October 2013

Dylan & Russell my Bengal cats have been meowing excessively; it has been enough to drive me mad. But after reading some cat behaviour books and forums on the Internet I managed to deal with the problem. So I thought I’d share the advice for others who maybe struggling with cats that meow excessively. 1. Identify the Cause of the Meowing The first thing to do with cats that meow excessively is to identify the cause of their meowing. Cats meow for a number of reasons including: hunger, thirsty, wants the cat litter changing, illness, attention seeking, wants to play, loneliness, stress and horniness.

I made a list:
Hungry? No. Food always in bowl.
Thirsty? No. They always have fresh clean water in their bowl.
Wants the cat litter changing? No. clean and emptied regularly.
Illness? No signs or symptoms of illness. They are eating, drinking, using the cat litter as usual and no other change in their behaviour.
Attention Seeking? Possibly. They meow excessively when they here me come through the front door and as soon as they see me. They usually stop meowing when I give them attention.
Wants to play? Possibly sometimes. I can tell as their tail is up high with the tip swishing from side to side.
Loneliness? Unlikely. There’s two of them, so they always have one another for company.
Stress? Unlikely. Nothings changed that would cause them to be stressed.
Horniness? Nope. Both of my boys have been neutered.

2. Address the Cause of the Meowing Next you need to address the cause of their excessive meowing. Work your way down the list like I have. Hunger, thirsty and cat litter changes should be top of your list to check and sort. If you’re worried about illness a trip to the Vet might be in order. I don’t mind a vocal greeting from my cats when I come home, but their excessive meowing was like a baby.

I decided it must be attention seeking, as giving them attention shut them up. But the more attention I gave them, the worse their meowing would be the next time.

I started ignoring my cats when they were meowing and showering them with attention when they were quiet. It was a bit of trial and error and it took them a while to get the message, but they eventually did. It seems to be working as they have really calmed down on their excessive meowing.

3. Things to Note All cats are individuals and as such some will naturally be more vocal than others. Your cat may just like the sound of his/her own voice. Still there are strategies you can put in place to modify his/her behaviour. It is worth noting that some breeds of cats are known to be very vocal. However bengals (my cats breed) are not particularly known for being vocal.

Blog soon,

Antony

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