talkative!

[pinky]

hey. i have an 8 month old cat, Jade, whom i just got 3 months ago. she's my only roomie in my one bedroom apartment and she's great, except for her almost constant meowing. at first, i thought it was because she was new to the apartment, but it's continued. it really gets annoying because she meows from the time i get home to the time i leave the next morning...all through the night as she plays and sleeps and plays some more.

i'm wondering if this is normal... i'm not sure what breed she is. part tabby and maybe sokoke (i found them randomly and found that jade looks ALOT like this breed: http://www.sokoke-cats.com/index.htm). i want to know if there's any way to keep her quiet. the only time she's quiet is when she's sleeping or when she's on my lap having me rub her face (she LOVES that)...

 

[7cozycats]

is she spayed? if not she could be in heat.

 

[pinky]

yes...she was spayed before i got her.

 

[7cozycats]

gee, my only idea is shes trying to tell you something. she stops if you love in her? if so, maybe she just wants more attention. i'm sure you'll get more replies and maybe someone will be more helpful than me.

 

[hissy]

Some cats are just more vocal than others. I know my Lynxpoint Siamese talks almost constantly. I run out of ideas on how to quiet him down, and have used toys, catnip, food, you name it I have tried it and yet he still cries. I doubt you will be able to stop this type of trait in your kitty. But if you do would you post and let those of us who also have "talkers" know so we can try it?

 

[rvan]

I've never heard of the breed you mentioned before, I'll have to check it out, sounds interesting. My first cat was a lynx-point siamese and tabby mix (sooo cute!) and she never shut up!!!! her name was Gaby (go figure)....Siamese and siamese mixes are usually very vocal and talkative (worse than me!), it's possible she is predisposed to it.... or she may just need a lot more attention and play time... or both. I'm discovering that cats are more subtle and complex than even some people and that even when you're doing everything right they sometimes just "have their reasons".... good luck!!!

 

[pinky]

my main problem is that she thinks play time is 4.30/5am EVERY morning. i mean, this cat is like clockwork. she'll go to sleep with me, then wake me up around 5am; and she doesn't shut up until i get up around 7am. maybe there's a solution to that part.

as far as her breed goes, she's a very interesting beautiful cat. i've often thought that maybe she was part siamese, but never really saw a resemblence in her. then i found out about the sokoke breed (by accident). she doesn't look like a full breed (obviously, otherwise she'd be worth some money apparently), but she looks aLOT like those cats...the markings, the shape of her face/eyes, and the way she acts. she loves people...loves to be around you, and of course is very talkative and playful. i love her because she's so loving...never had a cat quite like her. but i also love that 2 hrs of sleep right before i have to get up... :tounge2:

 

[inkie]

My 10 month old was very talkative two weeks ago when I first got him. It was constant. But he's quieted down a lot since I completed ignore the meowing. If I might suggest something...don't play with your kitty until she's quiet and only play with her when she's quiet...even if it's a second of quiet that you get. I also suggest not having her sleep with you. Where did you get her from?? I'm sure the apartment/house is a bigger place than where she was before. If you can take the crying and meowing for a few nights....I dealt with it and he figured out that he would not get any attention when he was talking. Now he only talks when I'm talking to him, singing or when I'm in the kitchen making dinner and he wants some.

 

[pinky]

i got her from a "shelter"...actually a foster home. i've tried ignoring her...and maybe i didn't do it long enough, but the first couple of weeks i had her, i kept her in the bathroom and she never let up. if i keep her out of my room, she scratches at the door and cries the whole night. i let her sleep with me merely because i usually get more sleep that way...

she hasn't really responded to anything i've done other than the attention factor...and maybe that's all it is. i've just gotta' figure out how to get her to not do it at 5am!

 

[inkie]

The hardest part for me was trying to ignore the constant meowing and crying...it was really hard. My biggest worry was the neighbours complaining about the noise, but I just put my foot down and went about my business pretending he wasn't there when he was making tons of noise. I would only approach him when he was quiet and they have their moments of silence. And the stratching and meowing when locked out.....you have to deal with it for a few more days...I've done a lot of research and cats are naturally loners. This one like mine has grown attached to you, but they have to learn you can't pay attention to them every single moment of your life. What do you think she does when you're not home?? =)

If you want just one on one, feel free to email me or icq me. Check my profile out.

 

[kris]

My kitten Fred was doing the same thing. When I first got him, I put him in the downstairs bath with all of his supplies and toys just to keep him safe. He was not happy! He is very loud for a little bitty thing. Since I was working from home the first 4 days he lived with me, I began to have some confidence that I had kitten proofed my house enough and my slightly older cat Parker wouldn't attack him.

I let them in the bedroom at first, but I was getting no sleep. Parker wanted to play with the blinds behind my head or chirp at me because she could jump to the top of the armoire in the middle of the night and the kitten would wake up in the middle of the night and attack my hands. I put them both out and Fred just sat at the door and sounded pissed off.

I tried ignoring and this didn't work and I tried water -- really didn't reach under the door. Someone recommended rigging up the vacuum outside my door and turning it on when he started up (I used a power strip by my bed to turn it on and off). I just turned in on briefly 3x the first night and once the second night and on the second morning he let me sleep till my alarm went off. When I opened my door in the morning, Fred just trotted in with Parker behind him with no hard feelings.

Kris

 

[poeski]

I had a cat, Ashton, who was like that. She would not shut up. It started from birth, she was always very vocal, more than the others. She was always "screaming". I eventually had to get rid of her, as much as it hurt me to do it, I couldn't deal with the noise all the time. Now she is happily living at my parent's farm. Here is a picture of her.

 

[valanhb]

If the main problem is just waking you that early in the morning, there's other things you can try besides kicking her off the bed. (Personally, I love that my two kitties sleep with me. Nothing like kitty magic to make you fall asleep!)

First, she will get better as she gets older. She is still a kitten. Play with her excessively before you go to bed. Tire the little thing out! Don't play with her when she wakes you up early in the morning, or feed her either. They learn that trick very quickly. Wake up and give in once....

It sounds like she is very persistant, but she will figure it out that you don't give her the response she wants.

 

[pinky]

poeski, that looks a lot like my Jade!!! how weird.

sounds like i have some things to try. thanks so much for all your input. i s'pose me an' jade just have some more understanding to get through. she's my bab'y and i can't get rid of her...i like coming home to her every day