cat is too vocal

hey there, got 2 nice 7 month old kittens and one of them is waaaay too vocal. he always walks around meaowing and wakes me up 2-3 times a night for me to pet him or just interact with him. i understand that this is a good thing but those late night get togethers are bad for my good night sleep. even when im awake he would walk around screaming me and my gf are giving him as much love as we can. what else does he want?

He wants your attention, and you're giving it. The best thing to do when he's meowing inappropriately, such as in the middle of the night, is to ignore him. Even verbally chastising him is attention and will encourage him. Once he learns that it's not getting him what he wants he'll stop. It might help if you don't let him in your room while you're sleeping. He needs to learn that people sleep at night and he should leave them alone.

He might get worse before he gets better. My parent's cat Scooter used to open their bedroom door and wake them up at 4 am every day. So they locked him in the basement because he couldn't open that door. He howled every night. Not meowed, howled at the top of his lungs! He was very persistant. It took a very long time but eventually they were able to stop locking him away at night.

for some reason his sister does not do this, we tried to lock the door but he is able to open it and if he cant he will sit on the other side and meaow for a lil bit, but then he stops. the other problem is when we leave he is howling, really screaming out of his lungs by the entrance door. i live in the apt building and im afraid that people might start complaining, my mother and the kittens mother who is the kittens mom live next door on the same floor so he hears when that door is open and starts screaming as well.

Has he been vet-checked. I'd want to rule out any illness such as a UTI. If he checks out healthy, then maybe play with him before bedtime to tire him out a bit.

And soon it will be time to get the little guy neutered, if that is your wish for him. That might help a bit with the late-night chattering (or it might not). Discuss this with your vet.

his health is fine, cheked him 2 weeks ago. i'm also planning not to neuter him, i'm scared that he might loose his personality. he is really kind social cat and i dont want him just to sleep whole day and get fat.

I have a cat named Duke he is a large orange and white that talks up a storm. He is actually my backup alarm clock because once he hears the alarm he starts saying "mom, mom wake up mom there was a wierd sound mom..." but anyhow When I first got him he wanted me to play all night. I had to teach him the meaning of the word "No". If he meowed in the middle of the night for no reason (known to me) I would say "No" roll over and go back to sleep, don't pet him play with him or acknowledge him other than that one word. It took a few months but now 2 years later he sleeps on the end of the bed all night until the alarm goes off and they he talks to me. It didn't really change his personality (Neither did having him fixed) it just trained him to my scedual. and so far (knock on wood) it has worked, and he's still the loveable loud furball the rest of the time.

If you love this cat and want to keep him as a pet is is neccessary to neuter him. If you do not neuter him, hw will beging to run away from home looking for a girlfreind and he will urinate insid your house. neutering will not change his personality one iota. It really is necessary to neuter your cat, and keep him indoors if possible. I see you live in brooklyn. That cannot be a safe place for a cat to run loose. Protect your cat from cat haters who like to toture them, cars,disease, cat fights and injuries, pit bulls, onlly to name a few things that can happen. You will never forgive yourself if the cat meets an early demise because you let him run the streets.

I would advise you to get him neutered. His behavior is going to get worse because he going to try and take off. If you still insist on not neutering him, spay his sister ASAP before she gets pregnant. I have 3 boys and they didn't change at all after neutering, if anything they became better. Plus my litter box doesn't smell anymore and I'm not worried about spraying. I had a friend who had to wait a bit before she could neuter her cats due to financial reasons, and boy did her apartment start to smell.

Spay/neuter for both of your cats is very important. What were you going to do when the girl got pregnant? If they're seven months she could get pregnant at her next heat aka any time now. And unless you know a lot about genetics and kitten/queen care, breeding cats is not a good idea. You need to know even more about genetics if you're going to be doing inbreeding, which is what would happen here. Some lines of animals can carry debilitating genetic diseases or defects and should never be bred to close relatives. Not to mention that spaying prevents lots of health problems in female cats.

One thing that is possible is that when you open the door, your boy cat is smelling the unspayed female on the same floor and he is howling for her. If she is in heat she will probably respond back, making lots of noise and stressing them both out because they can't get to each other. It does not matter that they are mother and son. They don't understand that kind of relationship as adults. They just know male and female and they want to mate.

I've rarely heard of spay/neuter changing an animal's personality except in ways that related directly to hormones. For example, a neutered cat might mark less, howl less, try to escape (to get to females) less, etc. He'll still be his same loving self. The only real personality change that I've seen happen was when a declaw was done at the same time on a cat that was already somewhat emotionally unstable (due to being dumped and then trapped in a car engine while it was running). Mind you that this experience is from my own animals and those of family and friends and covers numerous cats, dogs, rabbits, and ferrets.

Originally Posted by vmf

his health is fine, cheked him 2 weeks ago. i'm also planning not to neuter him, i'm scared that he might loose his personality. he is really kind social cat and i dont want him just to sleep whole day and get fat.

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lol you dont' like the meowing? and you don't want to get him fixed. hmmm... wait till he starts meowing to go outside, has a violent streak and scratches, bites and starts peeing on everything he claims as his. then you might re think that no neutering him thing.

good luck on the meowing thing. not much advice other than to get him neutered and try to feed him at regular schedules.

Yes, neutering will change your cat's personality--for the better. It is beneficial in every way except that the cat will not become a father.

Male cats become more affectionate and gentle after they are neutered and are less likely to roam. Intact males will yowl, spray (all over your house) and will sneak outside at the first opportunity.

Please get a good cat book and read about the benefits of neutering your cat. The cat, your neighbors, and your family will thank you.

Go to any shelter, see the unwanted kittens fathered by cats owned by people who didn't have this important operation performed. It will hopefully change your mind.

As for the yowling kitten:
Get an interactive toy. A spool or a rabbit foot on a leather shoelace is great if you don't want to buy a commercial toy.

Play with the kitten just before bedtime. Really PLAY with him. Have him chase the toy all over the house. Get him good and tired.

Then put him in a room with a catbox and a bed, shut the door, get some earplugs and go to sleep. Do not respond to his noise.

He should fall asleep and be quiet for the rest of the night.

But please, PLEASE, please have your cat neutered!

Here is an article from a cat rescue forum explaining how a cat's personality changes when it is neutered.
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The Benefits of Spaying or Neutering Your Cat
Each year millions of healthy and lovable cats and kittens are euthanized at shelters and pounds in our country because their numbers greatly exceed the number of available homes. While some pet owners claim that they have no trouble giving away their kittens, they should realize that their babies take homes away from other unwanted kittens. Also, if they were to call the adoptive homes one year after the adoption, they might be surprised to find that very few kittens still lived with the families that adopted them. Overpopulation devalues the quality of life for all pets.

Many cats are surrendered to humane societies or abandoned at the age of 5-6 months. At this age they have outgrown their kitten cuteness and are beginning to exhibit adult behaviors such as territorial marking. While spaying (females) and neutering (males) can not make them remain eternally kittens (at least size-wise), sterilization can eliminate a number of annoying behaviors, such as:

The howling, pacing, and housesoiling of a cat in heat. (A heat can last up to 21 days and can occur three or more times a year). The caterwauling of toms looking for romance outside the house is also eliminated.
The urge to roam to find a mate which may involve travelling long distances, getting into cat fights, upsetting neighbors, all of which may result in possible injury or death.
Urine-marking. The intact male's urine is especially foul-smelling. Both sexes can engage in territorial spraying.
An altered cat is likely to be a calmer, healthier, more content pet. Studies show that spayed and neutered cats have average life expectancies twice as long as those of unspayed and unneutered cats.

Your cat is already older than seven months, so he's probably calling for a mate. And get his sister spayed at the same time you get him neutered else you will have inbred kittens on your hands and underfoot.
Do it now, before he starts spraying your house!