New (old) cat won't stop meowing, help!

First, some background regarding a very difficult night.

I rescued Jasper when he was 4 months old, in July 2011. He was a very quiet, easy going kitten. I had him neutered when he was a year old and he remained the same cheerful quiet cat. A year after I got him, I broke up with my then partner and moved houses, taking him with me. In the new house, he was an outdoors cat. One day he disappeared, shortly before I moved in with my next boyfriend. I searched for months but never found him. In my boyfriend's flat we ended up rescuing two more female cats who are now spayed and very much indoor cats.

I found Jasper again when I came across an appeal for foster home on Facebook, a full year after I lost him. The post was asking for someone to take care of a "stray" male neutered cat, who had a dislocated shoulder and a cut paw. I immediately went to see this cat, and it was Jasper. A kind lady had been feeding him in her building. We figured he wandered on the other side of a very busy main road and couldn't find his way back. My first action upon finding him was to take him to the vet, and then let my best friend (who works at that vet) foster him until I figured out what to do with our other two cats. He was very quiet and non-intrusive at my friend's house, probably because he was shy. Then he escaped my friend's house through an open window and it took me another four days to find him again. So as soon as we were reunited (again!) I took him home with me.

Our two female cats are really not happy about the new addition. Cheez, the younger, is territorial and she usually will pee on sofas and beds if she feels threatened. Thankfully it didn't happen this time. They hissed and avoided him and he avoided them. But my quiet Jasper turned into a talker. He purrs constantly, chases after me, gets anxious when I leave the room and meows, meows, meows. Last night was his first night with us. Neither me nor my boyfriend got any sleep. The flat is very small so separating the cats prior to first introduction wasn't very easy and it couldn't be done for the full week before face to face introduction, as the video tutorials on YouTube said.

Jasper meowed all the time. From late afternoon when I got him home until this morning, he yelled like a cat in heat. Today we took him to the vet again, to see if there's anything causing him pain, if he injured himself again in his latest escapade. The vet sees nothing wrong except his dislocated shoulder, which he will x-ray tonight and we'll know if there's anything we can do about the shoulder (the vet doubts it, says it's an old injury).

It's also worth mentioning that I didn't give him all the food he wanted last night after he hadn't eaten for 4 days. I was worried it would upset his empty stomach so only gave him a handful of sensitive digestion kibble with a minimum of 30 minutes intervals. I was careful to only feed him after he was quiet for 5 minutes or more, which wasn't often, but he ate. Then he went on this meowing mission and at first only stopped if I went close to him. Halfway through the night, even that didn't work. He'd curl next to me and purr and meow, like talking to himself, or to me.

I'm very reluctant to go through another night like this, especially since I'm on doctor's orders to take it easy as the stress in my life is overwhelming. What does this sound to you guys? Is this normal? Is there any hope? Is there anything I can do tonight to help Jasper and ourselves? The flat is not mine, it belongs to my boyfriend, and he's right when he says three cats is perhaps too much for such a tiny space, but we want to try everything we can before looking at alternative options for Jasper.

What can we do??

PS: I'm sorry for the long post!

It was his first night in a new place.  He is probably very scared.  Also there are two other cats living with you that probably do not like him or want him there.  The first thing I would do is to spend extra time with Jasper.  He needs reassurance and love from you.  He has been abandoned, found a new home, moved to a foster care and now with you.  He has no idea where he is to be.  He needs time to adjust.  Lots of time.  If you have too much stress in your life this may be too much.  He will require time and patience to get used to you, bf and the cats.  Unfortunately you cannot expect him to just settle back to his old self.

A few things you can try ( although I don't know if they are available where you live)

1.  Feliway plugs ins and spray.  This will help to calm him and the other cats too.  I use both as the plug ins sometimes doesn't cover enough area.

2.  Calming treats or liquid.  I use a product called Liquid Composure max.  It helps to calm the cat when they are anxious from stressful situations.

3.  Rescue Remedy or other flower essences to help with some of his issues.  He most likely has abandonment issues, he also was injured and that might be trauma.  Take a look at Jackson Galaxy Spirit Essences.

All of the above suggestions take time.  They are not a quick fix.  They take days to weeks to months to work.  They also require time and patience from you and the bf.  It may be a stressful time until he adjusts and your other cats adjust.

There are guidelines for introducing cats.  If you choose not to follow the guidelines you may have other issues such as fighting, peeing, marking, yowling, etc.. to deal with since the cats do not know how to react to each other.

Here is an article on cat to cat intros

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-ultimate-yet-simplified-guide-to-introducing-cats

I hope that Jasper can learn to trust and learn to be loved again. 

Thank you for taking the time to care and ask for help. 

Thank you for the very helpful reply. I was in such a bad psychological state yesterday that I really needed to hear that his behaviour is justified and reasonable given the extreme change of circumstances he's been in.

Last night was much better. I got him back from the vet (he is not in pain, as it turns out) and spent some time isolated in the bathroom with him. When he had his medication and he relaxed, I went to the living room and let him follow me. He slept on the sofa and one of our female cats (Ham) came to sniff him and check him out, then slept on the opposite end. Cheez preferred her high spot up on the cupboards and spent the evening there looking down.

When we went to bed I kept him isolated and he calmed down after a while and slept through the night.

This morning he resumed his meowing. He meowed wanting to be let out. I let him have a supervised run of the veranda and kept an eye out on him. He seemed to enjoy that very much, and kept looking longingly at the street below. If I can cat-proof the veranda, I think he might prefer being outside in the sunshine rather than indoors. That's what he's used to, after all.

There are no herbal remedies for cats in Cyprus... Pet culture is not very common. Cats especially are treated as pests. Dogs are used as hunting instruments, or as a substitute to human babies. Animal behaviour and training are obscure terms. I'll check the Jackson Galaxy website and see if there's shipping for here!

In any case, all things considered I think there has been monumental improvement since last night, and hopefully every day it will get a little bit better until he's settled down and happy.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of Jasper


I just realised... I had posted a picture of Jasper before he went missing last year, when I was at this forum asking for help with a fading rescue kitten. How different he was back then! The kitten is now a full grown cat, and wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for the precious advice of this forum

If you can make a safe place (escape proof) for him out on your veranda that would be great for him.  Yet realize that he may want more freedom and try to escape and may try to return to his previous home.  That is just a cats nature.  His territory was there and for awhile he may try to escape to get back there.  Just watch that he is safely kept inside.  I have a large pet tent I ordered from Amazon that my cat uses to sit outside on our deck.  Maybe you could find something similar.

Do you have pet stores in Cyprus?  You might be able to find a calming remedy there.  They aren't herbal remedies just treats that contain vitamins and minerals that help the body produce amino acids that hep to calm the cat. 

Can you order from Amazon? 

I bet he will begin to calm as long as he has lots of love and patience.  Just watch him carefully when he is outside.  You could also try a cat harness.  Just be sure it is secure enough. 

Hey again, thought I'd post an update on how Jasper is doing.

After two weeks of love and affection (and the occasional ignoring him when he gets too annoying), he's settling in.

We still go through the occasional fit of yowling when he remembers that he wants to be vocal, but overall he's more than happy to chill on the sofa with us. Unlike the first couple of days, he now comes to me if I call him when he starts meowing. He used to completely block everything and just meow as loudly as he could, but now he'll actually change his pitch and approach me for cuddles when I call his name.

This doesn't mean all is quiet at home, it's not, he'll still tell me his life's story every chance he gets, but overall it's a much more peaceful household. He's undergone surgery to fix his injured paw pad so we use the bandage changing time as an opportunity to soothe him and give him lots of cuddles. He takes everything in his stride and purrs peacefully even though I'm sure his dislocated shoulder and bleeding paw must hurt like hell. He doesn't try to get away from us and lies there with his belly up and his leg up in the air and lets us clean his wound and apply fresh bandages.

At night time I keep him in the bathroom with his sleeping pillow, and he'll only meow for about 20 minutes before giving up and going to sleep. I don't want to keep him in the bedroom with us, as Cheez is still hissing at him and will slap him every chance she gets. Our bedroom is quite small and I don't want to risk her injuring his already hurt eye further. He seems to have adapted to this quite well.

Overall, he's much, MUCH more relaxed and affectionate. He's picked his areas of the house where he prefers to sleep, and our cupboards (which aren't accessible to him because he can't jump) are now safe places for Ham and Cheez to escape if they decide they need their alone time.

The one thing I appreciated the most is that he seems to sense when I'm distraught. My dog passed away on Thursday and I was in pieces, and during the times when I was crying he'd be quiet and come to my lap to purr loudly and lick my hands. This seems to me like a good sign that he's reading me and it has helped us bond.

I'm looking forward to much happier times in the future. Meanwhile I'd like to once again thank you for your posts and encouragement and useful advice, you were spot on when you said he didn't feel at home and would need some time to settle in.

Thanks so much for updating.  I am happy to know that Jasper is settling back in with you.  It does all take time and patience.  He seems to once again be a happy cat.

I am sorry for the loss of your beloved dog.  It is very painful to lose a member of your animal family.  You will be in my thoughts.