Every cat owner has asked themselves this question: why is my cat meowing? We ask ourselves this question several times a day, and sometimes it is disturbing. You sit comfortably on your sofa reading or watching TV, and your cat keeps meowing. Disturbing isn’t it especially when it is impossible to calm him down. What is the reason and especially how to calm him?
Why is my cat meowing?
It depends on the moment and especially on the cats because some tomcats meow more often than others. You should know that even if he cannot speak, it is his way of communicating with the world around him, whether it is with other animals or human beings. Here is without further delay all our advice to learn to decipher your meows:
The different types of meow
Cats meow in different ways, so it is not always easy to understand the language of our feline companion. But by force you will come to understand the different types of sound it will emit.
Remember, there is a difference between a cat that meows all the time and a cat that meows more punctually:
A meow of happiness
Most of the time, your pet will purr with pleasure, but depending on the animal, it may happen that the cat will meow. Simple to recognize since it will arrive during a happy moment which is also very sweet.
Because he’s angry
More often when he is in the presence of another animal, he is either angry or scared. He thus shows that he should not approach him and that he is ready to fight.
The chattering of teeth
This type of behavior only happens in rare situations, which is when it is stimulated by prey. He becomes a hunter when he sees for example a bird in the sky which is out of range. This can happen even when he is not going out, for example, if you have installed his cat tree right next to a window.
You wonder why he is doing this, strange chattering his teeth, is he trying to call the other animal or imitate it? Well in fact it’s a whole different story, that’s why it is good to be interested in the language of the cat. He practices doing this gesture as if he were holding the bird in its mouth to kill it. Immediately it’s less nice but it’s the animal world that wants that.
He is in heat
We must distinguish the female from the male:
- The female: impressive, you could almost confuse her meow with that of a human baby
- The male: he will meow to indicate to this female who is available
Open the Door
If you have an outside, you are bound to know this situation, your cat will meow because he wants to go out. He will be in front of the door or the window, impossible to go wrong, you have to open the cat to His Majesty.
Come play with me
He is bored, so he will get your attention so that you can spend a little more time with him. He will therefore speak to you in his own way to let you know that he wants to play with you. You can also buy an educational cat toy to have fun on your own, which is useful especially at night.
He is ill
If he meows more than usual, it may be because he is sick and has health concerns. If you have tried to do everything (stroke, play…) and he continues, it is strongly recommended that you consult the vet.
He meows at night
It is certainly the most disturbing time of the day when everyone at home is sleeping and their cat keeps meowing. Obviously, since there is no noise, we can only hear him and that can wake up the whole family.
But then, what to do? Is my cat hungry? Does he want to go out? Does he want to play? Should we open the door for him and let him enter the room? We do not really know how to do it and the risk would be to react badly and that it does not start again.
My cat is scratching at the door
I think everyone has been in this situation before, we close the bedroom door to sleep peacefully without our cat coming to rub against us while we are sleeping.
But suddenly, another problem appears: he makes long meows and scratches the door, annoying isn’t it?
Let’s not forget that the cat is a nocturnal animal, so it is more active at night, you have certainly heard it running around the house while you are sleeping peacefully.
It is nevertheless difficult to give a single answer because there may be many reasons, in all cases he wants to express a request:
- He is hungry or thirsty
- He wants to defecate
- He is stressed
- He wants to play
- He feels alone
- He wants hugs
- He does not smell well
- Quite simply because he wants to ‘talk’
How do I get him to stop?
Even though it is an apartment cat, it has kept the instincts of its ancestors who used to hunt after dark. He is also a formidable hunter in the dark, but then how to silence him?
We are not going to talk about the case of a health problem, it is in this case a punctual meow that should get your attention when it is not in its habit to have this kind of behavior. Here are our tips on how to react in the best possible way to this kind of situation:
- Do not move from your bed: The worst thing would be to act because if you leave your room he will understand that he has won and he is not likely to stop anytime soon, he will start doing this every day. You can insult him, he will only understand that you are talking to him. Do you put food on him to calm him down? Yes, it will work for a while, but it will start again later and the following night. So don’t reward it, so don’t do anything, your best bet is to ignore it.
- Take time for him before going to bed: Each feline is different, an adult cat will favor a session of petting and cuddling while an adult cat or a kitten will prefer a play session. do not play for a short time, you will have to tire him or you risk only exciting him. You can also leave games lying around so that he can have fun on his own and stimulate himself.
- Postpone the time of his meal: If he is hungry, he will necessarily let you know. You can do different tests, for example feeding it before going to bed. Once he has eaten well, he will have a beautiful and long night. If you have an automatic kibble dispenser, you can simply change his mealtime which will fall into the night before he gets hungry.