Noisy Cat

Question
My male cat has never really had a "normal" meow, but rather a grumpy, demanding sort of yowl. He is very good at letting me know if his food bowl is empty, he needs water, etc.  The past couple of years, he has made it a habit to yowl throughout the night. He is very loud and disruptive. When I get up to see what the problem is, most often, there is nothing obvious to me.  Is there something I can do to change this behavior?

Answer
Julie,

Is your male cat neutered?  If not, with many females coming into season the last few weeks, he will be vocal.  If he is not neutered, get him neutered as it may change the behavior.

If he is neutered, he still may be responding to females in season.  So, you will just have to wait him out.

Does he sleep with you?   If not, maybe he wants to?

In my experience, for the most part, cats are happy to do what they want!  It is difficult to change this kind of meowing behavior.  However, you might investigate clicker training, a behavioral modification technique that works in many species including dogs and cats.  You can check out Karen Pryor's web site at:

http://www.clickertraining.com


Good luck & best regards... Norm.