Not Loud, Yet Irritating Vocalization

samyoz

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Hi everyone,
It's been a while, hope y'all doing well.

The issue is simple, yet I have no idea how to modify this behavior.
Tiger, 2 years old, I've had him since he was 1 month old, he's my baby and we've been through a lot together.
But recently (in the past year), he developed this strange behavior which is vocalization a lot. He'd do it when he's thirsty, hungry or wants me to clean one of the litter boxes, which I think is okay, actually helpful. Sometimes I find out it's just because he wants me to pet him which is a problem because he will never have enough, I'd pet him for half an hour and then leave him to just start shouting again. Sometimes because he is sleeping and want us to shut up or go away. But there are many times I cannot understand why he's doing this.

The Vocalization:
Gentle but repetitive. I know he can make it a lot louder (I've heard how loud he can get before) but for some reason, he doesn't. I know it is being too much because I had several cats/kittens before for short periods and none of them was this annoying. And No, he doesn't have any medical issue, he seems healthy.
maybe it can be called friendly hair-pulling shouting.

What I need from you guys is how can I modify this behavior and just make it stop? You have no idea how he's becoming even more annoying over time.


Thank you
 

LannyLC

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There are cat experts on this site who will provide you with far better advice than I, but I wonder if the cat is vocalizing because something has changed in your home? I played with my cat a lot when I first got her ... then I got a bit lazy about giving her 15 minutes of play time a day. Now I have two cats.
I clean their litter boxes every morning and have started playing with them a bit in the morning before going to work. I work 9 hours M-F and once/month might have an overnight trip. So these floofers really need me to be present to them when I am home. It's hard because sometimes I'm really tired when I get home. Even just sitting on the floor and being present to Tiger for 15 minutes is do-able.
Give it a try and see if this changes anything.
 

maggie101

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My guess is it's because he is older. If you have time, feed and play with him multiple times a day. My cat Maggie meows when she wants attention. Even after eating, she wants me to follow her to the living room and sit with her. I feed them 3x a day. I play with Maggie a wand toy 4x a day. Long time ago I took care of a big Male cat that would continuously meow when he left his bowl. I use a big ceramic elevated water bowl. Is he telling you to clean his litter box,that it's not big enough, or their are not enough litter boxes?.
 
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samyoz

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My guess is it's because he is older. If you have time, feed and play with him multiple times a day. My cat Maggie meows when she wants attention. Even after eating, she wants me to follow her to the living room and sit with her. I feed them 3x a day. I play with Maggie a wand toy 4x a day. Long time ago I took care of a big Male cat that would continuously meow when he left his bowl. I use a big ceramic elevated water bowl. Is he telling you to clean his litter box,that it's not big enough, or their are not enough litter boxes?.
I have six litter boxes, 2xlarge-2xmedium-2xsmall. I clean them every other day, but Tiger seems to be germaphobic sometimes xD. I have Max (1.5 years), he has never ever meowed because the litter box is not clean, so had all cats that I had.
I think it is the attention thing, though occasionally it is the hygiene thing.
 

duncanmac

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It is, more likely than not, a learned/trained behaviour. He has learned that if he meows in a certain way you do a certain act - feed, pet, play, clean the litter box. You might even be able to distinguish between meows. It probably started subtly and then was slowly reinforced. And yes, this is the cat training you.

I have a cat that goes nuts over a certain toy that we keep in a particular spot in the bedroom. She has learned that when she meows a certain way - almost a bark - I play with her, almost every time. We have another cat whose vocalizations are usually much longer and he has learned to mimic that meow (to a degree). Its hysterical - I can say "Who wants to play" and they both start yipping in turn.
 
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