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This May Be a Dumb Question

post #1 of 8
6/23/10 at 6:23am
Thread Starter 
We used to have a dog if he was barking you could coax him down to a "whisper". Is there any way to train your kitties to do this? Majel has absolutely no volume control and has to scream at the top of her lungs when she talks. I love her being talkative, but sometimes in the wee hours of the morning it's a bit much.. like before it's even light out...

Might be a silly question, but I thought I'd ask.
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post #2 of 8
6/23/10 at 6:31am
Hmmmm.....I don't know. Cats are capable understanding much more than most people realize so it surely is worth a try, if you can figure out how to do it.

I think Jennie must have had a bad dream last night. She got up in the middle of the night, just calling and calling. She hasn't done that in a long time, she used to do it every night when she first came.

Finally I woke enough to call to her and she came to bed and curled up in the curve of my stomach and slept peacefully the rest of the night. I don't like to think about what she may remember or what she has been through before she found me.
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post #3 of 8
6/23/10 at 6:36am
There aren't any dumb questions on this forum btw......

I never thought to try this, but I suspect you could try some redirective behavior modifications. When she cries loudly, distract her with something else so that she starts doing a different behavior rather than crying out.

Do you have conversations with her at all? I have these with some of mine and we meowl back and forth with each other, and the sound that either of us makes is a mimic of the previous meowl. With Muddy, if I meowl very loud, he does it in return, and if I want it to tone down, I tone it down. It does work sometimes.
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post #4 of 8
6/23/10 at 6:37am
Thread Starter 
Otto: I know exactly how you feel. Maybe if I could find a way to make it a game for her, but I don't want her to feel that I don't want her talking to me, just control her volume. She's louder than my alarm clock and that's saying a lot! LOL She even does it when she wakes up from little naps sometimes, "MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!"

I'm trying to come across in the most obvious manner through text the volume of the situation. LOL It's comical until you're sleep deprived. Then it's just worrisome.

And yes, I always meow back at my cats if they're loud. I guess that's reinforcing it which is probably bad... Unless it's like wee hours of morning and then I just talk really really quiet to her. "I love you, it's okay baby." Which might be reinforcing it too.

She's just a little slower mentally then I'm used to, and I want her to feel as comfortable as possible so maybe I'm catering to her too much? Not really sure. She has a learning disability in some respects I think, and I don't like to think of what she went through before she came home with me, but she did come in with a slit ear and a sprained tail which didn't heal properly.
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post #5 of 8
6/23/10 at 6:37am
I have no clue. Other then a "shhh" or "quiet down" - there's not much you can do.

If my two get in a squabble, we usually just hollar "knock it off guys" and they stop.
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post #6 of 8
6/23/10 at 6:45am
Thread Starter 
When she talks to me it's because she wants solace or she's really really happy. So I talk back to her. Now if she's fighting with her brother I break that up. Doesn't happen very often but she gets REALLY vocal. It's funny but her voice is a lot deeper than Mandarin's, and she's the girl! LOL
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post #7 of 8
6/24/10 at 9:13pm
I have always found that when I say "PSSST" when Chester is doing something he shouldn't it works. Usually anyway, there are sometimes when he just ignores me. He can be a early morning yowler too, mostly because he wants an early breakfast.

Maybe give it a try. Good luck!
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post #8 of 8
6/24/10 at 9:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
If my two get in a squabble, we usually just hollar "knock it off guys" and they stop.
I'll do that too if any of them are too loud/fussing. Earlier I was trying to talk to my DH and had four cats meowing loudly in the room with us. I finally, not quite yelled, "BE QUIET!" and they stopped. It was getting to the point where they were making me talk faster and faster and mixing up my words trying to talk over them.


Trying to get a particular cat to meow softer depends on the cat. I have some that I can talk to and if I keep responding back more quietly each time to them they'll lower their meow to match. This only works when they're wanting attention, not when begging for toy/my food/ item on my desk they can't have/etc.

And yes, I meow and talk back to mine, too. I'm sure it doesn't help.

Overall, a demanding cat has no volume control.
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