MetaChat - Princess Ania Anastasia Caterina Chatterbox

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22 August 2010

Princess Ania Anastasia Caterina Chatterbox →[More:] is the name we gave the cat we adopted two and a half years ago. Her last name, however, is presenting a problem.

tl;dr version below...

Chatterbox- this cat chatters constantly, sometimes just to hear herself chat I think. I can tune her out. In fact, I think it's kind of cool that she's so vocal.

Mrs. Doohickie, though, has had sleep problems related to her fibromyalgia, and Ania often launches into song between 3 and 4 am. Like I said, I can tune her out, but she wakes up Mrs. Dooh and due to several things stressing her out at work, the sleep interruptions are really getting to her.

It's gotten to the point that she's said the cat is getting on her nerves and maybe the cat needs to go.

tl;dr summary:

So, people... is there a way to keep a cat from loud meowing, especially at night?

post by: Doohickie at: 16:10 | 8 comments

Can you keep Ania confined to a room at night where she can't be heard? Can Mrs. D wear earplugs?

posted by amro 22 August | 16:30

I thought of the first, and it is possible. I suspect that she would get even louder though. I mean, this cat can be really REALLY loud, like humans-shouting loud. If I suggested earplugs I think she would not take it well.

posted by Doohickie 22 August | 16:46

Some cats develop what is called "feline vocalization syndrome." It's often part of dementia in older cats. My cat (18 years old) started getting very noisy about a year ago. He also occasionally acts disoriented like he doesn't know where he is - lost in the living room. It's just part of the aging process.

When this first started showing up, I asked the vet about it. He just grinned, tapped his temple and said, "Some cats get goofy."

His latest stunt is wanting to perch in odd places. The window sills I can understand, but he's also spent a lot of time sleeping on a tiny end table that isn't quite big enough for him.

If your cat isn't very old, you would do well to have a checkup with the vet to make sure there isn't an organic cause.

posted by warbaby 22 August | 16:53

She was supposedly about 2 when we adopted her 2 years ago. She's always been like this.

Wait-
Did we adopt a retarded cat?

posted by Doohickie 22 August | 17:11

You wouldn't be the first, Doohickie.

posted by Ardiril 22 August | 17:17

She may be deaf, does she seem to hear okay?

posted by amro 22 August | 17:26

No, you wouldn't be the first, Doohickie. I've had one cat who I'm sure was ..er.. mentally challenged. His name was Gronk.

As for the meowing, two of my current cats love to hear themselves talk. It's okay most of the time, but Oliver gets on this kick... He'll yowl for attention, you give him attention, he wanders off yowling, he comes back yowling for attention, you give him attention, he wanders off yowling... You get the picture. I've actually doused him in the shower to give him something to do quietly. While I'm not necessarily proud of this fact, it didn't hurt him and he was quiet. Squirt gun, you say? Ha! He loves it. He dashes away and comes back for more.

Have you tried sleeping with the door shut? Using a squirt gun? Throwing pillows at her? The cat, not the wife...

posted by deborah 22 August | 17:34

My cat Banjo did this his whole life -- luckily he wasn't extremely loud. Some cats just like singin' the blues. I don't think you can get the princess to stop. If confining doesn't help, maybe some kind of white noise machine in the bedroom? Or both?

posted by JanetLand 22 August | 19:15

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