Kitten meows ALL THE TIME risking getting banned from the appartment :(

[hithnar]

Me and my husband have adopted a rescued street orphan kitten 2 weeks ago - he is of oriental breed, and still partially recovering from being a street cat. Right now he is of estimated 7 weeks of age.

He is an adorable little fellow, very smart and loving. However he MEOWS ALL THE TIME - when he walks, sits, plays.... I knew oriental breed is known for being vocal, but this little guy just takes it to another level.

Problem is, we are only allowed to keep a cat in the appartment, as long as the neighbors don't complain. And with the kitten scowling most of the time, I feel we are risking having to give the kitten up for adoption again.

The kitten is also very clingy and demanding. Most of the time he meows because he wants to be taken on the lap, but when he is there he still will meow (unless he sleeps). Could any kind soul recommend how to signal to the kitten that meowing is not appreciated? Problem is, I cannot reward it for not meowing - because it goes into meows the moment I move or look at it.

Shushing, saying "No", or doing anything just results in a fountain of meows

I'm really desperate - I want the kitten to grow up happily and be able to stay with us. I don't want to deprive him of our attention and love, but seems anything we do to please it (like taking in on our laps) just reinforces the habit of meowing, since the kitten meows all the time, he seems to link attention and affection with it (and meows even more fiercely).

 

[kittyl0ve4]

I don't really know how to help you. Some cats talk a lot; others don't. I don't know of any ways to make a cat NOT meow.. Maybe someone else will have some advice for you. Honestly though, I don't really think there is much you can do about this.

 

[killerapple]

Hi there,

Do you know your any of your neighbors or do people keep to themselves? How quiet is the building in general? Meaning, do people have kids or dogs?

How good are the walls in regards to sound proofing?

I have 2 cockatiels and when I was a renter, I was always paranoid people were hating me because of how vocal they are. So what I would do is try to get a good relationship with the neighbors and be very open about them. When I moved, I would leave my direct neighbors (above/below/next door) a note about my cockatiels, just saying "hi there, I have 2 cockatiels as you may or may not know. At certain times of the day they can be vocal - I hope this doesn't disturb you. If you ever have an issue with their noise level or just want to meet them in general, do let me know! Thanks" The notes either got ignored or I got "how sweet of you! I didn't know you had birds. I bet they are lovely, etc". You could certainly hear the birds in the hallway, but from wall to wall or floor to floor, you couldn't.

Not sure how helpful this is in regards to your situation.. but I'm just thinking that a kitten mewing isn't a noise violation. If you're cranking your stereo at like 3am, sure - but a kitten mewing? I don't think that should be an issue... Usually landlords are more concerned with litter box/pee stains with a cat than the meowing...

Maybe you could do something similar and just ask your neighbors if the kitten mewing is bothering them at all. Hopefully they don't care.... and maybe showing them the cute little kitten would sway their opinion if they were annoyed!

Hopefully others will have feedback to this as well. Good luck to you!

 

[alleygirl]

Is there any way you can get him a friend? He is likely just scared. 7 weeks is very young to be away from his mama. Since you rescued him from the street there's nothing you can do about that, but small kittens almost always do better in pairs because they keep eachother company.

I'm sure there will be other come along soon with some good advice on things you can do to make kitty feel more secure. In general, they do outgrow that, but tiny kittens like that do meow a lot in my experience.

 

[ldg]

Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

Is there any way you can get him a friend? He is likely just scared. 7 weeks is very young to be away from his mama. Since you rescued him from the street there's nothing you can do about that, but small kittens almost always do better in pairs because they keep eachother company.

I'm sure there will be other come along soon with some good advice on things you can do to make kitty feel more secure. In general, they do outgrow that, but tiny kittens like that do meow a lot in my experience.

Poor little guy is very young to be away from his family - he's scared and lonely and relying on you for everything. He may be naturally talkative, but this is not that.

I don't know if you want a second kitty, but another young, lonely cat may be a way to go - they need each other.

In the meantime, I'd invest in Feliway and use it liberally (though not near litter boxes or scratching posts). You can also purchase the plug-in for each room instead of the spray: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...sl_35mb33tgf_e

I'd consider music for cats:
http://www.musicmypet.com
http://www.catfaeries.com/music-for-cats.html

I'd also consider a snuggle kitty, though it doesn't take the place of an actual sibling: http://www.amazon.com/Snuggle-Pals-t.../dp/B0002ZFPVM

I've never had the problem though, so have no experience with which to help you.

 

[hithnar]

Thank you all for sharing your opinion and advice! Unfortunately talking to the neighbors openly or having another cat is impossibility - we live in Singapore, and the law and mentality is a bit weird here when it comes to cats.

I will try to arrange for a visit of another kitten in our household - maybe spending some time with cat company will allow my little kitten to stress less.

But I am most grateful for pointing out, that maybe he just really needs the attention

I guess I got stuck on thinking that by showing him affection I will gratify the meowing...

I guess I will try to wait out till hes older.. Hopefully he will stop the meowing till then.

 

[strange_wings]

Cats don't usually do well with "play date" type situations like dogs do. Cats like consistency.
He should grow out of it, but it could take months and you'll probably always have a talkative cat. Right now he just sees you as his mother and doesn't want to be alone - when he hits the "teenage" cat age in a few months he will become less clingy. Another cat would help, but it would have to be introduced and made part of the household. It could be beneficial to do this for other reasons in the long run.

(of course if you can't afford it, that's understandable)


I wonder what your neighbors would do if you had a baby? Surely people wouldn't expect a baby not to cry.

 

[alleygirl]

Since he's so tiny, maybe you could carry him around in a little baby sling type thing when you're home? At that age, they are usually still spending a lot of time curled up in a pile of siblings or their mom and he needs that closeness.

 

[gen]

Try singing. One of mine is very vocal, more like a howl than a meow, but when I snuggle her and sing to her she seems to quieten down. Her favorite song "crazy" by patsy cline.

Also you could look around to see what sound proofing measures you could take. If you have hard floors and empty walls a few throw rugs and decorative blankets hung on the walls will do a lot to kill the echo. (hang the blanket well so that kitty can't bring it down)

I bet that once your little one grows up and feels a bit safer he'll quiet down.

 

[kluchetta]

Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

Since he's so tiny, maybe you could carry him around in a little baby sling type thing when you're home? At that age, they are usually still spending a lot of time curled up in a pile of siblings or their mom and he needs that closeness.

I was so totally just thinking that!!!

Originally Posted by Gen

Try singing. One of mine is very vocal, more like a howl than a meow, but when I snuggle her and sing to her she seems to quieten down. Her favorite song "crazy" by patsy cline.

Also you could look around to see what sound proofing measures you could take. If you have hard floors and empty walls a few throw rugs and decorative blankets hung on the walls will do a lot to kill the echo. (hang the blanket well so that kitty can't bring it down)

I bet that once your little one grows up and feels a bit safer he'll quiet down.

Oh, and that is such a good idea. I work with horses, and for some reason I always sing "Edelweiss" from The Sound of Music. It really seems to calm them down. Maybe because it's in 3/4 time? I'm not sure, but also Brahms' Lullaby works as well!

 

[captiva]

Welcome to The Cat Site!

Since your baby is an Oriental breed, I'm sure you know he will always be talkative but part of it could be just because of his age. I agree that getting another kitty to come for a visit is not a good idea. Even if they don't fight, it could upset him when the other kitty leaves. Let him get used to you and his new surroundings. I think the singing and the little baby sling are a great idea. I brought in a mother and her baby and played classical piano/violin music all day and night for them. Mama seemed to love it very much. Good luck!

 

[3catsn1dog]

Some of it might be fear that you arent a furever home. When we adopted GiGi she was found on the side of a barn near the road and meowing like crazy. I brought her inside and we had a lot of issues at first. She was clingy and couldnt be out of our sight for a minute and cried all the time. She also was afraid to go to the bathroom at night (seperation anxiety) and would pee the bed. We tried locking her out of the bedroom but that didnt work at all. After about 3 days she stopped peeing the bed *thank heavens because that wasnt fun at 3 AM changing bedding* She to this day (6mths later) is still vocal but not to the point where shes crazy. She still has her little quirks though. You cant go into the bathroom without her she goes crazy if you try and lock her out. She also still meows trills and chirps to get attention. I really think that a lot of her doing this and acting this way is because of her being abandoned. It takes time and eventually your kitty should realize that he has his furever home and he will calm down. He is still a baby and learning everything.

 

[butzie]

If it is any comfort, my cat, who is not oriental, is very talkative. She is about 4 (we got her from the shelter when she was a "teenager." I wonder if she was meowy when she was a kitten. Butzie is not loud now, but always has something to say to you. My Mom laughed when I told her how talkative Butzie is and said that she was a perfect match for me.

Anyway, I have sung to and rocked other cats and it always calmed them down. Not Butzie, though. She doesn't like to be held but lots of affection will stop her talking.

That sling sounds like a great idea.

Good luck!