How to get him to stop meowing all the time?

[Karianne]

Hello people!

I have a lovely Savannah boy named Khan. He is two years old, but he meows literally all the time when the attention is not on him.. As I share the apartment I live in with two other people, this is a behaviour I would like to reduce or get rid of, so my room-mates won't get too annoyed with him.

I have been to the vet with him, and he is a perfectly healthy cat. He also gets a lot of playtime as both me and my roomies play with him everyday after we have finished work.

One thing that is worth mentioning, is the fact that I used to have another Savannah cat, but I had to give her up to someone else that I know because Khan was being very hostile towards her and territorial over the litter boxes (we had three) and she ended up peeing in the sofa and beds instead. We tried everything to make it work, but found out they were better off without each other.

I am very wary about bringing another cat in as it might just end up peeing everywhere else like the other cat, as Khan will probably terrorize the new cat as well. So surely it's not the fact that he's lonely, right? Or am I wrong here?

 

[Rob1984]

my cat randomly walks around meowing ive just learned to live with it theres not much you can do really

 

[Patti]

I have found that some Savannahs are just more vocal than others. They don't usually call when there is no one around so I believe it is a cry for attention. I'm not sure what might help in this situation since (in my experience) it seems that it is primarily human interaction they are seeking, and you obviously can't be 'on' for him 24/7...

 

[admin]

Is Khan neutered? I'm assuming he is, but one never knows.

How often do you play with him? He may just need more attention, so perhaps try playing with him in the morning and at night...are you gone long periods of time?

 

[Karianne]

Yes he is neutered I'm gone for about 9 hours everyday, and I give him cuddles before I go to work(as he is more cuddly than playful in the mornings) and then I play with him after work several times through the evening.

I think it's about him wanting attention, but as Patti said, I can't be 'on' for him 24/7 as I have to do other things like dinner, house chores etc.

Is it some way to reduce it? Would it be bad to give him a spray from the waterbottle for example? When he gets into the excessive meowing I mean.

Thanks for the replys!

 

[Patti]

I would not use negative reinforcement such as a squirt bottle with Khan. Instead, consider investing in some activities that don't require human interaction such as the Undercover Mouse, an automatic Laser Toy, a Puzzle Toy Food Dispenser, or even Kitty Entertainment DVDs.

 

[Karianne]

Ok, thank you for good advice!:D Will give all of them a try. Excited to see how he reacts to the kitty DVDs

 

[Moggieslegacy]

I recently watched this short BBC clip "Why Cats Meow" on youtube

It is interesting they do not use this form of communication with other cats, just their Mom's, and they normally out grow it as Mom ignores them in the weaning process.

 

[Kae]

Atticus does it when he's bored. When he's yelling at me (and he's deaf, so he's super loud and it has no tone) it means he wants to play. I got him a cat wheel from that onefastcat place, which he loves and uses, and that has helped a great deal when he wants to run and I am busy with something else. I also try to set aside time a few times a day to take him outside, or play with him in some interactive way - feather teaser etc.

He does it at three in the morning I flat out ignore him and that seems to have largely gotten rid of night time yowls.

 

[MM3]

It's true that children learn what they live and the same can be said for how we raise and interact with our furbabies on arrival at the beginning of them being a new family member. The training begins on both sides. How the new baby trains me and how I teach the new baby. I've set the stage that if Emma Mae wants to play I drop everything and play. I TAUGHT HER this ....... so when she becomes very very vocal and she is informing me she wants to play. I stop what I'm doing and play with her. I can't be annoyed with her if she is vocal and communicating with me that she's bored and wants a playmate. I've trained her that anytime she wants to play is ok. Lucky for me it's never early morning hours. My husband does get annoyed at times and will ask her to tend to her and see what she is needing. Since I spend all day with her our connection/bond is tight. I'm fortunate that my lifestyle can accommodate her requests. This wasn't by chance we planned it. She's very spoiled and that was planned as well! Ha ha