Whining for no apparent reason.

About a year and a half ago, I adopted a Maine Coon from the local shelter.

First of all, I must say he is the most well-behaved cat I have ever owned. He never jumps up where he doesn't belong (probably an account of his size) and always does his business in the box.

When I first got him, he would sometimes cry at night, which was understandable considering his previous living conditions and who knows what they were before that.

It's been over a year now and while the nighttime wailing is gone, he is still very vocal. He often wanders into another room and lets out a loud, mournful meow. Like a frightened parent, I will run to the other room to discover him just sitting there in the room looking at me or hiding behind the TV just staring at the corner.

Is there something he wants from me? Are these signs of something else? Or is he just messing with me?

That is something I have always wondered about my cat Barkley. With him as well the nighttime wailing is pretty much over but he will sometimes do as your little guy does and I dont know why that is either. He sounds distressed sometimes, especially if he is in the living room when he does it and Petunia and I are in the computer room. I know what you mean in how alarming it is when you hear them do that.

The part about hiding behind the tv doesn't sound quite right. Did he just start hiding recently? Has any other behaviors started recently? Even minor ones that don't seem that serious. Keep an eye on him just in case.
Or maybe something spooked him, now or in his past.

As for the whining when you're in another room, you have a vocal cat and he's learned how to make you listen.

Tomas does this to me too, except he cries like a baby kitten. I automatically respond to that noise no matter where I'm at or what I'm doing. Usually only to find him sitting in front of his food dish or unable to catch a fly.