is it possible?

nik16

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Do any of you know a way to teach your cat too shut up (dont mention physically because it still doesnt work)? It seems everytime someone in my family enters the kitchen, or even enters the house even though somebody else is in the house already, he (my cat) thinks that it means he must get fed (even though he already has). It's been year after year where he seems to be getting worse and worse. He is now 12 yet he still meows like his lost his leg (which he has 10 years ago). I would've thought the fact he would get older would mean he has a smaller amount of energy because of the fact his 12, but it seems like He's mutated seperatly too all other cats. I even counted the amount of meows he did in 10 minutes once and his results came too 100 meows. But he has his quiet moments as well (sleeping). Please help me if you know a way to treat the behaviour of my ill minded cat.
 

caitlin

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I hope you haven't been hitting him for meowing.
He's only trying to communicate with you. I would advise ignoring him. If he learns he gets no response he might stop..

Our cat meows everytime he thinks we might be feeding him, but I've learned not to hear it, and when I do, I just think "Gosh he sounds tiny." LOL
 

rockreno

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If his crying and energy have actually increased lately, he may have an overactive thyrod, which is common in cats after ten years of age. Hallmarks are voracious eating, kitten-like energy and crying, and weight loss. Vets will not always check their blood when you bring them in for a physical, so you might want to ask the vet to do a blood work up. Thyroid problems are easy to treat, with pills, radiation therapy, or surgery.
 

rosiemac

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I hope you havent been hitting him either?!.

Your cat isn't ill minded at all, but i would take him to be checked over by the vet, because unlike humans they can't tell us whats wrong with them, they rely on us.
 
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nik16

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nah i dont hit him (just the occasional push with the foot when he's in the way). and ignoring him definetely doesnt work
. But it was only yesterday when he attacked a possum (australian animal) which when he does this his quiet for 2 days, but now its 8 hours and his in the mood again, i dont even think he meows for hunger anymore.
 

james r

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I think he just loves you and enjoys talking to you. Treasure these precious moments with your special Little Friend.
 

miyas_mom

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How often do you play with him and give him attention? And I mean real one on one attention? Miya can be quite mouthy sometimes, and I know it's because she wants to play. This may or may not be the case with your cat, but I've learned that if a cat meows, they are doing it for a reason, not to annoy you.
 

obi

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Originally Posted by nik16

nah i dont hit him (just the occasional push with the foot when he's in the way). and ignoring him definetely doesnt work
. But it was only yesterday when he attacked a possum (australian animal) which when he does this his quiet for 2 days, but now its 8 hours and his in the mood again, i dont even think he meows for hunger anymore.
If you are certain he's getting enough to eat, then yeah, I second the notion that a vet check would be wise. I also second the notion that he could just be bored or feeling like he wants attention. By the way, we have opossums in North America, too.
Ugly little critters (sorry opossums, but it's TRUE!).
 

rosiemac

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As humans we don't like being ignored, so why should it be different with animals?!.

Your kitts wanting some love and attention from you i'd say?!.

Spend some quality time and play and talk with him and i bet you find a difference
 

tuxedokitties

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I 2nd the advice for a thyroid check - take him to the vet and ask the vet to run a senior blood panel on him & check his thyroid levels.

If he checks out as healthy, you could try setting aside time each day for pets & play to make sure he's getting enough attention.

When he gets meowy just ignore him completely (don't look at him, don't yell at him, don't pet him - no interaction at all as long as he's being noisy). Then (this is the tricky part) when you notice him being quiet, give him attention &/or a treat. Remembering to reward for being quiet can be tough, but it's very important if you want to reinforce the quiet behavior and not the loud.

I've been trying this method on my super-meowy Sylvestra for a while now, and it seems to be helping a bit. I think she'll always be a talkative cat as it's the way her personality is, but it's helped a bit to cut down on her wandering around the house howling endlessly for attention. Now she's just as likely to walk up & lay down near me & just give out a little chirp when she wants a pet.
 

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Sometimes Patches won't stop whining when she wants attention (or food). If she has food and has gotten lots of attention we usually say *sternly* "Patches STOP" and normally she'll get the last 'meow' in and stop.
 

solaritybengals

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Originally Posted by nik16

nah i dont hit him (just the occasional push with the foot when he's in the way). and ignoring him definetely doesnt work
. But it was only yesterday when he attacked a possum (australian animal) which when he does this his quiet for 2 days, but now its 8 hours and his in the mood again, i dont even think he meows for hunger anymore.
Wow this can be a difficult experience for a cat. Possum's are mean vicious creatures who can do a cat a lot of harm. When Clover gets into fights he sulks for a week so I kind of know what you mean. I don't have any advice to offer though other than what people said sounds pretty good. Autumn is a talker too but I've just gotten used to that. She dosen't sound that incessant though.

Edit: Actually when we first brought Autumn home she was that incessant to the point where we couldn't sleep at night (how easily I forgot those days). What we learned to do was when they meow to make a sharp Shhhh (loud and as sharp and not long). You need to catch it during mid-meow, not after. It acts like an interuption and works well when any of our cats do this. It tells them that its quiet time now and they are not to be noisy (mostly at night). During the day we don't care but if its really bad its worth a try. Its hard at first because you have to catch every single meow with this sound before they get the hint.
 

loveysmummy

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

I hope you haven't been hitting him for meowing.
He's only trying to communicate with you. I would advise ignoring him. If he learns he gets no response he might stop..

Our cat meows everytime he thinks we might be feeding him, but I've learned not to hear it, and when I do, I just think "Gosh he sounds tiny." LOL
Ok, when I saw your sig, it took me a few minutes to understand what a German Shepherd cat was...


I agree though...Rocky drives me nuts with his foodtime meows, but I tend to start singing and ignore him and he will stop..Try and take a couple deep breaths and de-stress and stop focusing on it..

That or I run over to him and say "Rocky? What? What? Timmy's in the well??? Well, let's go then!!"....He then looks at me like I am crazy and stops for at least a minute...
 

purr

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Is he an only kitty? My cat is an only kitty (but won't be soon) and as he got older, he started meowing for attention. When he was younger he was fine with the amount of attention he received from us and people when they come over, but then I think he just got bored with us! It could be that we don't spend as much time with him as we used to.

Your kitty might be lonely and/or bored. If you spend a lot of good quality time with him, playing and loving on him, he might not cry for it as much.
He probably meows when you go to the kitchen because he gets attention when you feed him, not because he wants to eat.
 

tuxedokitties

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Originally Posted by Loveysmummy

That or I run over to him and say "Rocky? What? What? Timmy's in the well??? Well, let's go then!!"....He then looks at me like I am crazy and stops for at least a minute...


Humor is helpful too!

Remember the Wendy's "Ranch Tooth" commercial? Whenever DH hears Sylvestra piping up, he says it sounds like she's saying

Ranch!...Raaaaaanch....mrwRanch?...Raaaaanch!....

and now it makes me giggle when I hear her & think of that.
 

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Originally Posted by nik16

Do any of you know a way to teach your cat too shut up (dont mention physically because it still doesnt work)? It seems everytime someone in my family enters the kitchen, or even enters the house even though somebody else is in the house already, he (my cat) thinks that it means he must get fed (even though he already has). It's been year after year where he seems to be getting worse and worse. He is now 12 yet he still meows like his lost his leg (which he has 10 years ago). I would've thought the fact he would get older would mean he has a smaller amount of energy because of the fact his 12, but it seems like He's mutated seperatly too all other cats. I even counted the amount of meows he did in 10 minutes once and his results came too 100 meows. But he has his quiet moments as well (sleeping). Please help me if you know a way to treat the behaviour of my ill minded cat.
My Dad always "disliked" cats. The cats were my Mom's pets. But whenever the cat would scratch on the furniture, he would open the door and say "get out of here!" Then when the cat jumped on the window screens, he would open the front door and yell at them to get down, as the cat waltzed into the house. The cats really didn't care that his words were harsh. They knew that if anyone else was near the door, they could meow to get in and out. But if they wanted Dad to open the door, they would scratch the furniture or jump up on the window screens.

I think you have the same situation. For the past 12 years, I would guess that your kitty has been trained to meow for food. Even if he doesn't get it every time he meows, he gets it often enough to know that it is a good idea to meow at people in the kitchen. We had a cat like that when I was a kid. Even if she had food in her bowl, she wanted a little more and would meow at us. (Especially Mom, who always fed her more. And never Dad, because he wouldn't feed the cat unless she asked when her bowl was empty.)

The only way you could stop or lessen this behavior, in my opinion, would be to stop feeding your kitty in the kitchen. Start feeding him somewhere else, and feed him on a schedule at specific times so he knows when to expect it. But good luck training every person in the house to quit giving in to the kitty. It might be easier to just feed the cat every time you are in the kitchen!
 

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Hi, my cat, Alley Katherine is 3 years old and she meows CONSTANTLY!! I think of it as her way of talking to me. I probably encouraged it when she was little by talking back and now as soon as I get in the house she talks and talks and talks. There's no stpping her. I'm getting to where I tune her out, but don't be mad. I know it gets annoying (my family will vouch for that), but he's like mine...very talkative!
 

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Originally Posted by Obi

If you are certain he's getting enough to eat, then yeah, I second the notion that a vet check would be wise. I also second the notion that he could just be bored or feeling like he wants attention. By the way, we have opossums in North America, too.
Ugly little critters (sorry opossums, but it's TRUE!).
aren't they, tho? saw one the other night on my deck, eating the ferals' food - looked like a giant rat!
 
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nik16

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Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

Wow this can be a difficult experience for a cat. Possum's are mean vicious creatures who can do a cat a lot of harm. When Clover gets into fights he sulks for a week so I kind of know what you mean.
lol its a bit different to me, usually there is no more possum left and he sleeps for the rest of the day, until he throws up and you know what?
he goes straight back to the kitchen
, thats when the sulking starts.

btw do any of your cats ever meow so much that the pitch of there meow becomes to weak to continue, usually going in high pitch and eventually till no sound comes out at all, until the next day?
 

rockreno

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Originally Posted by nik16

meow so much that the pitch of there meow becomes to weak to continue, usually going in high pitch and eventually till no sound comes out at all, until the next day?
Again, this makes me think there is some sort of distress . . . . Thyroid is the first that comes to mind, although some types of worms and parasites can deprive the cat of all nutrition (i.e., the worm eats up everything the cat eats), or some sort of vitamin deficiency. Has he been drinking more water than usual? If so, this would point to thyroid or perhaps kidney problems. I would ask the vet to run a full work up.
 
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