why does my cat meow like she's lost after she finishes eating?

Hi everybody! I'm a relatively new cat owner and frequent reader of this forum. I adopted my one-year-old about a month and a half ago from a rescue, and she is an absolute joy. She's spayed, indoors only, and an only cat.

Let me just start by saying that her post-eating meow calls aren't in any way a problem (in fact, they're rather cute)-- I'm just immensely curious as to why!

She loves her food, and gets very excited when I put her breakfast down, purring and wiggling in glee. When she finishes, she almost immediately starts making this meow call, like she's lost me. She's a fairly vocal cat, fond of making little, one-syllable mews whenever she jumps, is hungry, or is just saying hi. Strangely, she only meows with two or more syllables when I'm in the bathroom and she can't find me, or after she eats! Once she finds me, she jumps up to climb in my lap for snuggles, purring all the while. Here's a video of her making her calls (very short).

So, cat experts, any idea why she does this? My only theory is that she becomes so preoccupied with eating that she forgets to keep track of me, and when she's done, thinks I'm lost.

Welcome to the forums!  Your cat is just adorable and so very very sweet.  Her meows are a way of communicating with you.  She may want to call out to you since she seems very bonded with you.  Do you know anything about her previous home?  Did she come from a shelter or was she a stray?  Each time I have brought in a new cat, the cat follows me for months on end.  I always assume that they are worried they will be left behind again.  They found someone to care for them and they want to spend all of their time with you.  From my experience this disapates over time. 

Thank you so much for adopting her.  She is definitely a beauty.

Behaviorists believe it is a way of announcing that she has eaten and is satisfied.  So, in a way, it is a "Thank you" to you. 

to TCS!

Some cats are very communicative by nature. Our last cat rarely shut up and would even call me to come scoop his litter box after he'd used it. He had a special meow he only used when he wanted me to take him for a walk. Our current cat rarely meows, but has a whole repertoire of squeaks. :lol3:

Your cat may be saying the food was good or asking whether she can have some more.

I noticed a different meow when my Chrissy would 'kill' a straw and carry it around. I finally figured it out when I heard a 'mama' outside calling to her kittens when she brought a mouse, it was the same! Even though she had never had a litter she was calling her babies to eat, maybe yours is too. It was completely different and loud, it scared me when I first started hearing it, I thought she was hurt!

My little Marvin "meeps".  He never meows.  He meeps when he wants attention and goes on a "meep" explosion when it's time to eat.  It is just the cutest thing.  He also "meeps" when he jumps onto anything.  We call him "The Meepers". 

Cats are just so funny how they communicate with us and also with other cats.  I have heard that cats usually only meow to humans.  Two of my ferals always great each other with meows while rubbing up against each other.  I just love to hear each and every one of their sounds!

My blighty squeaks. He makes such a noise when he wants something squeaking non stop till he gets it. He should have been called squeaky! Lol.
whisky has the awful siamese meow.

Wow, thanks for all of your responses! I love reading about all of your chatty little munchkins.

ShadowsRescue- Aww, thank you! She really is the sweetest. She was a stray who came into the rescue pregnant, and had her babies (seven!) at a little under a year old. A few months after they were weaned, I found her page on petfinder and knew I had to take her home. She does follow me everywhere, and is very snuggly and affectionate. I hope this doesn’t completely dissipate!

Di and Bob— It’s funny that you mention calling to her kittens, because she didhave a litter prior to her adoption! But she only does it after she eats all her food, so I don’t know if that could be it!

Here are some more pictures of Juno, for anyone curious.

           

My female cat, Zoey, sounds identical to your cat and the way she communicates with me. Even if she is lying down when I pass by her, she will raise her head and meow, as to say hi. The night howls are somewhat scary sometimes because she loves to eat at 2:00am and she always wants to let me know when she is done eating. Obviously, this wakes me up from a deep sleep. She was a rescue cat between one and two years old, declawed and an inside cat.  She has never been outdoors and has no desire to venture out.  If I am outside, she will sit on the window sill and look out at me and meow. She has several distinctive calls and I have learned to recognize them all over the years.. I rescued her over nine years ago. I don;t know what kind of environment she was in before I adopted her. I love her dearly, but i have not had an uninterrupted night's sleep since I adopted her but she is a great companion to me.

My cat does the same, I adopted his mum who was destitute hungry and cold, took her to the vet, got her vaccinated etc and after a few months of good food realised she was pregnant! I nearly had a heart attack when she gave birth to 2 kids, now I had 3, the vet thought she'd been neutered but what a mistake! Anyway, I gave one kitten to my sister - I eventually gave the mum to a very caring couple and kept the boy, he's now like my own son. Here