Vocal Behavior

First time cat owner with some questions. I adopted a cat from the local shelter about a month ago and overall she has been great. It has gone far better than I ever could have hoped being a first time owner. There are a few things she has me stumped with though. I give her lots of attention and free run of the apartment so she does not have a restrictive environment.

Greta is a female Russian Blue about a year and a half old. The shelter did not have a clear history and the age is a guess. She was at the shelter about 5-6 months before I adopted her. I had her checked out at the vet I chose and the only problem was ear mites which have been clearing up with medication.

From day one, even while still getting familiar with the apartment, she has been very vocal in the kitchen area. Even with full bowls of food and water she is always meowing at me in the kitchen and I just can't seem to figure it out. Sometimes she stares at the food but does not go for it until I pick up the bowl and place it down again as if I did something for to it. She does not stop eating when I am gone as I can tell she eats the food during the day while I am at work.

More recently after she has been with me about a month and has settled in she has started becoming vocal with me whenever I am up walking around. She does not do it when I am sitting watching TV or at the computer but when I am up she is at my feet meowing. I give her lots of attention, I know she is eating and drinking and she has used the litter box from day one so at this point I just can't figure out what she wants. The vet says she's fine medically. My only possible guess is that she loves to sit and look out the windows in the apartment could it be frustration at not being able to go outside.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks.

I got a shelter kitty in december. She is still very vocal! Very. But, it does lessen the more secure she gets. Just give her time. She also feels comfortable to be alone for a while in a room. She used to realize we left a room she was napping in and come meowing for us, sounding real pitiful-like. Now she is alot better.

My Fiona likes me to do the same thing with her food as yours. Sometimes, to make sure she is eating well (she has feline herpes) i sit with her and watch her eat. I tell her (in a soothing tone-not a "lets play!" tone)she is a good girl and to keep eating. It works! LOL The things we do for love! Me and my roomate/sister think she has kitty A.D.D. She gets distracted easy.

It's sounds normal to me. Give your kitty time and lots of love. She sounds very companionable. She likes to chat. Chat with her My neighbors probably think i'm nuts.

Chat with her.mine does the same.she talks non stop-U cant stop her talking!She talks when she eats,when she says goodnight to me,when she runs around the house and now she talks to her kittens and its the cutest thing because they have only recently(nearly 6weeks)started talking back(heh heh)

If I had to guess, I might say she wants some different food. Have you offered her any canned food, or just dry? Maybe she likes wet food.

Or, maybe she needs a furry friend.

I assume the shelter confirmed that she is spayed. Some cats are just vocal, and what you described sounds like she's just talking rather than "calling" but...I thought I should ask.

I origionally went with dry food with everything going on with the recall. She was eating it in small bits but never really dove into it.

About two weeks ago I started mixing in some can food with some dry and she devours it pretty quick. She seems to eat her way to the bottom of the bowl but does not like the sides so I end up mixing up the rest back into the middle of the bowl and she will eat the rest. I am going to get a different style bowl for her food so she will hopefully eat it without me havng to mess with it to get her to finish it. She definately prefers the can to the dry so I am going to continue with that.

I learned that cats will avoid eating out of bowls that are too deep because it hits their wiskers. Their wiskers are very sensitive. Get a super shallow dish....or use a plate. That should help

As for food. I have been feeding my girl meow mix pouches. Don't think they have been affected at all by the recall and she absolutely loves them!

My Clyde will actually come wake me up at night and lead me to the bowl so I can keep him company while he eats! My understanding is that they do this because, when they were kittens, they always ate in a little pile, of course, with momcat licking them and everybody purring... so they just like having a dining companion or two.

And my Pearl is the noisy one! She announces every move she makes with the cutest little chirps and trills... and when she finds a toy in another room and decides to bring it to me, I can hear her coming all the way, mew mew mew mew mew mew MEW MEW MEWMEWMEW!!! It's just precious!

Try a shallow bowl or a plate - I use Correlle cereal dishes which seem to work well for food and water.

As far as the talking, maybe she wants a playmate cat to keep her company. I'm wondering if she really is Russian Blue, or maybe a mix - because RB's are pretty quiet cats - not that talkative.

I picked up a shallow plate and she is eating more of the food in one sitting without having to stir it up.

As far as the talking, overall she is quiet. The times she is vocal, mainly in the kitchen, at times even after she has eaten, it's tough to figure out what she wants. I spend a lot of time with her, enough that I have had to learn myself when she wants attention and when she wants to be left alone so I am not bugging her. I know she has bonded to me and is comfortable with me because now she will curl up in the bed right next to me when I sleep and nuzzle her head into my beard.

I think she gets a little excited looking out the window and not being able to go outside gets her a little frustrated and may have brought on the times when she was talking more than usual.

If you don't know her history, could it be that in the past she has gone hungry? Hence she is, for the moment at least, worried about when her next meal will come and so is begging by reminding you about food every time you get up? If so, the best thing you can do is make sure to be strict with yourself about establishing a routine and feeding her at the exact same times every day. She will eventually come to trust that she will be getting a next meal!

Some cats also are just more talkative than others. Are you sure she is a Russian Blue? Shelters often call a blue cat that even if they have no idea of its history, as a cat which they describe as being a particular 'breed' may seem more attractive to potential adopters. Blue cats aren't uncommon and occur in many different breeds as well as mixed cats of no breed.

Whether she is a Russian Blue or not I am not sure the more I research it. She has most of the traits except the bottle green eyes which is pretty much standard with the Russian Blue as I understand it. Here is a picture of her. The picture is a little dark and the fur appears much darker then she really is.




I have been sticking to a regular feeding schedule but my job requires me to switch from day to night shift monthly. This past week was the first time since having her that I switched over so the timing got thrown off a little but not greatly. I am trying to get the cycle down so the feeding times are close to the times I go to work and come home so the shift changes will least effect the schedule.

I am not too worried about it now the more I get accustomed to her and she to me. She is vocal but not screaming at me and we get along great so I think she is probably doing as some have suggested and just making sure I don't forget her.

Thanks for all the feedback.