Cats Making Horrifying Noise at Night

er1n

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Hi everyone,

I'm new to this and new to cat ownership in general, so I'd very much appreciate your help.

We have two cats coming up on a year old, one male and one female, siblings from the same litter. They have always been joined at the hip, very affectionate and comforting to one another. The male cat started showing sexual interest in her a few months ago so we gave her a contraceptive hormone shot which should still be in effect. It had the side effect of making her very chilled out and less mischievous (and fatter!). He is not yet castrated but will be soon - he had a little virus so the vet delayed it. They do fight sometimes and she rejects his sexual advances but it never gets really nasty and they still get along great overall. Until last night. We were woken in the dead of the night by them both going crazy, making the *most* terrifying yowling noise like nothing we'd ever heard, a serious horror movie goosebumps sound, their tails puffed up, ears back. We had the shutters open and I wondered if they saw something outside? We live in a very rural area and we haven't seen other cats around, but there could be one, or of course wildcats. Then tonight same thing happened again just now (at 11pm), again they were at the window when it started but then they turned and yowled and hissed at each other too.

So sorry about the long post, just trying to record everything. My questions are a) Do you think it's likely they saw an animal outside and that set them off, or are they suddenly doing this to one another? and b) If they're doing it to one another should we be concerned that it could turn into a truly violent fight and so separate them at night?

Any thoughts welcome. Again, once we have him snipped I'd imagine this will calm their relationship in general, but I'd be interested to know if sibling, formerly very loving cats could turn on one another like this?

Thank you,

Erin
 
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er1n

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Oh, and I meant to add - she was yowling just as much as him, when usually she's extremely quiet, barely meows (he's very chatty) - so another possibility is her hormone shot is wearing off sooner than expected and she's coming into heat? Maybe?
 

arouetta

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Are there any plans to spay her?
 

lea98

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Um, I hate to say this but... i-it can be very possible that they are mating. Cats tend to "yowl" very loudly when this is happening, the male and female can hiss at each other afterwards. I had a friend in cat breeding and the two cats usually act angry at each other, until the male tries again. The mating can be very quick, less than a minute if interrupted but doesn't mean they won't try again. The "angry behavior" (puffed tails, hissing) is due to over stimulation. I hope I'm wrong, considering they're brother and sister.
 
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Willowy

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He may have tried something with her. The mating act is painful for female cats so she would likely be pretty mad at him. Hopefully her contraceptive shot is still working :/. Or, yes, they may have seen a wild animal from the window and took it out on each other. But him getting fresh seems more likely ;). Getting him snipped should help matters. It would be a good idea to spay her too as females are somewhat prone to reproductive troubles if not spayed.
 
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er1n

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Thanks everyone. They're definitely mating - he's up on her a lot which is why we gave her the hormone shot and will get him snipped soon - but they never make noises like this (usual meows and hisses only) and in this case there was no physical contact between them when the noises were being made. Or maybe there was at first and I missed it. It was just weird that it happened only at night when he's trying it on all day every day, and when they'd both been sat at the window. I guess it'll remain a mystery!

And yes we are almost certainly getting her spayed too. They're house cats so there's no risk of pregnancy for her once he's snipped but still it seems to be recommended regardless.
 

talkingpeanut

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Thanks everyone. They're definitely mating - he's up on her a lot which is why we gave her the hormone shot and will get him snipped soon - but they never make noises like this (usual meows and hisses only) and in this case there was no physical contact between them when the noises were being made. Or maybe there was at first and I missed it. It was just weird that it happened only at night when he's trying it on all day every day, and when they'd both been sat at the window. I guess it'll remain a mystery!

And yes we are almost certainly getting her spayed too. They're house cats so there's no risk of pregnancy for her once he's snipped but still it seems to be recommended regardless.
Can you separate them? There is the risk of injury, and this is painful for your female. Getting her spayed is important for her health.
 
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er1n

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Yes, we separate them when he's getting very, shall we say, 'insistent' and the last couple of nights we've separated them for the night after the strange noises. They hate being apart though and get stressed, so it's hard to find the balance. He's getting the snip a week today anyway, and then things will hopefully be much better. We're planning to have her spayed in a couple of months.
 

solomonar

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If you have time and possibility, I guess it will be very useful for other cats guardians to film the cats in yowling and post the movie on youtube. Such first-hand complete information is rather rare, despite the high number of cats everywhere.
 
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er1n

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It's funny you say that because we're looking just now and you're right - there's surprisingly very little. Probably because when it starts all you can think is to stop it, it's so creepy. A couple of videos titled 'demon cat' etc. that do sound just like ours, i.e. more like a child wailing and talking jibberish than a cat, but in different circumstances.
 

solomonar

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One way to proceed is to have the camera prepared (near the bed :-)) and start filming when happens.

I suppose that the evening before the tomcat shall show little interest in food, moving more than usually and being more aggressive than usually. So, that would be the time to charge the camera and make sure the SD has sufficient room. :-).

Still, this behavior is a supposition. Perhaps other cats guardians may be so kind to step in to describe the behavior of the cats the evening before the Big Night.
 

di and bob

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They may be seeing another animal out the window, especially where it happens at night around the same time. My cats also make the most ungodly yowls when they see another animal outside, unlike any other I've heard them  make. They COULD turn on each other, this misdirected aggression happens often in the cat world. They are frightened by something they can't get to, so they take it out on the nearest thing to them, another cat or even you. If they were mating you would see wet on the back of her neck from the male trying to hold her, and she would be always mad at him, not both scared and mad at the same time. I would block the windows if you can, and see if that helps. If it is a coyote, or something really harmful, make sure it can't get to them. I would bet it is another tom cat coming to visit, they can smell an unaltered female from miles away. 
 
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er1n

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Thanks Di and Bob. What you're saying aligns with my suspicions about them seeing something that scared them - the fact it was sudden and at night (he tries to mate with her all day long so that alone wouldn't explain it), that it happened by a window, and that the noise was unlike anything we've heard them make all leads me to suspect they got freaked by something they saw. We'll keep the shutters closed from now on. And no worries, they won't be encountering anything: they're not allowed outside unless we walk them on a leash like little dorks, too many poisonous snakes, lizards and wild cats and dogs here.
 

talkingpeanut

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Thanks Di and Bob. What you're saying aligns with my suspicions about them seeing something that scared them - the fact it was sudden and at night (he tries to mate with her all day long so that alone wouldn't explain it), that it happened by a window, and that the noise was unlike anything we've heard them make all leads me to suspect they got freaked by something they saw. We'll keep the shutters closed from now on. And no worries, they won't be encountering anything: they're not allowed outside unless we walk them on a leash like little dorks, too many poisonous snakes, lizards and wild cats and dogs here.
Again, I really hope that you will not just allow him to bother her and mate with her. They should be separated. Filming is not in your girl's best interest.
 
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er1n

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I think I've addressed this but to be clear, if he's bothering her (mounting her, biting her neck) we separate them. We can't separate them all the time because then they both get stressed. So we try to find the balance, and in a week he'll be castrated anyway.

No intention of filming them.
 
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