Hey!

So there’s this cat who will meow for literally hours at a time to be let out and won’t stop until we do. We’ve tried ignoring him, but 3-5 hours into non stop meowing is hard and gets annoying. He’s even figured out things that annoy us. Scratching the couch, biting us or anything just to be let out.

Do y’all have any advice, tips or tricks To stop this behavior??

hello :) well, i’m not an expert on cats but i do have two. my suggestion would be to take the cat on scheduled walks if possible. i recommend taking your (vaccinated and spayed/neutered) cat out on a harness for a period of time. build anticipation for the walk and reward good behavior with treats. we lost a cat to coyotes just letting her out free so i don’t let my cats outside on their own anymore. :/ during other times try to play with the cat with toys/laser pointers/what have you to make sure they don’t have too much pent up energy. and like you said there are gonna be a lot of times where they’re going to meow and you will have to ignore them. they are like kids lol if you give them attention they’ll keep repeating the negative behavior. just make sure you are consistent with your reactions. wish you the best :)

Generally cats that meow nonstop are bored. Whenever my cats act up, I pull out a toy and wear them out until they just wanna lie down and nap.

Cats are also responsive to positive reinforcement training--when your cat is doing something you want them to do (like be quiet, play a certain way, etc.) then give them a treat or pets. Negative reinforcement can also work to some extent--you can spray the cat with a bottle when they're meowing, biting, or scratching. However, don't be like... mean about it, if that makes sense. If you're too trigger-happy with the spritzer bottle, then the cat will just become distrustful of you and not feel safe and secure.

Some cats also mellow out after getting into some catnip, or they might get excited and are able to entertain themselves. You can also buy sprays that will repel cats from furniture or areas in your home: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/category/cat/cat-training/cat-repellents-and-deterrents

I've used repellents before, and for the most part they work pretty well. A lot of people I know said they didn't smell anything, but I did, personally--I'm also fairly sensitive to smells.

I really, really strongly suggest not to let the cat outdoors, even if they're being a pest. In cities, cats who get lost rarely get returned home, and they're likely to get hit by cars. In the country, coyotes and other wildlife predate on cats. Everywhere there's the possibility of a cat getting into a fight and contracting an infectious disease, and domestic cats are one of the biggest contributors to songbird populations decreasing to the point of endangerment. I'm guessing that you don't want to let the cat out because you haven't given into the cat's begging, but I still feel compelled to mention this whenever people talk about cats being outdoors.

So we did all of this.

We've tried nip, we tried toys...he doesn't even pay attention to them anymore he will just ignore them and keep meowing. Even got some new ones and he's not interested he just will stand by the back door and meow.

We'll give him snacks when he's not meowing or when he's being good...we stopped the spray even though it was just when he bit, but we're trying to figure out new techniques but so far nothing has worked.

We might try the walks honestly, he has gone with us before but he meows the entire time, extremely loud and the neighbors always give us odd looks. Lmao.

Is there another cat outdoors who might be marking things and claiming territory? Sometimes male cats get anxious over territory, even if they mostly stay indoors. They actually make anti-anxiety meds for cats in this sort of situation.

Hmm, we only saw one and they were fighting in the middle of the night so that might be a possibility

We're also looking into some calming sprays as well... But can check that out as well

They also make calming pheromone diffusers. You just plug them in, and cats tend to calm down. How well it works depends on the cat and how high their anxiety already is, but my partner and I saw some results with our cats.

There are also calming collars that I have seen online! I know my cats HATE spray, but they're spray bottle trained so they don't even like when I spray fabreeze.

I cannot stress enough how you should absolutely in no way use a spray bottle on your cats. You're not helping the situation, and in fact even if you use it only rarely you will make your cats distrustful of you and raise any anxiety they have about the situation.

If everything else has failed I can almost guarantee that you have an issue with outdoor cats. They're probably spraying the outside area as their territory, which is prompting your cat to want to go out to chase them away. You can get calming stuff for your cat, but I suggest you look into ways to cat proof your yard as well to keep the feral cats out. Stuff you can do to any fence you may have, motion-activated spray cans and lights, stuff like that.

is your cat spayed/neutered? If not, you could consider "fixing" the cat. a few years back, a young female cat just followed me home. i took her in and she would yowl and yowl... we spayed her in about a week or two and the meowing stopped the next day.

My younger cat sometimes meows loudly - i'm not sure why, but i assume it's boredom or something health-related. (the older cat becomes really worried if he thinks it's something serious, and he checks on the younger one; i haven't noticed this behavior while the younger one was meowing, or i didn't pay close attention/didn't recognize it) we got him to the vet, discovered he's got asthma made worse by his weight (he was 19 lbs, and he's on a diet to lose weight now.) now the meowing stopped..

is the cat meowing at certain hours? is there anything else happening while (s)he meows?

So we've been looking at those and honestly might try it, I've heard good things about them also. Hmm

Yeah, we stopped completely. Also, we were looking into some fake grass for cats. Though the yard is a big so we'll have to look into cat proofing for larger scales.

Yes, hes fixed and he still does all of this lmao. Probably going to take him to the vet soon though. He basically meows anytime someone is home but not at us, just at the door.

Thinking now more toward territory or maybe something wrong we can't see or understand. But not too sure ):

I have a male cat that is also obnoxious af. Not to the point of non-stop meowing, but he is definitely one who likes to crank up the drama and be loud. We used to let our cat out (always supervised and never off our property) with us sometimes, and then it would get to where you are with your guy, where ours would just sit by the door and cry. We managed to curb this and hopefully you can too.

First of all - stop letting him outside. I know ignoring him when he's bawling for hours is tough and you don't want to give in, but eventually he'll figure out that he isn't going to go outside no matter how much meowing he does.

Try a Feliway diffuser. You just plug it into the wall and it releases happy cat pheromones that can help calm them down. Zylkene capsules are another thing. They're made from a milk compound and it helps calm them down (you can just open the capsule and put it on their food). You could also try CBD oil/treats as well if you have access to those.

I know I'm a bit of a broken record with the above advice, but ultimately I would schedule a vet trip just so you can rule out anything medical, and then work on the behavioral aspect of it. Your vet could probably offer some advice as well.

I used to take my neutered male kitten outside on walks on a leash. If you start when they are a kitten, it is easier, but it's not impossible when they are older. You just have to figure out what will motivate him and then use that strategy. That way, he gets a chance to go outside, but you control how much and when he goes out. Get him on a schedule....that will help a lot. Once he figures out he is not getting outside until his next walk, he should get used to it and stop being so vocal.

Vet tech/cat lady here!

I would first recommend taking him to the vet to rule out any medical issues. Some conditions like thyroid/kidney disease can go along with excessive vocalization. If medical is ruled out, talk with your vet about behavioral medications for him. One of my cats had the same issue, but at night. I was getting 30 mins to an hour of sleep per night due to constant meowing. She's now on an anxiety medication and doing great! I hope this helps! Good luck!

Sometimes playing the youtube videos of cats purring can help. Sounds really strange I know haha There are like 3hr or more videos of the sound of a cat purring. My cat really likes it. Saw it somewhere and it works. After trying all of those things, to me, it sounds like a territorial thing. Seems like you are a very responsible cat owner. Hope you find a solution or something that helps! ❤

Seconding what everyone else here has said, but yeah that cat sounds understimulated. Wand toys are good for this, I use them when my cat gets restless since it's a good way to expend energy and engage their natural hunting instincts in a fun way. She also loves to play "fetch" (not the traditional dog's game of fetch but her own version of it) where I'll throw one of her favorite toys down the hallway, she'll chase after it at top tiger speed and retrieve it but instead of bringing it back to me she'll just play-hunt for it wherever it was thrown until she eventually makes her way back to me.

The other possibility is your cat wants affection. Doesn't sound likely given what you described since he's acting out (which usually means restless/not enough play rather than lack of pets/cuddles) but if you ever catch him in a calm mood and he likes being pet, it can't hurt to try.

+1 to ruling out potential medical issues, and also it definitely sounds like there are cats in your neighborhood that could be bothering yours. Feliway (the pheromone stuff) might be a good thing to try.

cats, more often than not (but not always) tend to vocalize to get human attention. he may be yowling to warn the cats outside, and also maybe trying to warn you about the cats as well. it sounds like he might be anxious. but sometimes they just like to talk! my grandpa had a cat named Rainey. every Friday my dad would call grandpa to chat and Rainey would sit next to the phone and participate in the whole conversation.

I have three cats now, and two of them really hate each other. they don't fight, but they make each other anxious. Toki is the one who always wants to get outside. per vet recommendation, to give both him and Pantoufle a break, he gets supervised only harness walks occasionally. but NEVER when he's begging and crying for it. he does that every time I take the dog out and it's obnoxious. his walks are a surprise treat when he's not doing that, so he learns that crying and getting in my way is NOT the way to get what he wants.

positive reinforcement is always the way to go. i also agree with giving treats when he's being calm and quiet (if you can catch him doing it, lol). I'm doing this with my dog. he's what we call "reactive." he goes apeshit every time someone walks past, and again, busy street, it's a constant thing all day. we're learning to "capture calmness" by giving him treats when he chooses to lie down and be quiet, or to play with his own toys, etc. this way he learns that it's okay to relax and do nothing sometimes.

In theory that should work with cats, too. positive reinforcement is foolproof with any type of animal, from rats to crows to humans.