10 Reasons Why Your New Adopted Cat Won’t Stop Meowing
Bringing home a new cat can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it can also bring its own set of challenges – including incessant meowing by the new addition. Daytime, nighttime – she never stops. What on earth could be the problem?
Don’t worry, been there, done that! In this article, I’ll provide insight into the possible reasons behind your cat’s meowing and offer tips on how to help her calm down.
If you’re looking for an answer to the never-ending assault on your eardrums, this one’s for you.
How do cats communicate?
Contrary to the popular belief that cats are aloof and solitary creatures, they can also be social and live successfully in groups.
Either way, both familiar and unfamiliar cats communicate with each other, using specific vocalizations to communicate in specific social contexts. These contexts are:
- Mothers with their young
- With other cats during hostile encounters
- During mating
In addition, given that cats have been domesticated for as long as 10,000 years, interactions between cats and humans are also an important part of how cats vocalize to communicate (Tavernier et al., 2019).
Why do cats meow to communicate with humans?
Interestingly enough, the meow is not used much when cats communicate with each other. But they use it a lot when they”talk” to humans.
One theory suggests that cats “selected” the meow sound because of its appealing nature to the human ear.
In other words, if a cat could meow in a way so humans responded, she was more likely to survive – because she would be fed and taken care of (Tavernier et al., 2019).
Over time, then, cats have adapted to use vocalizations like yowling or meowing to express a need for food or attention seeking, in addition to more “traditional” needs like illness, stress, loneliness, aging, or the desire to breed.
Pretty clever when you think about it.
But maybe not when it’s 4 a.m., your new pet hasn’t stopped meowing for hours and the alarm is only a few hours away.
What’s in a meow?
According to research, cats craft their signature meow sound by slowly closing their open mouth to make a high-pitched call of two distinct syllables. These syllables have an ‘i’ or ‘e’ sound.
“The first vowel sound is raucous and the second is higher in pitch, more tonal, enhanced by the resonant properties of the vocal tract, with a slight frequency modulation,” explains the study by Tavernier et al. (2019).
According to another study, meows produced in positive contexts have a higher pitch, shorter duration, and rising melody – compared to those produced in negative contexts (Schötz et al., 2019).
So now we know cats meow to communicate something or to express how they’re feeling, it’s important to pay attention to the tone, frequency, and intensity of the meow – the more intense it sounds, the more urgent the message.
This selection of videos from Meowsic showcases the different types of meows in cats and the contexts in which cats use them.
Feline body language
Just like with vocalizations, cats also use their body language to communicate with fellow cats, express how they feel, and interact with humans.
So understanding your cat’s body language is another important piece of the puzzle when you’re trying to work out what’s going on when she won’t stop meowing.
This video from Fear Free Happy Homes provides a quick overview of feline body language to help pet parents better understand their cats:
10 reasons your cat won’t stop meowing
Let’s now look at some of the most common reasons your kitty won’t stop meowing.
#1. She’s hungry or thirsty
If your cat’s needs go unmet for too long, she will keep reminding you until something is done about it.
So check if she’s in need of a refill of food or fresh water – this could be the simple answer you’re looking for.
#2. She’s scared, anxious, or stressed
Transiting to a new home is a stressful time for any newly rehomed pet.
If you’ve recently adopted your kitty and she’s meowing nonstop, it could be a sign she’s frightened in this unfamiliar environment – a new home, with its new people, scents, sounds, children, and/or other pets can be completely overwhelming.
If she’s just a little kitten and you’ve just brought her home for the first time, she may be feeling lost without her mom and littermates and vocalizing her distress to try to locate them and get their attention (see #3).
While some cats will adapt to their new surroundings like a duck to water, others will take time to adjust. Constant meowing is just your kitty’s way of expressing her distress.
Other possible triggers for a cat to feel stressed or fearful, causing them to meow nonstop, include loud noises, unfamiliar visitors, and sudden changes in the environment.
I’ve noticed this sometimes after moving house when our big tabby cat Spencer walks around the new house meowing his head off, stressed about all the loud noise and upheaval, the journey to the new place, and the strange new environment.
He did the same thing after his brother Finlay went to the vet and never came home, which was heartbreaking.
Yes, our feline friends do appear to experience grief. I’ll talk more about Finlay in #5.
#3. Kitten meowing for her mother
The bond between a mother and her kittens can be incredibly strong, so it’s unsurprising that being separated from their mom and siblings can cause significant distress for young kittens.
If you’ve just adopted a kitten who is 8 weeks old or younger, chances are this is the first time your new furry friend has been separated from her family.
Suddenly being away from them and deposited in a new home with a new (human) family can be scary and overwhelming, and your new kitten might be feeling completely at the mercy of her environment with no control over it whatsoever.
This can be very stressful for her. She doesn’t know yet that she’s safe and is going to have the best life ever with you. So her constant meowing may be her way of expressing all the fear, confusion, and distress she’s feeling.
#4. She wants attention or comfort
Some cats are naturally social creatures and enjoy being around people, especially those they trust and are bonded with.
If you find your cat is meowing excessively, it could just be because she wants affection and is trying to get your attention.
A newly adopted cat or kitten may also be meowing as a way of trying to seek reassurance.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen plenty of advice online suggesting you ignore your cat if she’s meowing constantly but I wouldn’t recommend this at all.
If she’s scared or seeking comfort and you can provide this, then why wouldn’t you? It would be mean to deprive her when you could so easily help by spending some quality time with her.
Case Study: Jeffrey – Vocal kitten
When we rescued our tiny orphan kitten Jeffrey from a Dubai parking lot, he was extremely vocal.
In fact, his loud meow saved his life because without it we’d never have known he was there.
It took us about an hour to track him down and get him into a cat carrier and once we got him home, we put him in the spare bedroom so he had a safe, quiet space away from our other cats.
But he kept on meowing and meowing – very loudly.
He was a confident kitten so while he wasn’t exactly scared, he wasn’t at ease in this strange new environment either.
I enlisted the help of a fluffy white toy dog that we happened to have lying around. I put it in Jeffrey’s cat box next to him and he settled immediately. He just wanted some comfort and the toy dog acting as a surrogate mother fit the bill perfectly.
If that hadn’t worked, I’d have just walked around the house with him on my shoulder, providing him with some much-needed physical contact till he settled down. Sometimes you have to get creative.
#5. She’s sick, injured, or in pain
If your cat is restless, pacing up and down and meowing constantly, it could be a sign she’s feeling ill or is in pain and can’t get settled or comfortable.
Or, if she has suffered some sort of injury or has been exposed to something potentially toxic – like a car exhaust or cleaning chemicals – she may also be feeling painful or unwell and her incessant meowing is nothing more than a cry for help.
Case Study: Finlay – Sick cat
When our sweet little Finlay suddenly got very sick, he started meowing nonstop in the middle of the night.
When I got up to check on him, he was freezing and shivering. His fur was all spikey and he was in great discomfort.
As there was no 24-hour vet in the area, unfortunately, there was nothing I could do till the local vet opened at 8 a.m.
So I kept him warm with me for the rest of the night and as comfortable as I could, which helped him settle at least a little bit and provide some comfort till we could get him the help he needed.
It turned out that poor Finlay was really sick and needed urgent treatment. Imagine if we’d just ignored him all night!
If you think your cat might be sick, injured, or in pain, please seek professional advice from your vet to check for any medical conditions or health problems as soon as possible.
It can often happen that there is a bonafide medical reason for what can appear to be a behavior issue, so it’s always worth checking. Better safe than sorry.
#6. She’s playing
Meowing can also be a sign that your kitty is playing and engaging in her natural predatory behavior.
Cats are instinctive hunters and sometimes make vocalizations as they prowl around, especially when they catch something.
Our cat Loulou used to wait till the middle of the night and then start her hunting games.
She’d chase the furry toy mouse and pounce on it several times, bat it about a bit with her paws, then grab it in her mouth and march into the bedroom, dropping it right by my side of the bed and yowling loudly the entire time.
It was quite the wake-up call. Thanks, Loulou!
#7. She wants something
Another reason your cat may be meowing is that she wants something from you.
She may want to be let into or out of a room or she may want you to open the front door to let her in from the cold (or heat).
Or she may want help jumping down from a high place, or crept unnoticed into a favorite hiding place in a cupboard and is now stuck so wants you to come to the rescue.
Whatever it is, cats can be quite vocal when they’re trying to communicate their needs.
The aforementioned Jeffrey used to sit on top of our garden wall (which was about 8 feet high) and meow loudly till I came running. I’d hunch over and he’d jump down, first onto my back and then to the ground.
He just didn’t want to risk injuring himself by jumping straight down to the ground and had me well-trained to come and help him.
I’m not really sure how that even happened. Cats are smart like that.
#8. She’s chatty
Some cats are known to be more vocal than others, and your cat may be just naturally chatty.
Like people, cats can have different personalities, so if yours tends to meow a lot, that might just be her way of expressing herself.
If your cat’s meows don’t seem to be linked with any specific event or need, then she may just love having a conversation with you.
#9. She’s on heat
If you have a female cat who is meowing excessively, it could be because she’s on heat.
When female cats are sexually mature and not spayed, they will go on the hunt for a mate–and to do so, they often vocalize more than usual.
Unfortunately, this period of excessive vocalization can last for up to about 3 weeks if your cat doesn’t find a mate.
Another of our Dubai parking lot orphan kittens, Mini Me, went through her first estrus cycle very young before we had her spayed and the noise was both incessant and overwhelming.
Spaying is the most effective way to reduce this behavior, so if you have an unspayed female cat who meows excessively, consider making an appointment with your vet right away. Spaying is generally very safe and has many health benefits for your kitty, too.
To ease Mini Me’s distress, I used to pick her up and she’d lie on her back in my arms, quite rigid but purring her head off. For some reason it comforted her to be in this position so I’d sometimes stand there for an hour or so, holding her and providing comfort.
Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes.
#10. She’s confused or disoriented
Just like people, cats can develop health issues and their minds and bodies can start to deteriorate with age.
Older cats may vocalize more, so if your cat is getting up there in years or you’ve adopted an elderly cat, it’s worth looking into whether her incessant meowing could be linked to cognitive decline. This can make cats feel confused or disoriented.
It’s also possible her joints are getting achy and she’s having trouble moving around, so she’s meowing because of the pain and discomfort she’s experiencing.
If you suspect something isn’t right, it’s important your cat gets the proper medical attention.
How do you calm a cat that won’t stop meowing?
If your cat is meowing incessantly, it can make life at home very difficult. So now we’ve examined the various reasons for the behavior, here are some tips for helping her to be more relaxed.
Provide a safe space
Giving your cat a safe room can reduce her stress levels and make her feel more secure in her environment. A spare room or bathroom is ideal for this, preferably in a quiet place that’s removed from the busy areas of the home.
Her “cat cave” should contain everything she needs, including a selection of dry and wet food, water bowl, litterbox, and a scratching post.
Kitty’s safe place should also be off-limits to other pets or children.
Providing a safe environment will help give her the security she needs to relax and start to calm down.
Environmental enrichment
Environmental enrichment gives cats an outlet for their natural curiosity and helps them stay mentally stimulated while indoors.
So provide plenty of hiding spots for your cat (such as cardboard boxes, which are known to reduce feline stress) and give her some sort of elevated perch like a cat tree or high shelf where she can survey her domain from above.
I also like to scatter some catnip of silvervine on bedding and toys to provide scent enrichment.
For older cats, make life easier by providing ramps and pet stairs so they don’t have to jump up and down onto things, which might be painful for their aging joints.
You can also place yoga mats on the floor to prevent them from slipping and sliding, which, again, can be painful on stiff joints.
Mental stimulation
Just like us humans need mental stimulation throughout our day-to-day lives to help us stay sharp, cats also benefit from mental stimulation games such as interactive toys, clicker training sessions (more on that later!), puzzle feeders, or something as simple as a paper bag filled with treats.
This engages the “seeking” system in the brain, which is linked to exploratory behavior.
“Animals love having the SEEKING system activated,” explains animal behavior expert, Dr. Karolina Westlund.
“If you give them the opportunity to self-stimulate those circuits by pressing a lever, they’ll do so until they drop from exhaustion – quite unlike if they were working for access to food.”
Plus your kitty will get a boost of dopamine, making her feel good all around.
Playtime
Playtime not only strengthens the bond between you and your cat and elevates her mood state to one of happiness, it also provides physical exercise – which can assist in reducing stress levels significantly as long as you don’t overdo it.
Make sure you set aside time each day for some playtime activities tailored specifically for your cat, like chasing a piece of string or feather wand toy around the house or throwing a scrunched-up ball of paper for her to pounce on.
This gives her an outlet for her predatory instincts and also provides her with a good dose of physical exercise, making her more relaxed afterward.
Clean litter box
Keeping your cat’s litter box clean should go without saying; nobody likes a dirty bathroom – including cats!
Make sure you scoop out your kitty’s litter box at least once per day (more often if there’s more than one pet using it) and provide one box per cat plus one extra if you have multiple cats.
Cozy bed
Provide a cozy bed for your cat somewhere warm and comfortable away from any drafts or loud noises.
We have six cats at home right now and they each have their own preferences for where they sleep.
Rainbow likes a high shelf in a cupboard, Jasmine likes a cat box on a table with the door open, Spencer likes a cozy cat bed on the floor, Kasper likes a cardboard box on a chair, Oakley likes to drape himself across my pillow, and Jethro likes a fluffy blanket under the humans’ bed.
So you might want to experiment with your meowing kitty’s preferred sleeping arrangements as it could make all the difference when trying to get some peace and quiet at night.
Pheromones
Pheromones are chemical signals cats use to communicate with one another by rubbing their scent glands (located on the chin, lips, cheeks, face, and base of the tail) against things in the environment, as well as people and other cats.
Feliway is an artificial pheromone product that comes as a spray or plug-in diffuser and
may help reduce anxiety levels when diffused into the home environment.
Rescue Remedy
Rescue® Pet is a herbal remedy for reducing stress in animals.
All you have to do is add a few drops to your cat’s drinking water or wet food.
This can be especially helpful during stressful times – like when kitty has just arrived in a completely new home.
Cat music
Yes, really! Playing calming music specifically designed for cats (Through a Cat’s ear by iCalmPets is one such option) has been found to reduce stress levels in cats, which can in turn help stop excessive meowing.
Some cats will respond to other types of music, especially classical music. Our Loulou, who for a while had some anxiety issues about using the litterbox, was especially partial to Swan Lake and always relaxed whenever I played it.
Clicker training
Despite the common belief that cats are a law unto themselves, they can be trained!
Clicker training is a positive reinforcement technique that uses a small mechanical device (the clicker) to reward desirable behaviors.
By “clicking” at the precise moment your cat does what you want her to do and then rewarding her with a treat, she gets precise information about what exactly is being rewarded, rather than having to guess what you do and don’t like.
This type of training focuses on what the animal does correctly, rather than punishing her for doing something “wrong.”
Not only does this set up your cat for success by providing a positive learning environment, it’s also a great way to teach her alternative behaviors – including learning to be quiet instead of meowing excessively.
Here’s the late great Dr. Sophia Yin demonstrating how to train a cat to stay quiet:
Routine
To provide structure and consistency, establish a daily routine for your cat that includes regular meal times, attention, and play sessions.
To mimic a more natural hunting and eating pattern, consider offering smaller meals throughout the day.
Establishing a routine means less stress for your kitty as she knows what’s happening and when, making her feel more in control of her environment and, therefore, more relaxed.
Fewer surprises = less anxiety = fewer meows!
Time and patience
Finally, patience is key.
It takes time for any animal (or human!) to adjust to changes in their life so try not to let those meows get under your skin too much.
How do I stop my cat from meowing at night?
If your cat is one of those night yowlers, make sure she has plenty of mental and physical stimulation during your waking hours.
Try to think about how many “highlights” she has throughout the day, such as food, treats, playtime, physical activity, etc., and make sure she has plenty of these. This will help elevate her overall mood state and help her feel more relaxed.
Play a short interactive game with her before bedtime then give her a nice dish of wet food or some tasty food in a puzzle toy to keep her busy for a while.
Turn off the lights and make sure the environment is quiet and calm. This all helps get the message across that that’s it for the day, now it’s time to chill!
All this will help relax her and I usually find at this stage, even the most hyper of cats will have a grooming session and then curl up and go to sleep – hopefully giving you a peaceful night’s rest.
If, however, she still tends to get restless at night, an automatic feeder set to open just before the time she’s likely to start meowing is worth a try.
Final thoughts
Excessive meowing can be one of the most frustrating things for new cat owners to have to deal with, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. With just a few simple changes and some patience, you can help your cat calm down and feel more relaxed.
Once your feline friend adjusts and feels more comfortable, those pesky meows should soon become distant memories.
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Resources
- Cat Body Language 101 [Video] – Fear Free Happy Homes
- Ethogram of the adult cat vocalization – Chloé Tavernier, Sohail Ahmed, Katherine Albro Houpt, & Seong Chan Yeon
- Feline vocal communication – Chloé Tavernier, Sohail Ahmed, Katherine Albro Houpt, & Seong Chan Yeon
- How to Use Clicker Training to Communicate With Your Dog – Stephanie Gibeault
- Melody Matters: An Acoustic Study of Domestic Cat Meows in Six Contexts and Four Mental States – Susanne Schötz, Joost van de Weijer,& Robert Eklund
- Meowing Sounds [Video] – Meowsic
- Mother-offspring recognition in the domestic cat: Kittens recognize their own mother’s call – Péter Szenczi, Oxána Bánszegi, Andrea Urrutia, Tamás Faragó, & Robyn Hudson
- Mum’s the word: Exploring the relationship between kittens and their mothers – International Cat Care
- SEEKING – Animal Emotions/Module 6 [Educational Course] – Dr. Karolina Westlund/Illis Animal Behaviour Courses
- Teaching a Cat to Be Quiet [Video] – CattleDog Publishing
NEED HELP FROM A CAT BEHAVIOR SPECIALIST? If you need more help dealing with a training or behavior issue, please find professional help from a certified feline behavior consultant. They will be able to offer you tailored advice for your cat(s) and situation. Good places to start are: - International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants - COAPE Association of Pet Behaviourists and Trainers - American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior
