My cat wont quit Meowing!!!!

[emmiesmomma]

I have  2 male cats. Brothers mind you. And one of them just sleeps away all day long and at night time he runs under my bed or up and down the hall all night MEOWING!! Its getting pretty annoying and I dont want my husband to make me get rid of him. Any ideas whats wrong and what I can do to make him stop?

 

[maewkaew]

Are they neutered yet?   that's the first thing that comes to mind . maybe this one brother is more interested in the lady cats and is getting excited by smelling some cat in heat in the area. 

 

[emmiesmomma]

They arent neutered yet. And they are close to a year in age. But I never see any cats roaming our neighborhood. And he only does it in the middle of the night.

 

[vball91]

I would definitely get them neutered as soon as possible. You really don't want them to start spraying. Unneutered males can be very territorial.

 

[maewkaew]

Well,  cats do tend to be active at night.    & it  might be you don't see stray cats in the daytime but they're lurking somewhere at night.  and they can smell a female in heat a LONG way away.   

    & it might be him wanting to go out at night to roam and look for girls or fight with other toms.     

I'm not saying it is definitely because he is not neutered, but that is one big cause of a cat meowing a lot -- females when in heat,  and males at any time. 

 

[sarahliz]

My cat is rather mellow and neutered, but still meows 24/7.  Usually it's when he wants attention, or food, or to be let into the bedroom with us at night.  I just attribute it to personality.

 

[lovesmekitties]

I'm sorry, you must be totally frustrated!  I'm wondering if it's possible he's bored.  I remember seeing a show like that on My Cat From Hell where the cat meowed like crazy at night.  Jackson Galaxy recommended bringing out special toys that the cat only had access to at night, and if I remember correctly, they also rotated them to keep kitty interested.  There are toys designed for night time play.  Last time I bought toys I got pretty good prices and variety online - I think it was at Pet Mountain and one of them was a bird with a feather tail that lit up which would be perfect for your situation.  I also got a squeaky mouse with a sound chip that squeaks on contact.  Of course, that only works if you have a sound machine in your bedroom so it doesn't bother you (something you may want to try anyway - I have one by Homedics that was fairly inexpensive and works great).  My cats particularly love both those toys.  Maybe you could try a toy that creates its own motion to keep him interested too (ie the balls in a round disc type that simulate a mouse chase) or using a toy that dispenses treats to keep him engaged.  Is he a climber?  Does he have a cat tree or cat shelves?  My cats love to climb theirs when they are chasing each other at night.  From what I've learned since I got my kitties, "enriching" their environment to make it cat-friendly makes a big difference.  Maybe you've already done that?  Even putting boxes or paper bags out to create tunnels and hiding places at night may keep him more entertained - you could put toys in there as a surprise too.  Please let us know how things go. I'm sure your eager for a good night's sleep!

 

[emmiesmomma]

He is soooooo lazy. He sleeps all day long. Infact he cant take three steps without napping lol. He has toys he plays with during the night but he used to sleep during the night too. He usually plays with his brother but he (his brother) likess to pile up with me and sleep the night away. Could it be he wants to play with his brother and thats why he meows?

 

[emmiesmomma]

Also he is so lazy he hardly plays for long periods of time. I guess he loses interest. Idk but geesh! A girl needs beauty sleep lol!

 

[lovesmekitties]

Makes sense to me that he wants his bro to keep him company!  He may be lazy & sleepy during the day but feeling playful at night now. 

 

[maewkaew]

 SarahLiz is right that some cats do have a more vocal personality  (and that can be partly breed-related  in some cases).   I have Siamese  and  I definitely know that some neutered cats can also be very vocal.  I have one neuter who thinks he is an operatic tenor. 

Sometimes   people unintentionally train a cat  to meow at night or very early in the morning  , if it sometimes gets the cat what he / she wants -- like if you sometimes get up and feed them or give them attention,  they learn that if they make a fuss long enough,  you may give in.  You don't have to provide the positive reinforcement  every time in order to 'train' them.  

  and un-training them can take quite a while because they keep hoping  that if they meow long enough  you will again break down and give them what they want.

I mentioned the territorial thing of seeing other cats.  It might also be that he's watching some prey animals that are active at night. 

Another thing that occurs to me is I have heard of this happening with a cat who had some retinal damage and his night vision was not as good as most cats. and he wanted to be awake at night but could not see so well to get around and would go around meowing loudly.  If it were something like that  maybe just a night light might satisfy him.    ( I don't think that is very common,  so it's not likely that is the reason especially in a 1 year old cat.  but just mentioned it. 

So those are some other thoughts.  but    I  had first asked about the neutering  since the influence of sex hormones is one major reason for repetitive meowing .   so it's worth seeing if it might help. 

 (Plus there are other reasons to neuter like preventing them starting to spray urine .   Most toms do start to spray at least some by the time they're 1.5  - 2 yrs old.  and  having 2 mature toms in the same home would increase the likelihood that they would spray.  

In many places there are low cost clinics  or some kind of vouchers to help people get their pets neutered.    If you're in the U.S. ,  the ASPCA has a database to search for low cost spay/neuter clinics.       and there is also a group  SPAY USA   that has a hotline  1-800-248-SPAY (1-800-248-7729).     

Edited just to change a couple words that got somehow garbled .  

 

[emmiesmomma]

Thank you all so much. You have given me lots to think about. I love cats and especially my baby boys. I hope to get some quiet time!