Mysterious loud & piercing yowling at random times

[swabbie]

Our 16 year old cat has developed a strange habit in the past 6 months.  At random times,
in random places around the house, this neutered male has taken to yowling 5-7
times per occurrence. This  happens 3-5 times per day, He never exceeds 7 yowls  
per 'session' and promptly stops when his name is called out.  What could be causing this?

Incidently, he only does this when he's alone in the room.

 

[sugarcatmom]

Has he had a check-up at the vets recently, with blood work and a urinalysis? Something like hyperthyroidism can sometimes cause cats to yowl. Cats can also experience age-related cognitive disfunction, kinda like kitty-alzheimers. Here's a link on that topic: http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/CDS.html

 

[farleyv]

I have had numerous cats that do the calling.  Lots of times in the middle of the night, but not limited to that.

Yes, I have heard Kitty Alzheimers also.  Also, loss of hearing in the older pets seems to sometimes play a role.  This has happened only to my older cats, and no reasons were found other than age.

But never hurts to have your kitty checked out.  At that age, things start appearing, just as us humans.

 

[jcat]

Jamie has always done it (he's 12, and started it when he was about 3 months old), and so did his brothers. We call it "singing". The vets just said they were very vocal and probably responding to stimuli outside the houses. In older cats it's probably cognitive, as Sugarcatmom wrote. I've experienced that in old dogs.

 

[luvmyparker]

Our Sami did this once she got to about 17 years old. I figured it was a bit of senility. She also stopped when her name called, it was like we had to remind her where she was or that we were still here.

 

[momofmany]

My Stumpy turned 16 in April and started doing that about that time. Yes, his cries can be ear piercing. My vet thinks its a combination of things - he is losing his hearing so he can't hear how loud he actually gets, and he is having cognitive issues and feels that he is lost in the house. When he does this, I call his name very loudly (he doesn't always hear me at first) until I get his attention, at which point he walks over to me and quiets down. The longer this has been happening, the louder I have to call his name, so I know he is losing his hearing. The fact that he settles down once he sees me tells me that all he wants is some comfort from me.

If you haven't had your boy into the vet for a while, it is a good time for a geriatric exam. Stumpy has one twice a year and we discuss issues like this at that time.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Our "Head Cat", Samuda, has always done this and, at 17 1/2 years young, he's as playful, active and healthy as ever.  Some cats just love to talk.  If you've ever read the CAT WHO... series by Lillian Jackson Braun, you will have read of the Siamese characters' "yargles" -- well, I'm pretty sure Samuda has some Siamese lineage, so that may be why he loves to let the world know all about it (whatever "it" may be)