Cat meowing all the time...

[MissKitty]

What do you do for a cat that cannot stop meowing day and night. At first I thought it was a need for attention but this cat keeps meowing all the time all day long and even with the tv on, she meows even louder. I know there are things for dogs to stop them from barking but what about a cat? I adopted her from a shelter and I gather that is the reason she was given up.
She has food/water/bed ect but cannot stop meowing and I have never had a cat like this...I have had cats that meow a lot but this cat doesn't seem to stop at all and I wonder if her voice will konk but so far it hasn't.

[winterroo]

I have a cat that is a non stop meower also. Drives my hubby nuts. He has gotten much worse in his old age too. I have no words of wisdom I am afraid...

[goldiphlox]

Is she spayed? sounds like she's in heat.

[drubaby]

Medical Condition?

Your kitty may have a medical condition going on. Have you asked your vet? He may want to run some bloodwork. Is there anything else out of the ordinary going on with her? How is her appetite/drinking/activity level/weight? I know at least one medical condition which can contribute to meowing or yowling. Hyperthyroidism. I would recommend seeing a vet, it may be something serious.

[SiotehCat]

Oh, I feel for you. I have four cats, and two of them are unspayed females. One of my girls sounds like a duck and the other one im sure can be heard for blocks. If you got your cat from a shelter, chances are that she is already spayed. You might want to check with a vet to see if there is anything wrong with her. Anything that can be making her uncomfortable. Is she eating the food that you are giving her?

[redbird]

check it out.

My cat started doing that till it drove me nuts.
TUrned out he is very animic, and even his gums and nose were
very pale.
We are doing tests to see what is causing it.

[MissKitty]

Well the place I adopted her from has a vet which is the same vet that this cat used prior to her owners giving her up. She is spayed and she is an elder cat and I gather she might be lonely too. I work most days and I do know her previous owners were retired and had a large home and hired staff and thus they never had to leave home for everything. They just decided they didn't want her anymore and I did wonder if her meowing finally drove them overboard with her.
So as far as the vet, she is okay.
Her meowing can turn into cries that sound much like a human child. She cries constantly and sounds like she is desperate for something. The cats I have had before meowed but only for food or something but this cat is just non stop.
Its so bad that I have to put her in the basement overnight because at night is when she really belts out and it isn't pleasant to hear at 3am. Some nights she near gave me a heart attack, I would be fast asleep and then she would just belt out a child like cry in the night and my heart would jump. It sounds like a child getting hurt. So I have to put her in the basement and I can hear her cry down there too but at least its drown out a bit.
I bought a radio and had the classical station on but that did no good. I even put the tv on animal planet but that did no good.
I don't know if she was like this with the previous owners and is sad that they are not in her life anymore (by their own choice) or if she is just one of these cats that cannot stop crying.

[cassidy1]

There was a cat with this issue on Animal Planet, elderly, recenty adopted, etc. The behaviorist had the family find a spot in the house that the cat would be limited to, had them set up a very cozy bed and stick to a routine. The feeling was that the cat had a degree of senility and needed a spot that she knew well, wouldn't get confused about where she was. When they did the re-visit it had helped tremendously. The other thought was possibly a sedative since it was a condition that wasn't going to get better but probably worse and better to help with medication than loose a home. Hope this helps

[Helly]

How long have you had her? I suppose it could be possible that she feels lost in her new environment and she's calling for her previous owners. Another thought; did the previous owners have another cat? If so, she could be calling for her friend. I used to have a couple of cats, and that if one of them had to spend the night at the vets, the other one would cry like that until I brought the missing cat home.

If everything checked out fine at the vets, you might try something like Feliway or Quiet Moments to calm her down a bit.

[Poodlefluff]

I think the bed time routine is a good idea. It may help at night. Cats take a while to adjust. If it gets too unbearable you could squirt her with a water bottle when she starts meowing constantly. But that may make her associate you with squirting water and not go near you. But I don't think I could deal with a cat that never shut his mouth sooo I am leaning toward water.

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

It seems to me that the cat is meowing so much it isn't even sleeping. Am I wrong? If that is the case, there is something wrong with that cat! Every animal needs sleep, so that is what makes me think something is wrong with the cat.

Tammy in Utah

[Jadenlea]

Have you considered getting another cat? Last summer when my 16 yr old Austrailian terrier died my cat meowed for weeks... nonstop.. just paced the house looking for him meowing. Makes me wonder if your cat is searching for something or lonely.

It broke my heart AND made me want to kill her at the same time. hehe thank god she finally stopped and much to my jack russel terriers dismay has now attached herself to the jack. (she hated the jack before the aussie died) Its funny. she really isnt a people cat, no matter how much I pet her or hold her she doesnt care for it.. she just wants another dog. maybe your cat is like that too?

[MissKitty]

The cat sleeps I am sure when I am out which is most of the day. I leave in the morning and come back later in the day and when I come in thats when the meowing seems to start. I don't know though if she does meow when no one is here.
In her previous home there was another cat that she lived with her entire life. The only thing I know is that the two cats lived in two different parts of the house by choice. This cat liked one side and the other cat liked the other but who knows, thats what the owner had said. The previous owners just dropped her off one day, they decided they didn't want her anymore.
I do like the idea of sectioning her off in a dedicated area. I don't know if that would help.
As far as time, I have had her now since October and she seems to be getting worse.
I thought it was attention at first since her previous owners were around all the time but even when she is in the room with me, on my lap, anywhere she continues to meow meow meow.

[Luvkitties]

I would be curious as to if the kitty meows when you are not home. Maybe you need a camera to record her daily activities....hmmmm?

I know you must be going crazy with the constant meowing. It reminds me of a baby that has colic, like my first child. I could feed her, change her diaper, give her gas drops etc... and she would still cry. I thought I was a bad parent and that I was going out of my mind!

Keep us up to date!

[winterroo]

I kind of wonder if my cat isn't senile. He has always been a talker, but has gotten horrible in his old age. He is usually down in my shop, and seems more content down there as the meowing gets really bad upstairs. He is roughly 15-16 years old...He doesn't seem unhappy or in pain, just noisier than he used to be (which was relatively noisy also!). I just try to keep him down there most of the time.