Issues with rescued cat

Krwlng

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Hi guys!
We recently rescued a 2 year old unneutered male from the community. He was abandoned and was being bullied by the stray community cats. This happened 2 weeks ago
He's extremely affecruonate and loves to lay with us and laze. However, he's an also very vocal. He's constantly meowing and at times howling. He eats and drinks well and a vet checkup showed he has no major health issues other than grade 2 heart murmurs.
We have a 7 year old male bengal cat as well but we have made it such that the 2 do not see or interact with each other for now.
We are also using feliways around the house with the thought that he is stressed out and therefore constantly vocalising. It doesn't seem to help much. I've also tried those treats with l theanine but they don't really work.
Another weird thing is that he doesn't like to play. No feather toys or even a scratching post. He only interacts with a feeding puzzle toy.
Do you guys think that there might be something that is making him upset? Or is he just one of those talkative ones? Or will neutering him tone down his vocalising?
 

vince

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Well he has had a lot of changes in his life recently, and two weeks isn't a whole lot of time, even on a cat's timeline. He is used to doing things differently and cats are very much creatures of habit. He should get better about the vocalizations with time.

He may be smelling other cats in heat and wants to get to them. That's often a source of howling. Having him neutered will help if that's the source of his problem, but don't expect a complete change to a silent cat.

Does he have any apparent Siamese in him? Certain cat breeds just tend to be more talkative than others.

As far as playtime goes, he's not used to cat toys and it may take him a while to decide what he likes. You can try cheap homemade toys like a paper bag, cardboard box, kicker toy made from old socks, ping pong ball in the bathtub, paper wad tied to a string (or tied to a doorknob), toilet paper roll (perhaps made into an interactive feed toy with the ends folded shut and a couple treats inside), or a plain old stick you found in the back yard. After his interests are discovered, you can get him toys of the type he likes. He may be one of those that like the horizontal or angled cardboard scratchers. My cats all seem to like those better than scratching posts (they like the grille cloths on the speakers for that--grrr!).
 
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Krwlng

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Well he has had a lot of changes in his life recently, and two weeks isn't a whole lot of time, even on a cat's timeline. He is used to doing things differently and cats are very much creatures of habit. He should get better about the vocalizations with time.

He may be smelling other cats in heat and wants to get to them. That's often a source of howling. Having him neutered will help if that's the source of his problem, but don't expect a complete change to a silent cat.

Does he have any apparent Siamese in him? Certain cat breeds just tend to be more talkative than others.

As far as playtime goes, he's not used to cat toys and it may take him a while to decide what he likes. You can try cheap homemade toys like a paper bag, cardboard box, kicker toy made from old socks, ping pong ball in the bathtub, paper wad tied to a string (or tied to a doorknob), toilet paper roll (perhaps made into an interactive feed toy with the ends folded shut and a couple treats inside), or a plain old stick you found in the back yard. After his interests are discovered, you can get him toys of the type he likes. He may be one of those that like the horizontal or angled cardboard scratchers. My cats all seem to like those better than scratching posts (they like the grille cloths on the speakers for that--grrr!).
Thanks for your reply Vince!
I have no idea if he has Siamese in him.
As for the howling, I stay in an apartment and there are no cats around us. So he shouldn't be smelling any other cats in heat.
I've attached a picture of him. Maybe you'll be able to see the Siamese in him? :)
 

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vince

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Don't see any Siamese. He's just a talker, I guess.

Mine call out, especially at night, seemingly just to find out where I am. I meow back to them and they stop. Have you tried meowing back to him? He probably smells your other cat as well and could be calling out to him.

I guess I made it sound like not searching for a mate is the only benefit from neutering your cat. Actually, it calms them down overall and provides some health benefits as well. It could very well help with the problem at hand.
 
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