Why is My Cat Meowing

A good word to describe meowing cats?  Cute.  Another word?  Annoying!  It really depends on the cat, and sometimes the breed can attribute to excessive meowing.  For example, the Siamese and the Burmese are known for being some of the most talkative cat breeds.  That aside, if you don’t know what your cat wants, you might not be able to stop the cat from meowing at you all the live long day.  So here is a basic guide to understand your cat, why a cat meows, and a little anecdotal evidence to help you along the way.

Cats can make over 100 verbal cues – far more than dogs can makes.  Meowing is one of those special animal things that mostly only humans get.  Really, cats don’t often meow at each other.  It’s when they are trying to communicate with their owner that we get those infamous little noises.  It can mean anything from “give me attention”, “let me go where I want”, to “I’m hungry, feed me now!” 

This is probably when you’ll find most cats meowing at their owners. They get up in the morning, give you that loving little head rub, and then walk over to where the food is located and give you that demanding meow. Or if you have a cat like my youngest of two cats, she just comes into the room, and you have no idea what it is exactly that she wants.

The solution is simple – offer them food. If they had their food for the day, you might have to put up with it, or offer them catnip if they are part of the 70% of cats who are affected by catnip. My cat’s meowing has worked wonders on my parents, and he had managed for over a year to con them out of food by looking at them with his great big eyes and meowing ever so insistently. Most of the time they gave him food just to shut him up. But it’s not good to over feed your cat. Make sure you check with the vet how much you should be feeding your cat, as the food label often tells you to feed them too much. Also, be aware that over feeding your cat can lead to cat diabetes. You’ll be able to tell if they are eating and drinking in excess, and losing weight, or just not acting themselves. Be sure to take them to a vet if you see signs like this.

The best way to get your cat to stop begging you for food every two seconds once you’ve deciphered that THAT’S the reason they are meowing, is to just not give in. If you have to put them in another room, do it. Because once they get the point that you’re not going to feed them until a certain time of the day, they’ll stop begging you until that time of day comes near. Also, try dividing his meal in two, so he can at least be satiated twice a day. It worked for my cat, and now he just knows that feeding time is first thing in the morning, and four in the afternoon. My other cat hasn’t quite grasped the concept of eating everything at once, though…

One last little trick I used to get him off that habit was to offer him a food puzzle. Most people think it’s cruel to make an animal work for their food, but it stimulates their mind in a way that living in a home could never do. Animals were designed to work for their food, and it offers their mind a little bit of exercise to use a food puzzle. Plus, they eat slower, which makes them feel fuller faster. Or at least that’s how eating slower helps humans lose weight. It worked for my cat to stop begging!

I think T.S. Eliot presented it best in his poem about the Rum Tum Tugger.

The Rum Tum Tugger is a terrible bore:
When you let him in, then he wants to be out;
He's always on the wrong side of every door,
And as soon as he's at home, then he'd like to get about.

Yes, the Rum Tum Tugger was a cat who meowed to come in as soon as you let him out. this cat behavior is so well known, that it's even part of a poem, which was turned into a musical. It can be hard to figure out how to stop a cat meowing to come inside.  Chances are your cat wants something in particular, which is why he keeps asking you to come in and out. It took me a while to figure out that one of my cats wanted to play with me when he went out the door then meowed for me. Sometimes, though, I would still open the door and he would sit there, watching me, not indicating anything in particular. The best way to deal with this – see what he wants. Either he wants to go out, wants to play, or wants food. If the answer is none of the above, well, that’s the beauty of doors. They stay closed when needed.

My cat used to sit in the middle of the hallway, meowing at me.  When I would finally go to see what he wanted, he had a toy sitting at his feet.  He wanted me to toss it for him.  This is probably something you might forget about when it comes to your cat meowing at you, but try it.  See if he wants to play. 

He might also want your attention.  My first cat spent a lot of time in our garage, and even slept in there.  One day, he was meowing insanely like always, and I opened the door to let him in.  But he didn’t come in.  In fact, he walked to the middle of the garage and sat proudly to a freshly killed rat.  I have no idea where it came from or how he caught it, since it was half his size, but he was very proud to show me what he had done for the house. 

That’s what a cat meow sounds like sometimes.  I’ve actually been fooled by this cats meow before when my first cat really wanted to come inside from the garage in the morning.  There have been instances where I raced to the door to see if he was alright, and he gave me a meow in thanks for letting him in, and walked in like nothing in the world could trouble him.  Unless your cat actually does this trick, don’t take it for granted.  If he’s meowing like there is something wrong, treat it like there’s something wrong. 

I could leave this article with a last thought, but instead, I decided to leave you with the infamous YouTube video of two talking cats. Enjoy!