Mary Allen
One cat is almost always silent, the other comments on everything she does and sees. The range of everyday meow behavior cats display is enormous. The same applies to the tones that cats make, which can range from a gentle peep meow to a bloodcurdling roar. There are great individual differences when it comes to meowing.
Little-Kitten Communication
When your cat looks at you and meows, it is usually indicating a need. She has a wish and hopes that you will fulfill it. With this, she falls back a little into a little kitten behavior. This is how kittens normally communicate with their mothers when they are hungry for food or for closeness and warmth. Adult cats, on the other hand, mainly communicate with each other non-verbally, only the cooing is used more often as a friendly sound. Most adult cats make noises when interacting with one another, such as growling or hissing.
How Much Meow is Normal?
The line between lively humiliation with people and excessive meowing, which can be an expression of discomfort, is fluid. Some people establish regular “conversations” with their cats, in which both of them take turns uttering noises. Harmless fun. Oriental breeds in particular, such as the Thai cat, but also some house cats have a genetically anchored tendency to meow and express themselves more often than quieter conspecifics.
Basically, it’s okay for your cat to express a need with a meow and ask for help. And of course, it is completely okay if she greets you with a grouch or when she returns home to “report” what she has experienced outside.
It becomes critical if your cat does not appear in a good mood and optimistic when meowing, but instead, signs of tension appear. That would be the case if she is restless, finds it difficult to calm down, has no need at all, the fulfillment of which makes her happy. If the occasional meow turns into a frequent meow or a permanent meow, then you urgently need to find out whether there is a bigger problem behind it. These are possible sticking points:
Boredom & Learning Effects
Cats have diverse needs for address and activity. As indoor cats, they are completely dependent on their people. And maybe you know it yourself: Once you’re really bored, it’s hard to come up with good ideas yourself. Your cat will likely reach out to you in this situation and croak a little in the hope that you will relieve them. At this point, a special dynamic often takes hold. We humans usually react exactly when the cat “speaks” to us meowing. But we don’t respond to her when she is comfortably calm. In a very short time you can – unintentionally – get your cat to meow more. In doing so, she learns that she is fed, played with, entertained, or just given a little attention when she meows.
If something like this has crept into you, then you have to take the helm again. The best way to do this is to give your cat all kinds of offers early on so that she doesn’t have to ask you for them again. For example, you notice that your cat is waking up from a nap. Then an active phase will probably follow immediately. So now is the time to take up the game fishing rod and invite your cat to play a game. Or if you know that your cat is always very hungry when it comes in from outside in the evening, prepare the food for it before it starts to whine.
Lonely Cat
Does your cat meow especially when you are not there or when you are behind a closed door? Then your cat will probably have difficulty coping with this type of separation. Cat lonely Many cats these days are very closely related to their humans and have thus lost the independent nature they are believed to have been. Such cats often feel insecure or even frustrated when they are not allowed to be with their humans. If this applies to your cat: Please check urgently how much time she can really spend with you and other caregivers. Is there at least 10-12 hours of the company? And are there enough hours to really play and cuddle with her? Is it really necessary to close the bedroom door at night and prevent her from resting together?
Sick Cat
However, it is also possible that your cat’s strong meowing is an expression of an illness. Even if cats usually hide pain well, there are various diseases that often manifest themselves in increased meowing. These include, for example, an overactive thyroid, kidney disease, or high blood pressure. So if there are any other signs of malaise (e.g. shaggy fur, changed appetite, or vomiting) or if your cat is over 8 years old when the heavy meowing begins, then have your cat checked out thoroughly at your trusted vet. For senior cats that meow a lot, there are almost always (also) physical causes. In addition, strong vocalization can also be a sign of the onset of dementia.
Scared Cat
With demented cats, but also with other cats that suffer from anxiety, one often encounters a special type of vocalizing: The cat then does not meow directly at its humans, but crouches or sits in a room and meows or literally screams into them into the room. This behavior is often experienced in healthy cats after serious changes in the cat’s everyday life that they cannot cope with (e.g. moving). In these cases, please make sure to try out whether speaking and being close to your cat will help, even if it then learns that it can do something with the Marzen. In this case, meowing is really an expression of great distress and the elimination of the acute distress has priority!
Outlook
These are just a few of the various reasons cats begin to meow very intensely. As a keeper, it is not always easy to understand what is really going on with your own cat because you are too close. Therefore, please do not be afraid to seek help from professional cat behavior advice if you cannot quickly achieve convincing improvements for yourself and your cat on your own.