How to Get My Cat to SHUT Up

I use a white noise machine. My cat make noises too...prrrts, meows, yowls...so I have the white noise machine. She usually calms down around 2am and comes to bed where she'll stay quiet until morning.

Best of luck!

Can you put them out of the bedroom & close the door? White noise?

Did you getr the cat fixed yourself, or did you receive the cat fixed? We got a cat once, who was supposedly fixed. She was howling and howling. We took her to the vet. Turns out, she wasn't fixed. Ugh. Is there a chance she isn't? Also, what kind of breed is she? I have had a few Siamese and Siamese mixes, and they were always very vocal...and irritating.

This is from "Cats @ suite 101" website:

Howling in Cats
Causes of Excessive Cat Vocalization

Oct 23, 2009Jennifer Copley

Cats May Howl for a Variety of Reasons - Mdebona, Wikimedia Commons
There are a number of reasons why some cats howl, particularly at night.
Common causes of excessive vocalization such as howling or loud meowing in cats include medical issues, attention seeking, stress, grief, boredom, feline cognitive dysfunction syndrome, and breed tendency.

Feline Howling as an Illness Symptom
If a formerly quiet cat has begun crying or howling plaintively, the cause is likely a medical problem. Cats tend to be stoic, and often don’t show symptoms until an illness has become quite severe. In such cases, the howling is caused by physical and psychological distress.

When howling behaviour comes on suddenly, consult a veterinarian as soon as possible. Medical problems should be ruled out before attributing the behaviour to other causes, particularly if the cat is eating or drinking more than usual or has begun having accidents outside the litter box. Older cats are prone to chronic renal failure (CRF) and hyperthyroidism, both of which may cause howling.

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Howling as Attention-Seeking Behaviour
Many cats learn that talking results in feeding, affection, or some other sort of interaction. A cat that is desperate for attention may yell just to get a reaction, even if it’s a negative one.

If owners wish to discourage chattiness, they should not pay the cat any attention (positive or negative) while the cat is vocalizing but spend plenty of quality time with the cat when he’s being quiet. Ignoring him when he’s being noisy will send a strong message that howling will not get him what he wants.

Howling as a Sign of Stress or Grieving
Some cats howl due to the anxiety caused by major changes, such as moving house or adding a new person or pet to the household. The loss of a person or animal that the cat loved may also cause howling in response to grief. In either case, provide plenty of positive attention and try to keep other aspects of the cat’s life as consistent as possible, maintaining the usual routines and avoiding imposing additional changes. Many owners find that using a cat pheromone product such as Feliway has a calming effect.

Howling due to Boredom and Restlessness
Indoor cats can easily grow bored and restless without sufficient opportunities to exercise, and a formerly outdoor cat that has been brought inside may be particularly frustrated. To reduce howling caused by boredom, restlessness, or the desire to be outdoors:

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Have pets spayed or neutered to eliminate the biological urge to roam (this will also prevent yowling as a mate-seeking behaviour).
Engage in regular play sessions that enable the cat to practice his hunting behaviours – tiring him out with play in the daytime is particularly useful with a cat that tends to be noisy at night.
Leave solo toys such as catnip mice lying around for him to play with on his own.
Harness train the cat and take him for walks.
Provide some entertainment, such as a fish tank or a screened-in window with a view of a bird feeder.
Grow some cat grass and catnip indoors.
Hide treats around the house so that the cat can engage in a scavenger hunt that satisfies his natural hunting urges.
Provide lots of attention and affection when the cat is quiet (but ignore him when he howls).
If the cat is alone for long periods of time in the day or night, consider having a friend or relative pop by to provide some attention, as he may be howling out of loneliness as well as boredom.
Howling due to Feline Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome
Like people, some cats suffer a cognitive decline as they get older, developing a condition much like Alzheimer’s disease. In this case, the howling results from confusion and disorientation. A cat with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) may howl because he feels anxious due to this confusion, or because he is looking for others in the household and can’t find them.

Also known as feline dementia, CDS can impair a cat’s sleep cycle, which may increase the likelihood of night-time vocalization and restlessness. Loss of hearing or vision in older cats may also contribute to howling.

Another reason why cats that suffer from CDS may be more inclined to vocalize at night is that they feel particularly anxious about being separated from their loved ones, who become inaccessible to the cat when they fall asleep.

As older cats are also prone to a variety of other medical conditions, a full check-up is required to rule out illness before assuming that the problem is dementia. A veterinarian may also prescribe medication in the case of severe anxiety.

Once medical problems have been ruled out, strategies for calming the cat at night include using a pheromone product such as Feliway and applying similar strategies as those used for cats that are bored or restless, such as increasing daytime activity and providing entertainment.

Vocal Cat Breeds
Siamese cats (and various breeds derived from the Siamese) tend to be more talkative by nature. In the case of naturally chatty breeds, if there have been no changes in vocalization (loudness, frequency, etc.), talking is unlikely to indicate a problem.

For more on cat communication, see What Your Cat Is Trying to Tell You.

References:

ASPCA Virtual Pet Behaviorist. (2009). “Meowing and Yowling,” “Behavior Problems in Older Cats,” and “Enriching Your Cat’s Life.” ASPCABehavior.org.
Sacramento SPCA. (2008). “Your Talkative Cat.” SSPCA.org.
Sueda, K., DVM., Best Friends Animal Society. (n.d.). “The Talkative Cat.” BestFriends.org.

Read more at Suite101: Howling in Cats: Causes of Excessive Cat Vocalization | Suite101.com http://jennifercopley.suite101.com/why-does-my-cat-howl-a...

My suggestion would be to get her a new scratcher (if she has her claws) and some fresh catnip. Maybe she's just bored or needs attention, since you've ruled out anything medical going on.

My cat used to meow really loudly at the food cabinet RIGHT after she ate, and since she's definitely not underweight, my vet said it was likely an attention thing...like she knew we were going to leave the house after we fed her in the morning.

Ugh, I know your pain!

I started giving my howler Rescue Remedy for pets. She howled because she used to sleep in the bedroom with me and my husband is allergic so when he moved in...she moved out of the bedroom.

I give her a dose on her nose about an hour before we go to bed. It seems to calm her down and she howls much less. Also, she paws at the door so I squirt her with a water bottle. Normally I only have to squirt her once and she shuts up and goes to sleep.

Good luck!

Well we let the cat in our room and its no issue. She has her own little cave to sleep in. Cat is lonely and wants you.

My cat would meow incessantly during the night, tap on the bathtub nozzle in our bedroom, and bite and hit our window shade, so we started closing our door. Then he would just meow louder outside the door, meow, and bang on it with his paws (seriously, he would sit by the door and take his 2 paws and hit the door like he was playing a drum). When we ignored that, he would run through the vertical blinds in the family room (which is right next to our bedroom), then come back with the tapping. Or he would sit outside the kids rooms and meow to wake them up. We thought he was hungry during the night, so made sure he had food before we went to bed. Nope, he still meowed. I think he wanted to be let out into the back porch (he’s an indoor cat and the porch is relatively new), which I wasn’t about to get him into the routine of expecting us to get up every night to let him out and in.

2 weeks of sleepless nights was enough. Our house isn’t big, so couldn’t put him in room by himself and close the door, but we did find a solution. When he banged on the door, ran through the blinds etc we’d get out of bed and give him a little spray of water. After the 3rd night he stopped and he has been quiet since.

If your cat doesn’t like to get wet, this is a humane solution which worked for us. Good luck! I was at my wits end, seriously thinking about locking the cat in the garage overnight just to get some sleep!

Ugh. I feel your pain, we have a year old boy cat and he howls all day too. I'm about to have a baby and really don't want to deal with it either.

Ha! We had a cat that "hunted" all night, too! Howling louder and louder as he went. He hunted socks and paper balls from the trash cans. We tried really hard to keep all socks put away and trash cans empty. It really helped!

Try to figure out what her "prey" is and eliminate it. Beyond that, I have no other ideas!!

Good luck!

Shes bored & just wants attention. Make sure about an hour before you go to bed to play with her so she winds down a bit. Just like kids they need a bedtime routine to end their day.

Well kicking doesn't work though I won't go into how I know that. :p

My cat does that as well. The only nice thing is I can use it as an example of why whining doesn't work to my kids. Ya know how we all ignore Stinky and secretly want to kick him? He is whining! See, silver lining. :)

Oh yeah, one and done has a good one. We have a desk top air purifier in our room. Between the white noise it produces and we keep our door shut we don't hear the beast at night.

Cats are nocturnal so try to keep her busy during the day. She is awake at night and most likely wanting attention. I had two female cats and the younger one would do this. It made me crazy. I would spend time with her after work and play so that she would go to sleep at night.

I squirt ours with a spray of water. And it seems to get her to cut it out. Now if she finds something like a lizard or bug in the house to "hunt" all bets are off. So we have to get up and go see what it is she found and catch it to get her to be quiet.