my kitten keeps randomly meowing?

haleyrose99

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Hey all! I posted a few weeks ago about some post-spay issues and everyone was so helpful, so I thought I would post about something else to see if anyone can help!

I adopted two kittens (one is being medically boarded while she recovers from her spay), and this is regarding my male kitten, Milo. He has been doing amazing! Running, jumping playing, eating, and healthy poops. The one thing I have noticed though is he tends to randomly meow with no explanation. He's done it while standing on my bed staring at me, standing in his litter box, right before eating his food, and in other scenarios. I took him to the vet this morning and besides possible worms (his belly was a bit big but his stool was normal, so she prescribed meds just in case), he was 100% perfectly healthy. The only thing I'm keeping my eye on right now is the fact that he hasn't pooped today, which he usually does once in the morning and once at night, but his vet visit was mid-morning poop time and it couldn't be helped. He faked me out earlier, he got in poop position for a bit but nothing came, but I'm trying not to be overly paranoid if his check-up today was good.

I looked up the meowing online, and every site says that if it's not health-related, it could be him telling me he's cold or hungry. Considering he eats just fine, and he splays out fully flat on his back and tummy (not curled up and hiding his feet), I can't seem to think why else he does this. He wasn't doing this until maybe two days ago, and the only other thing I can think of is that he misses Phoebe (who is being boarded), but it's been a week and he was doing perfectly fine before. Not sure if this is normal and I'm just not finding the right sources online, but if anyone knows anything about this behavior please let me know! I don't want to miss any signs that something might be off. Thanks!
 

The_Baroness

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I would say have the vet check to see if he is constipated. He may not be, but the so called big belly could be his bladder is filled up from a back log of poop.
 
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haleyrose99

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I would say have the vet check to see if he is constipated. He may not be, but the so called big belly could be his bladder is filled up from a back log of poop.
Okay, if he doesn't poop tonight I will call them tomorrow, thank you! It would be strange if he is constipated though, he hasn't shown any signs of it before this (he's had the big belly ever since I got him from the shelter), and this morning was the first missed poop so I assumed it was the change in routine. Could I try to stimulate his butt to encourage him? I've done it once or twice in the past and it worked, but I don't want to do it unnecessarily if you don't think it would be helpful.
 

The_Baroness

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Same with the kitten I have. At first I thought it was just a baby belly. If he does a fail to pee squat, where he tries to pee but can't, definitely take him to the vet. My kitten is to the point of hating to be stimulated 😅 she is still young enough where we could, but not without a fight anymore.
 
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haleyrose99

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Same with the kitten I have. At first I thought it was just a baby belly. If he does a fail to pee squat, where he tries to pee but can't, definitely take him to the vet. My kitten is to the point of hating to be stimulated 😅 she is still young enough where we could, but not without a fight anymore.
Oh boy okay, I will keep a close eye on him! I think he peed right after we came home, but I can't exactly remember. If it is serious, it would figure it happens right after I take him to the vet 🤦‍♀️ lol thank you so much!
 
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haleyrose99

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Same with the kitten I have. At first I thought it was just a baby belly. If he does a fail to pee squat, where he tries to pee but can't, definitely take him to the vet. My kitten is to the point of hating to be stimulated 😅 she is still young enough where we could, but not without a fight anymore.
update: he just peed! still no poop, but i'll keep watching. he did scratch the carpet around the litter box and meow a bit before he jumped in to go... the only thing i can think of is that i changed the litter out this morning, but im not sure if that would cause him to meow like that though? he's never done that before
 

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My 6 month old was randomly meowing all the time but i found out recently that i had been underfeeding him. He's still a chatty fellow but it's a completely different type of meow when he's hungry compared to when he's just being chatty.
I find most people usually have the opposite issue where they over feed but my boy needed more kibble as he wants to graze a bit at a time and I wish i knew this sooner about him.

Also it is possible that they just like to express themselves, some times our cats are a mystery but good to rule out any health concerns first which you're doing here.
 

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Its one thing if a kitten doesn't poop for a few days, but you don't need to track how many poops the kitten makes when every single day, and it means nothing if a kitten misses one of its normal two poops a day.

Kittens meow for food if the dish is empty. Since you can't overfeed a kitten this young, its best to allow unlimited grazing, or if doing moist food, break it into as many meals as you have time for and leave it down. This helps prevent food insecurity later, when you do hae to start limiting the food thats donw.

Kittens meow for boredom or loneliness.

Kittens meow when playing.
 
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haleyrose99

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My 6 month old was randomly meowing all the time but i found out recently that i had been underfeeding him. He's still a chatty fellow but it's a completely different type of meow when he's hungry compared to when he's just being chatty.
I find most people usually have the opposite issue where they over feed but my boy needed more kibble as he wants to graze a bit at a time and I wish i knew this sooner about him.

Also it is possible that they just like to express themselves, some times our cats are a mystery but good to rule out any health concerns first which you're doing here.
I definitely was underfeeding at the beginning without knowing, i called the shelter and they said they always had access to dry food so over the last two weeks I've doing the graze feeding because Milo does the exact same thing, he just eats a little bit at a time whenever he feels like it! But that is true he could just be chatty and expressing himself, that makes much more sense if there's nothing outwardly wrong. Thank you for your reply I appreciate it! :)
 
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haleyrose99

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Its one thing if a kitten doesn't poop for a few days, but you don't need to track how many poops the kitten makes when every single day, and it means nothing if a kitten misses one of its normal two poops a day.

Kittens meow for food if the dish is empty. Since you can't overfeed a kitten this young, its best to allow unlimited grazing, or if doing moist food, break it into as many meals as you have time for and leave it down. This helps prevent food insecurity later, when you do hae to start limiting the food thats donw.

Kittens meow for boredom or loneliness.

Kittens meow when playing.
Ah okay, I definitely have been worrying a bit too much about the poop so it's good to know that's normal! I definitely do the grazing and I've been doing wet food twice a day for him. It could be him meowing while playing, I didn't consider that! He does do it more when he's got the zoomies so that would make sense. Thank you for your reply! :)
 

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Ah okay, I definitely have been worrying a bit too much about the poop so it's good to know that's normal! I definitely do the grazing and I've been doing wet food twice a day for him. It could be him meowing while playing, I didn't consider that! He does do it more when he's got the zoomies so that would make sense. Thank you for your reply! :)
I totally get the worrying, i was worrying non stop about humphrey and still do a bit (have to say he's calmed down so much more since i've upped the food) but i get the kitten mum anxiety!!!
 

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Oh it's very normal to have new-kitten anxiety. You are not alone.

Your other kitten is being bordered so it could be looking for his friend too.

Some cats become chatty as they settle in to their forever home. If you want to encourage the behaviour, you can respond verbally. If you don't want to encourage it, I would not respond to it verbally.
 
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