Very Loud, Deep Meow. Almost a howl...

milo89

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I have a male cat. 8 years old. neutered. slightly overweight. Sometimes he makes very loud and deep meow noises, it's almost like a howl. It can only be described as 'aaauuUU' with a very heavily accented 'U'. He's had kidney stones before but he doesn't seem to be in pain. He only does it out of sight and stops right away if you catch him doing it. Other than that he's fine and very charismatic. Sound familiar to anyone?
 

leospet

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OMG! that's what i'm on the computer looking for info on... my cat is doing exactly that! you even got his "howl" down! he's 5 years old and neutered and he lives with another cat (since he was 1 and the other cat was a kitten).... he's always been talkative... i moved about 3 weeks ago though and ever since ALL night he meows/howls his head off.... i really don't know what to do about it... he has food, water, toys, litter, a buddy to play with.... i keep my door open if he wanted to sleep with me... he has his blankets and stuff... people have said by 3 weeks he should be adjusted... he doesn't seem to need anything... i wake up (like i have a choice!) and he just keeps going.... i was thinking today that he doesn't do it much when i'm around and up, only when i'm sleeping... but today i got home from work and it seems like for the next hour he was howling quite a bit! don't know if i just noticed it more or what... i fed him, gave him water, and he kept meowing.... now he's quietly sitting on my bed sleeping with his head up as only cats can do (and quiet!)

what does this mean??? you mentioned kidney stones.... i was thinking that too... how did you know your cat had them?? his appetite is normal and he's drinking water... i haven't specifically seen him use the bathroom but i wasn't really watching either and there's 2 so i can't be certain.. i do know he meows lot in the bathroom and he's taken to unrolling my toilet paper....

he needs to be sedated to see a vet so i'm trying to rule out all options before i put him through that... i'm thinking of an in-house vet too.

indoor only too (fyi)
 

weldrwomn

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When Marcie does this, it generally means that I have disappeared and she is trying to find me. It sounds so hollow and loud and creepy that the hairs on my neck stand up
 

beturtlement

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Heh.. I call that the yelling meow.
Niko will start that if he's been calling for me to play, but I'm busy and ignore him. It goes from a very baby-soft, "question" meow to that yowl you described. I'll also get that when I shoo him out of my room (usually for doing something naughty) and he'll toss it at me from the hallway as if to get the last "talk back" word in.. or at least, that's how I take it.
 

ilpav

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My cat has been doing EXACTLY that for the past year or so. He's has these "phases" where he won't do it for months and then he will start again.

He's 2.5 years old and I had him since he was 3 months old. He isn't neutered and we don't plan to neuter him anytime.

When he does this, he usually goes into the basement (maybe he's smart enough to know that a loud noise in the basement can be heard all around the house because of the ventilation system
) and does either a normal loud meow or a very low-pitched meow, or like a howl like you said.

He's very healthy and lovable when he's normal; he eats right and uses the litter box regularly.

Also, he can tend to pee somewhere in the basement (unfinished basement with lots of junk in boxes) when he does this; does that mean he's like giving us a sign that he's not happy with us because he doesn't get any attention?
 

mrblanche

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Our Sterling does that. Almost a broken-hearted cry. He does it when Dottie goes out the door, and he thinks he's been abandoned. It's loud enough we can hear it outdoors!

It means he can't find her, and feels like he's been abandoned again (we got him from the shelter). As soon as he sees one of us, he quits.
 

jaffacake

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Maisie used to do that when she was living in the bedroom. She usually did it at night but when I looked she`d be yowling at a toy



Now Sooty is in the bedroom and I know from where he was before that he does it when he is alone and shut in. I have a baby gate up for him but he will still do it if he can`t see me. I call him and he stops. It is very loud though!
 

clpeters23

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Rocky, who's 10, does the same thing when he wants to play. The howling will always bring one, if not both of his "siblings" running over and the chase is on.
 

gingersmom

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Max calls like that when he's in the mood to play and wants Baby Bonnie to come and play with him. He won't come look for her, instead, he stands on the stairs and hollers until she goes looking for him.

If I ask him what's wrong, he sends back a very tiny, innocent "maow."
 

david's steph

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My Dave (who is around 10) has had chronic constipation problems (megacolon?) for years now, and when he does this, I know he has to make a boom-boom..It either hurts him or he feels like he has to "go", and he gets scared..
 

mikehong

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That sounds like my Obie! He does it when he's playing with his favorite toy. He'll bat it around, chase it, bat it some more. Then pick it up in his mouth and..... "aaaaaauuuUUUUU!" a few times as he goes to another room. Put it down, and do it all over again. He stops when he catches us watching him and continues when we look away.

Health wise, he's fine. My girlfriend thinks he's just expressing how much fun he's having.

The other two cats don't seem to mind him doing this and leave him alone.
 

desertjewel

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Originally Posted by milo89

I have a male cat. 8 years old. neutered. slightly overweight. Sometimes he makes very loud and deep meow noises, it's almost like a howl. It can only be described as 'aaauuUU' with a very heavily accented 'U'. He's had kidney stones before but he doesn't seem to be in pain. He only does it out of sight and stops right away if you catch him doing it. Other than that he's fine and very charismatic. Sound familiar to anyone?
Can I ask a question? How old was he when you neutered him?

We had a cat named Geo that had a really deep meow that was almost musical. I would go to feed all the kitties, and Geo would tag along after me singing away!
It was hilarious! He sounded like a bass singer!
 

maruutah

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My Floyd does this for short spurts of time..but always is just wanting attention.

BUT....!!!
Last night, I have NO idea what happened. He started up as he usually does, cause we go to bed and he sometimes gets lost...! But once I yell "Floyd! BEDTIME!" I hear him jingle his way to the room. Last night, however, this did not work a bit. He would not stop with the mewing, the howling, it kept on for a couple of hours til my boyfriend decided to go sleep on the couch, in case that is where Floyd wanted to be. Nope, still kept mewing. I changed his food, water, even his litter, and still he kept mewing. No matter what we did he would not stop. That started all around 9 pm, and lasted until I left for work this morning at 6:30 (without a wink of sleep)

Any ideas, health wise, what would cause this at all?? This is far from his normal behavior..
I am worried about my little guy.

he is 1.5 years old, I got him as an infant almost (rescued at 4 weeks old), and I am "mom" to him...! He is not sterilized, but he has never, EVER acted this way..could it be a health problem??? He hates the vet, I am also trying to avoid this trip..if I can
 

mrblanche

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Bad news/good news. He needs to be neutered. All he has to do is smell a female in heat outside, and you will get exactly the result you described.
 

maruutah

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I hope thats the case, but oddly enough: The apartments I live in don't allow cats.. I had to pay a hefty deposit to get him in here, as well as provide a Dr note for "pet therapy" (anxiety) to keep him here. I am hoping he did somehow smell a cat outside, but I am in MN, and its been under 20 degrees every night for a while..Not sure how he would have smelled one with windows shut.. but next paycheck I planned to get him neutered anyhow... ^-^
 

kittehmeowmeow

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My cat, Luke (age 6, fixed, fat cat, lives with 2 others), does the same thing. I call it his "mommy meow"... he's just looking for me and wants loving. Im sure your cat is doing the same.
 

rosiemac

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Jack does it, and it's when he brings a toy to me in his mouth. When l first heard him l thought he was in pain, but l get it several times a day with a lot of toys at my feet
 Clever boy!
 

p3 and the king

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I have a unique perspective, but my kitty I had growing up, Angel (we named him that because he was solid white and looked like an angel)... Anyway, he started howling like that when he started losing his hearing.  Have you noticed that he seems to be "out of sorts", as well?  We just noticed Angel howling a lot and also when we would call him, he wouldn't always come.  But, more than that, he'd be sleeping and we would be talking to him and he'd feel our vibrations or we'd pet him and he would jump.  When we finally took him to a vet, we found out he could hear next to nothing and he was almost completely blind and very nearsighted. 
 
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