My cat is very vocal. I cannot figure him out...

[Maggiez]

My cat Loki is 8-month old and he constantly makes all kinds of sound, mostly trills, or something between a trill and meow, and all kinds of other sounds.

It's not because of food, water, litter box, or illness (I just had him checked up 2 weeks ago). When he wants to play or pet, it's usually pretty obvious.

He's shy, a bit moody sometimes, and hard to read. Like today, he made noises and it gradually became constant meow that sounds sad. But when I approached him and tried to pet him, he backed off. I walked away, he started meowing again. I tried to play with him and he's not interested. He would approach me, but does not respond when I invite him. Then later he lied down close to me when I was looking away, but kept some distance and then got comfortable.

Sometimes I feel like he's trying to communicate with his sister. Because when I approach him, I find out he's play-fighting with his sister or trying to play with her but getting ignored. I think it's strange since I read that cats meow to communicate with human.

Sometimes I give him attention and he just walks away.

I adopted him 2 months ago. It took a while for him to settle down but now he's pretty comfortable with us. The foster family told me he's very vocal so I'm not too concerned, but I really want to know what he wants. He makes a lot of noises and meows a during the day, and I constantly ran to check on him. And that's right after I fed him and played with him in the morning. Should I just ignore him or give him attention? If I kept checking on him, it literally takes hours and I cannot get any works done during the day...

PS. sharing pictures of Loki and his sister Pen Pen. I love them so much!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Such pretty babies! He may just be a chatty catty. Some are. If you know his box is clean, and it isn't meal time, talk back to him. You could find yourself having wonderful conversations!

 

[Maggiez]

Such pretty babies! He may just be a chatty catty. Some are. If you know his box is clean, and it isn't meal time, talk back to him. You could find yourself having wonderful conversations!

Sometimes I mimic his voice, he looks shocked and it's hilarious lol I will continue to communicate with him and hopefully understand him better in the future

 

[Maria Bayote]

Beautiful cats

i am sure you will get to understand what it is he wants to tell you when he starts to “talk”. It took me sometime.

One of my cats Graham talk most of the time. The only moments there is quiet in the house is when she is sleeping, and sometimes when I do not hear her talking or complaining I do not actually feel relieved but worried. LOL.

But with a “talkative” cat there is no dull day. When you talk back to them you will find yourself in deep “conversations” and it feels so magical. Not everyone can have the privilege of understanding the language of cats.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

I'm convinced some cats meow just to make you talk back to them. Neko-chan is chatty, will walk in to whatever room I'm in and meow. When I respond, she'll usually chat for a few minutes before going about her business.

 

[di and bob]

The cats I have had that were very vocal usually had some kind of Oriental blood in them. They 'smelled' different and had blue eyes, and many times points in their coloring. They would 'talk' a LOT, especially when they wanted something or wanted to do something that I wouldn't let them do, like go outside and getting on the counter. My last one was the white flame point in my avatar. He was stubborn, talked all the time with trills, and many other sounds in his raspy, deep voice. if I scolded him for something he would jump up and knock my phone or whatever he could find onto the floor and then race off. We looked a lot for the remote. We called him Bobo the clown because he was so mischievous and naughty. In time you'll learn what he is trying to say. Believe me, he won't let up until you do!

 

[Penny's mommy]

I have a chatty cat too, and she just wants attention most of the time. They know we adore them and they take full advantage. If he doesn't want pets then he's probably saying "pet me with your eyes" (lol!) Or wants you to talk back, like everyone else said. If he wants to be pet he will make it clear to you. Also they're very smart so he will adapt his vocalizations to how you respond, you will adapt together, and before you know it you will understand him and he will understand you! It's amazing. But pay attention to him and you will eventually get a sense for his habits and therefore the meanings of his meows. They all mean something different. I can now tell the difference between a chatty meow (which people who don't know her misinterpret as upset), an actually upset meow, a scared meow, and an "I need something" meow. Good luck!

 

[Silver Crazy]

I had one cat 9 years old suddenly discovered he had a voice, he come from an enviroment where he was largely ignored and I think when stayed with me he discovered by making a noise he could get a reaction. From then on he just wouldn't shut up..lol
Cat I have now loves the sound of his own voice and chats and brrs to himself as much as he talks to me.

 

[Lulu&Finn]

Your black cat looks exactly like Finn! Mine are both very vocal. I love it.

 

[TV Dinner]

Sometimes they are just vocal and if you are a cat parent who talks to your cats a lot, like I am, it seems to result in them being a bit more vocal also. I wouldn't worry too much about it, usually it's pretty cute. He's likely trying to communicate something but it may take a while for you both to figure each other out my cat and I took a good 6 months to a year before we got fully in sync and I learned what his different meows and actions were. Sometimes I still don't but usually I do. Vocal cats are fun congrats on a talker.

 

[Maggiez]

Thanks everyone to share your own experience!
I guess I haven't spent long enough with them to figure them out.
Lately I have been paying more attentions to their voices and I tried to observe before react. Sometimes it's very clear that Loki was talking to his sister. Although he still meows a lot at me and I got confused quite often. Hopefully we'll be in sync in a couple months

 

[lollie]

There is a new app called Meow Talk. You tap it to listen, and it’s supposed to translate your cat’s meows. They are really just building a database at this point, it’s not very good yet. So far, it consistently tells me she is saying, “Mommy.” Lol
Here is a link to an article describing it- MeowTalk: Alexa developer’s app to translate cat’s miaow

 

[Maggiez]

I just downloaded the app and within 5 minutes I've got "Mommy" "I'm hunting" "I'm happy" and "I'm in love" lol Not super accurate but it's a lot of fun and it's good that I can record his voice. Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[Pik-Boo]

I have a bonded pair of black Siamese mix cats, Pika and Boo, and the male, Boo is more vocal than the female, Pika. Boo makes similar sounds as you mentioned, and he seems to enjoy qhen I mimic his sounds. Both Pika and Boo "greet" me with meows when they see me first thing in the morning or when I return to the house. Sometimes Boo's vocalizing can be a little problematic when I'm on the phone, but otherwise I feel blessed to have such a vocal kitty. Sometimes he just wants to be near me, but when he wants pets, he lets me know by rubbing against me, purring or making biscuits. He and his sister were inseparable for the first three years of life, they were "bottle babies" in a local TNR group. Their foster mom told me they were a bonded pair, from a litter of four or five. I didn't exactly want two more kitties, but I knew the importanceof keeping bonded pairs together and I'm so happy I adopted them together! They're still best friends, but they're seven now and snuggle with any cat, or dog, in my extensive pack. Tried to attach a picture but the site isn't working for me.

 

[lollie]

Thanks so much for sharing!

Your welcome . I thought it was pretty funny as well. Don’t think they’re ever going to get a cat language, since singles, like my cat, develop their own language, but it’s nice they’re trying.

 

[Cosmic76]

This made me laugh in a nice way, I have some VERY chatty cats. All with different meows. One trills all the time, one meows and you can actually hear the "whingy" tone when he's displeased, and one is deaf, and he is the chattiest. Meows all day long, at himself, to me, to other cats, and especially when he's caught something. I can hear him coming all the way up the garden, like he's shouting "I GOT SOMETHING!!" Because he's deaf, he actually sounds more like a mooing cow or a goat a lot of the time, it's quite hilarious. It's nothing to worry about