My cat cries continuously

Question
I got a cat from a shelter 4 weeks ago, it is a female and supposedly neutered (I cannot find a scar).  She is very timid and has made her home in a cupboard.  While I am awake she is very quiet but as soon as I try to sleep she cries continuously and extremely loudly.  I have had her checked by the vet and there is nothing medically wrong with her. She allows me to stroke her and although she spits when I go near she never lashes out. I have tried everything I can think of including lots of fuss, ignoring, leaving lights on, leaving a radio on, food, etc nothing works and I'm desperate for a night of sleep!  Please help....

Answer
Hello Sallie,

Let me ask you...does she do this in a specific room of the house?  For instance, say, the kitchen?  I ask because I had a cat once that just LOVED "singing" in the kitchen because she loved the way it made her voice sound.  She would try it in the bathroom at times, too, but she loved the kitchen acoustics the most.

Another thought...have you tried loading her space up with toys, shutting your door at night, and putting a good amount of white noise in your room so it helps to drown out the sound so you can sleep?  If you haven't tried this, I would recommend getting a chair mat (the kind offices put down on carpet that have the little teeth underneath to hold it in place) under the door so that a couple feet of it are inside your door, and the rest outside the door.  This will prevent her scratching the carpet in trying to get the door open.  

My best tip in trying to get her used to you having your door closed: don't open that door even to tell her to quiet down.  In fact, I wouldn't even recommend trying to tell her THROUGH the door.  If you open the door, she'll start out by hiding under the bed, and trying to stay in the room with you.  Then, eventually, she'll realize that in meowing at the door, she gets even that split amount of attention from you, and that will be her motivation.  If you ignore her, and keep a good fan going (or download some white noise, or some such), she'll eventually stop meowing.  

White noise is really your best bet.  If it's not a health issue, it may just be her trying to get your attention.  If you load up her space with toys and get a good amount of white noise going, it should help.

Let me know if you've already tried this, and I'll come up with something else for ya, ok?

Hugs to you and yours!

Rosie*