Cats and Excessive Meowing

Recently, my Frosty has been waking me up with random meowing in the bathroom and sometimes he would just sit in front of the balcony door and cry to be left outside. While I figured that he's just being spoiled and has learned that I will jump at every meow, I researched what would be the reason why cats meow. Here's an article I found on http://pets.webmd.com/

Why do cats meow? The reasons change as they grow from kittens into cats. Kittens meow to their mothers when they’re hungry, cold, or scared. But once cats get older, they use other vocalizations -- such as yowling, hissing, and growling -- to communicate with each other. Meowing is reserved for their communications with people.

Of course, the amount of meowing varies by breed and even cat. Oriental breeds, especially Siamese cats, are known as great “talkers,” so anyone who doesn’t like meowing probably should steer clear of these breeds.

And some cats just seem to like to hear their own voices, while others seem to want to carry on a conversation with their owners. If your cat is talking a little more than you’d like, try to figure out the cause first. Once you know the reason, you can then work to get your cat to meow less.

Why Does My Cat Meow So Much?

Cats meow for many reasons, from the serious to the attention-seeking. They include:

Illness. The first step is a thorough checkup by your veterinarian. Numerous diseases can cause a cat to feel hunger, thirst, or pain, all of which can lead to excessive meowing. Elderly cats also can develop an overactive thyroid or kidney disease, both of which can result in excessive vocalizations.

Attention seeking. Despite what some people think, cats don’t like being alone a lot. Cats often meow to initiate play, petting, or to get you to talk to them. If you want to cut down on attention-seeking meows, stop responding when it happens. Only give her attention when she’s quiet. If she starts to meow again, look or walk away. But don’t ignore your pet. Spend quality time each day with her, playing, grooming, and talking to her. A tired pet is a quieter pet.

Wants food. Some cats meow every time someone walks in the kitchen, hoping to get a bite. And many cats become very vocal when it gets close to their feeding times. If this is your problem, don’t feed your cat when she cries. Wait until she quiets to put down food, and don’t give her treats when she meows. If this doesn’t work, get an automatic feeder that opens at set times. Now kitty will meow at the feeder and not you.

Greeting you. Many cats meow when their people come home, or even when they just meet them in the house. This is a hard habit to break, but look at it as kitty saying she’s happy to see you.

She’s lonely. If your pet spends too many hours a day alone, think about getting a pet sitter to drop in during the day, or find other ways to enrich your pet’s life. Put a bird feeder outside a window she can watch. Leave foraging toys out with food inside. Get her a kitty condo and rotate different toys that you leave out for play.

A stressed cat. Cats that are experiencing stress often become more vocal. A new pet or baby, a move or changes to the home, an illness or the loss of a loved one can turn your cat into a talker. Try to discover what is stressing your pet and help her adjust to the change. If that’s not possible, give your cat extra attention and quiet time to help soothe her.

Aging cats. Cats, just like people, can suffer from a form of mental confusion, or cognitive dysfunction, as they age. They become disoriented and often cry plaintively for no apparent reason, especially at night. A nightlight sometimes can help if your cat becomes disoriented at night, and veterinarians often can prescribe medications that help these symptoms.

Cats that want to breed. If your cat isn’t spayed or neutered, then you’re going to hear a lot more noise. Females yowl when in heat, and males yowl when they smell a female in heat. Both can be maddening to live with. Getting your pet spayed or neutered will prevent this.

What Not to Do

Don't ignore it without making sure there’s no problem. Although you don’t want to reward meowing, sometimes cats meow for good reason — they can’t reach their litter box, they’re trapped in a room, the water bowl is empty. Check on them when they meow to determine if it’s something you can safely ignore, or a problem that must be corrected right away.

Don’t punish a cat for meowing. Hitting, shouting, and spraying cats with water rarely work to quiet a meowing cat in the long run, but all those actions will make your cat distrust or even dislike you.

Don’t give in. If your cat is used to getting what he wants from meowing, he’s going to meow more, and louder, when it quits working. In other words, it will probably get worse before it gets better. Just keep rewarding quiet behavior and ignoring meowing, and eventually he’ll get the idea.

Can cats get sunburned?

A couple days ago I noticed Toffee sitting in the sun, his cute white nose completely exposed and I couldn't help thinking: Do cats get sunburns?

Just like humans, cats can get sunburn too. Over time the damage caused can increase the risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma which is a skin cancer. White cats, cats with white ears, noses or bald cats are most susceptible to sunburn. This is because of the lack of melanin (skin and hair pigment), and protective hair in these areas. The ears are most commonly affected, although eyelids and noses can also be affected. Solar dermatitis (also known as actinic dermatitis) is a common disorder in areas with warm, sunny climates.

What are the symptoms of solar dermatitis in cats? Initially exposure causes mild redness, hair loss along the ear margins. Scaling, thickening of the skin and itching occur over time. This may cause your cat to shake his head and scratch at the affected area causing bleeding and possibly infection. The dermatitis becomes progressively worse each summer until persistent ulceration and squamous cell carcinoma can develop.

How is solar dermatitis treated? If you believe your cat has been sunburned seek veterinary attention immediately.

Treatment depends on the severity of the burn.

Antibiotics may be required if infection is present.

If sunburn is severe, topical or oral steroid cream may be prescribed.

If squamous cell carcinoma has developed, surgery to remove the cancerous cells (partial pinnectomy) and chemotherapy or radiation therapy will be required.

Prevention is better than cure in this case and the following should be followed with vulnerable cats:

Limiting your cat's exposure to the sun by confining him/her indoors during the hours of 10.00am - 4.00pm.

Application of a waterproof sun block. Speak to your veterinarian about which brands are safe to use on cats.

Early detection is important, so your veterinarian may wish to take a biopsy to determine if your cat has sunburn or squamous cell carcinoma.

How Frosty got his name...and his forever home

It was a cold Winter in Chicago back in 2008. Ok, not as cold as now, but that was the year I had to buy an ice pick to dig out my car out of a really thick slab of ice... That winter, I noticed this cute gray cat hanging out by my back porch, and I started putting out food and water for him. After a few days, we started having regular dates when he'll inhale in one sitting the same amount of food as my other three cats would eat in one day. He was really dirty and I barely could differentiate between the natural gray color on his back and his gray from dirt on paws and nose. Slowly, I was trying to attract him towards my kitchen, to get a better look. He was adorable, had some attitude and walked in like he belonged there (to the dismay of my other 2 boys).

His nose and paws were dirty, he had a chipped tooth, but other than that he looked to be in good shape. During one of our dinner dates in the kitchen/porch he used the litter box, sign that he was housetrained. Just after Thanksgiving he showed up with frost and tiny icicles on his back. That was the turning point, when I couldn't send him back outside. He only struggled for a few minutes before he just settled in the nice warm and clean house, and with enough food and water. He adjusted really fast to the indoor life.

After a short vet trip, I found out that he was a male of unknown age, neutered and front paws declawed. He cleaned up really fast and started enjoying his brothers and sister. His name, Frosty, is a daily reminder of that cold winter night. A couple weeks after making him an indoor cat, I found out that he belonged at some point in time to my neighbor. She was a psychic, very superstitious and very bad with pets. She kept him as an indoor/outdoor cat and, over the Summer, he had brought a dead bird in my neighbor's house. If you ask me, I think that's a very sweet gesture, but my neighbor, being the superstitious person that she was, saw it as bad omen and kicked the poor kitty out of the apartment. While I can't believe that someone would do that, I am glad she did, because Frosty is the sweetest cat ever, and I am happy every day that he's part of the family!