Meow

Help! I just got a new kitten yesterday (7 1/2 weeks), and he won't shut up! To start with, he meowed when doors were closed on him when we put him to bed, but today, he meows all the time. Even when he's eating, when it's muffled and quite funny actually. But that's beside the point! I can understand him being scared when we're not here, but why does he do it when we're in the same room?

Thinking of calling the cat "Donkey". It's getting him to shut up that's the trick! (For those of you who know Shrek lol)

he probably does it cuz he's a liddle baby! probably scared and wondering how the heck he got there... I bet ya it'll subside in a coupla days. :tounge2:

Well he doesn't act scared. And it's pretty much non-stop, like every second. I think he's eventually learning that if he miaows when he's put to bed, noone is going to answer, and it takes a good 10 minutes for him to stop. But as soon as anyone makes a noise, he's off again. Very frustrating.

At 7.5 weeks, they don't understand where their mothers went or thier siblings. They get stressed, confused and scared. Weather they seem scared or not, they are. They are trying to figure out whats going on. With a kitten that small, in order for them to feel secure, they need to feel as if they are with someone all the time. I would try keeping him with you when you can, you can also invest in a stuffed playmate for him. As he grows up, he will become more secure.

My kitten did the same thing when I brought him home. I put cosmo in a cat carrier w/a blanket in my bedroom. Then, I covered the carrier w/a blanket to keep the light out. My logic was that the darkness would calm him and being in a small space would make him feel safer. Kittens are so much fun, I am so jealous.

Whenever introducing any pet to a new environment, experts have always maintained that starting them off in a small room with the door closed for about two weeks, then slowly allowing them into other parts of the house, is the best way. Doing it in stages is less overwhelming; it gives your pet time to really absorb his/her surroundings and become more familiar with them. If you let your pet have free reign over everything, all at once, it may seem like a good thing, but he/she may actually be non-visually intimidiated and stressed.

Well at the moment he sleeps and stays in the bathroom when we're not home. When we're home he has free reign except for where he can get into trouble. Doesn't stop him meowing even when he's sitting in my lap! Still haven't thought of a name to yell after the "Shut up" bit though!

I hope you're not serious about yelling at your cat to shut up. There's obviously something he's trying to share with you, and he needs you to work with him. If you ARE yelling at him, please do everyone a favor and put him up for adoption (and perhaps get a goldfish), before your frustration leads you to harming the animal. Animals don't deserve to be yelled at, especially when they're simply trying to communicate.

Our little Ophelia did this when we got her, too. She was a bit younger, we think, and we pulled her out from between the walls in our apartment building. She screamed non-stop (except when she was sleeping) for quite a while. It got much better when we brought another little kitten home, but I'm not saying this is the only option. Ophelia was starting to get better even before we brought Trent home.

It does get annoying after a while, I do understand your frustration. I think just giving the little one lots of love and make him feel comfortable around you will help him along. Lots of patience, and maybe some earplugs, and he will grow out of this stage pretty quickly.

Well he was much much better last night. Seems to be most at ease when both me and my fiance are in the room. And I only tell him to shut up when he's been going non stop. I have a few methods... there's the "I wonder if I can figure out "QUIET!" in cat language", which involves mewing back in various tones, and there's the "shoosh" method. He only ever gets yelled at when he tries to climb up bare skin - an obvious excuse, 'cos it bloody hurts!

:tounge2:

Awww, you should enjoy it while you can! Both Scooter and Gizmo made baby noises and I can still hear them in my mind. They made those noises when they ate, too..... It sort of sounded like a "mamamamamama" but kind of scuffled. Scooter still makes his baby noise when you pick him up and hold him, and he is 11 months old!:tounge2:

But, I agree....... don't yell at him & tell him to shut up..... If you ask me that is really mean and is not called for. He is a baby and is confused, like Sandie said. Pay attention to him & play and just be there for him when he is like that.

Yeah know those muffled eating mews well!!! Obviously never been taught not to talk with a mouthful LOL!! The only times he really gets told to shoosh is when he's in the same room and going off his brain... particularly when he's getting attention already! What else do you want, cat? Probably a name!! LOL!! And he's never been mean to, unless you count putting him to bed at night or when we go out, which is probably mean in his perspective, but it's for his own safety. Don't want him chewing electrical cords or the like when we're not home. If he wants to perm his coat, he only need ask, not try to do it himself! :tounge2: Besides, he's getting used to it as he only meows for about the first 5 minutes and then shuts up, as opposed to constantly going on and on like a bloody Energizer battery! Ah well, the joys of having a cat in the house!

Enjoy it all now while you can. They're only a kitten once.

I remember when Xavier was a kitten and you left the room and he didn't see where you went. He'd sit out in the middle of the living room crying and crying untill you came back in the room. I miss that.

I have an idea when you put him in a room while you are gone: put a stuffed animal in there for him. It will give him some comfort. When we got Gizmo, we bought one of those stuffed kitties from PetsMart that had a battery-operated heartbeat. He would always snuggle up to it. We also had a stuffed gorilla that he loved.

The best I can do for him for company when I'm gone is a towel, blanket and a clock! He needs a scratching post, 'cos he's starting to want to scratch everything... especially my clothes I'm not sure that they have stuffed cats with heartbeats out here. I've never seen anything like that anyway.

PetsMart at one time sold them ..... I can't think of the manufacturer who makes them though. A clock is a nice idea, too. Does he have any toys to play with to keep him occupied?

I am in Australia, so we don't have PetsMart here. I suppose the closest would be Pets Paradise. But I haven't seen anything like that there, and they're usually expensive anyway.

He does have a few balls to play with that wobble or have bells in, but I have discovered he's far more interested in sheets of paper. He goes nuts, it's rather funny. The other thing he found interesting tonight (apart from the cursor on the screen) was a bit of ribbon. I'm reluctant to leave him anything like that in case he gets tangled when I'm not around and strangles himself. I need to buy a scratching post, so that will be some extra amusement for him when I'm working.

I wouldn't leave the ribbon lying around ..... Like you said he could get tangled up in it, or try eating it.

Yeah, that's the sort of thing he only gets to play with SUPERVISED. Don't want any unfortunate incidents occuring! There are the usual unfortunate incidents to be expected though when you're a kitten, like getting stepped on, nearly getting shut in the fridge door... etc, etc! LOL! I NEED A MORE SENSITIVE BELL ON HIM!!!!