited ingredient food.) Because your guy is used to dry food, it may be tough to transition him over to wet food (especially the healthy kind) however you can probably transition him to a limited amount of dry food & wet food diet. It may also be that the dry food he is eating now has something in it he is allergic to or that doesn't agree with his digestive system. I would bet it is just behavioral but it is always good to rule out the physical first.

 

[OllieOliver]

He gets free feed for the dry food. I would like to limit his canned food to an appropriate amount, but I have to go through about 3 cans before he eats something and stops his crying.

 

[OllieOliver]

There is something very strange about the way both cats cry. The crying will stop when I come upstairs and sit with them in the bedroom or move one room over to my "office". They're so calm when I come upstairs. Five minutes after I go downstairs, the crying starts up.

I was going to print this in a different post, but now I wonder if it is all part of the same problem.

 

[danteshuman]

Why don't they like the downstairs? This is sounding less like a food issue & more like a territory issue. Do you have cat trees or scratching posts downstairs? Beds? Toys? Litter box? I guess I'm asking if they own the downstairs? Or just the upstairs?

 

[LTS3]

Some breeds are very chatty, like Siamese. Even mixed breed domestic type cats can be chatty because it's just their personality.

 

[OllieOliver]

Two new points:

First, upstairs I have a tree and a diffuser and one toy that they both like, a ball that moves in a circle. Downstairs I have only a diffuser, but I just bought a tree that I will put in the family room.

Second, the 5 month old just got back from the vet who said everything looks fine. The bad eye does not cause any issues.

I just don't understand why they are such angels upstairs when I am with them, and why they turn into devils when they follow me downstairs. All that crying. What do they want? How do I find out?

 

[orange&white]

Have you tried offering the screamer his meals upstairs?

 

[OllieOliver]

Yes, but the point is I sometimes want to go downstairs, and he follows me and starts to cry until I come back up with him.

 

[orange&white]

Your other point was that you put 3 cans of food plus kibble down and he was screaming instead of eating. Does he eat if you feed him upstairs, or scream? Trying to figure out if food is the problem, or if location is the problem.

 

[OllieOliver]

He eats upstairs, and if I force the issue (by not feeding him upstairs) he will relent and eat downstairs, but he's very anxious about it. I think you hit on it -- location is the problem. The big issue is that he screams when he follows me downstairs and not when he follows me upstairs. I want to give him what he wants, but I can't figure out what it is.

 

[orange&white]

Do you spend most of your time upstairs? He may not recognize downstairs as a "normal" part of the house if you don't spend much time there.

 

[Skyeclad]

You said you have two cats? How old is this other cat, and where does it usually hang out?
Do you have other pets in the house? other people?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

...
But now I have 2 kittens or young adults. One is 5 months, adopted this week, the runt of the litter. HE SCREAMS AT ME. And no matter what food I put out, he won't even look at it. i think he wants food, because he jumps up on the table and tries to get my food. ...

He eats upstairs, and if I force the issue (by not feeding him upstairs) he will relent and eat downstairs, but he's very anxious about it. I think you hit on it -- location is the problem. The big issue is that he screams when he follows me downstairs and not when he follows me upstairs. I want to give him what he wants, but I can't figure out what it is.

If you just adopted him and brought him home this week, it might help to just contain him to the upstairs only until he can get a handle on his new territory and discover what the daily patterns are of his new owner (you). I personally think it is best to feed him upstairs for a while, and in one location only, since he seems to feel more safe (or less lonely) up there. I'd recommend always trying to put food, water, litter box in the same locations so that he can come to rely upon those locations and feel more confident.

He's just a very new member to your house, and a young kitten, so you have to expect a certain amount of hollaring until he can have some time to adjust!

 

[OllieOliver]

"'He's just a very new member to your house, and a young kitten, so you have to expect a certain amount of hollaring until he can have some time to adjust!"

Thanks for that advice. I'm new to kittens. My previous cats were 8 years when I adopted them. I plan to fill up the downstairs with toys.