WWYD very vocal cat ruining our lives.

[Minimili]

This sounds so ridiculous but it’s been such a big issue for so long and I just don’t know what to do.

I rehomed my parent’s cat.
My dad absolutely adored the cat but after he died my mum had him, she died and I took him in as I knew how much they loved him and wanted him to have a good life.

This cat is the loudest cat you’ve ever heard, he’s also the hungriest.
Whenever he wants something he miaows incessantly at a loud volume that ends up escalating to howls. We feed him 4-6 100g cat food pouches a day and he stands by his bowl getting louder and louder till we feed him immediately.
He has started making a noise that’s like a loud high pitched howl mixed with a growling noise that I can’t explain but is really jarring and can’t be tuned out.
You can hear it even with earplugs.

The vet checked him multiple times saying he’s just a vocal cat but you really don’t understand his volume till you hear him.

He has started mioawing/howling through the night and my autistic DP just can’t cope. He works early shifts and is woken up often in the early hours of the morning from continuous loud howling. When the cat wants food one of us has to drop everything and feed him because DP gets so distressed by the noise. He can miaow/howl for hours with absolutely no reason anyone has been able to find.

The cat sometimes eats half his food but howls until we put more in his dish, we thought he was just eating the jelly but he eats it all when we have piled food in his dish. He won’t eat dry food no matter how long we don’t give him wet.

I started to put the cat outside when it starts at night but the neighbours started complaining and one said she gets less sleep from my cat then from her baby crying.

DP and the neighbours said they are constantly on edge waiting for it to start, I hardly sleep as the slightest noise means I need to wake up and feed him or put him outside before it ramps up.

I love cats, I’ve always had them and a lot of my friends do, I’ve never witnessed this from any other cat. People who visit always seem shocked and a friend who stayed with us as she was locked out ended up sleeping in her car as she couldn’t stand the noise. It’s often a case of being woken up by random high pitched sounds through the night for no reason.

My DP of 12 years said he’s moving out unless I rehome the cat, my neighbours have begged me to keep him quiet.

I really don’t know what to do and this has been going on for 5 years and is getting worse. The cat is 17 but in great health, he’s unlikely to be rehomed though. He was a rescue cat to start then moved when my parents died and they adored him so much I just feel so much guilt.
I fell out with my sister 3 years ago when I said I’d rehome the cat and she thought I was heartless, she has dogs the cat wouldn’t live with.

So far I’ve lost my sister, my relationship is suffering, my neighbours hate me, I get no sleep and I’m constantly on edge, I never wanted the cat on the furniture but gave in to shut him up so my sofa is trashed and it costs me a fortune in food.

I know it’s easy to just say rehome him but the guilt is so bad. I finally decided to post on here to get an unbiased opinion about what to do.

The cats miaow is literally like a high pitched siren so it jolts everyone from sleep through the night. I have tried so hard to train him by putting him out the second he miaows and other methods.

Would I be unreasonable to finally decide on taking him to a shelter and living a more peaceful life? People can suggest tips on how to stop this but I’ve tried so many suggestions from the vet and other professionals.
It’s 3.38 and I have insomnia so being woken up just after I’d just gotten to sleep makes me angry and tearful. My next door neighbour put her lights on as soon as I put the cat out so she was obviously disturbed too.

This is why it sounds like hyperbole when I say it’s ruining my life but it actually really is.

Well first of all, many people do support assisted dying if they were to end up with dementia.

Secondly, a lot of people with dementia do need to move out of their homes and into care, as their loved ones can’t cope.

Thirdly, it’s a cat, not even OPs own cat, not a person, so rules re people don’t apply. It’s long been the case that people can have pets humanely put to sleep.

The cat sounds like a total pain in the arse, its unhappy and has had a good innings. Its probably kinder to let it go than keep it living miserably

It was 5 years ago!

When my cat did this at a similar age it was a symptom of dementia. He started to get lost in the house and would howl with anxiety. At the same time, he started loosing weight and struggling with stairs and the kindness, but most painful, thing to do was to put him to sleep.

Not sure its particularly helpful to jump on dementia at this point. 12 would be very young for a cat to start showing signs of this.

Is it Celia Imrie from celebrity traitors?

Have you had bloods done for Thyroid? Our old cat was very vocal and would eat all the time, he had an over active thyroid and once medicated it stopped.

Our cat is like this and always has been, he's only 10 and is deaf which is apparently the reason why he is like that. He's getting louder as he gets older- I would never PTS for this reason but you have my sympathies OP!

Everyone saying dementia- did you miss the OP saying the cat has always been like this, and definitely for the last 5 years (so since 12, which would be young)?

Whether it’s always been like that or it’s dementia, doesn’t matter. At this stage and age it needs to be pts. Ridiculous it has fone on for so long and running everyone’s lives including your neighbours.

I think my sensitive cat would mourn me for five years. 😁

So, you would allow an elderly to suffer rather than PTS. I know you said you hate cats but that’s cruel

Having seen dementia ravage the maternal family of my mum’s half sisters I would want to euthanise myself if I was diagnosed

Just put it down ffs

He's always had a loud voice, but the night time howling "has started". This is the dementia part.

I’d try only dry cat food (mine will only eat purina salmon) for a few days Incase it’s just not full up, the meat stuff if often rubbish…. But if you need to have this cat put down do so, you can’t lose out because of a 17 year old cat x you tried your best maybe it’s just missing your parents so much x

The cat has had a good life but is clearly not happy. I agree that it sounds like dementia. Does the vet realise how loud and continuous the noise is? You could try keeping a diary of it for a few days, with timings, plus a recording. You can’t live like this so imo euthanasia is the answer now. If I get to that state I just wish someone would do the same for me.

My cat howls, he's 12. He's just very vocal, he does it at night, he does it when he goes in the litter tray, he does it when he goes to bed in his igloo, he does it when he's playing (which can be at 2am), he does it to get my attention, he does it to get his sister's attention. He does it outside. He starts quietly then gets louder and louder the more I ignore him. Apparently we all need to know when he's about to go for a shit or to bed.

He definitely doesn't have dementia, he might be demented but he definitely knows what he's doing.

When my old cat started losing her hearing she started yowling at night.

If the vet has checked him over and said he's okay, don't put him to sleep just because he's keeping you up at night, he could live another 5 years. Try leaving biscuits down for him(mine tend to eat throughout the night), try having him in your room (knowing someone is there may help him to calm down).

Most people wouldn’t put an elderly parent down what with them usually being human and this being currently illegal. The rules aren’t the same for pets. You can probably Google this and find out more if anyone is still confused by the difference between “cat” and “human.”

It is worth reposting this.

To all you Mumsnet experts diagnosing this cat with dementia, deafness or being in distress, READ THE THREAD. He has been noisy his whole life.

The suggestions to kill him are disgraceful. You should read the thread before offering such diabolical advice. There is no kindness whatsoever in killing a healthy, happy animal because he's annoying.

And no, a healthy 17 year old cat is categorically NOT too old to rehome. My local shelter rehomes older cats than that who actually have health problems.

This is Mumsnet at its absolute worst: pressuring those seeking advice into the most drastic, irreversible life or death actions. It reminds me of the thread where a 15-week pregnant woman was reluctantly considering abortion; self-righteous posters pressured her to go ahead, she got halfway through the abortion then felt nothing but regret and desperately wanted to reverse the process.

OP, what breed is he? Being noisy and demanding is completely normal for certain breeds, particularly oriental types.

Even if he's not oriental, the Oriental Cat Welfare Trust may be able to advise you on how to rehome a cat with an oriental-type personality. I've even seen them rehome non-oriental breeds before, I don't know if they still would. Link.

Believe it or not, many people love this sort of cat, and are devoted to them.
This is who he is, and FWIW I think he sounds hilarious, he deserves to be a youtube or TikTok star! I love talkative cats, and would happily have one. This shows a night howler cat from one of my favourite channels. This is noisy Siamese cats whenever their owner has a shower.

In conclusion, do NOT kill him, he doesn't deserve it and there's no evidence that he's suffering. Actually you're probably increasing his yowling by immediately giving him food whenever he starts singing! It's showing him that this works.

It's ok to rehome him, as all of your welfare is important. Cats do much better at rehoming than dogs do (unless extremely anxious and non-social, which doesn't sound like your boy). Your parents would want him to live with someone who loves him as much as they did.

That is awful

Please don’t ever use anything like this on any animal ever.

But this is Mumsnet and AIBU,the OP would have been better posting in the pet/Litter tray bits as she would have got much more compassionate responses than just putting a healthy cat to sleep.

It's a 17yr old distressed cat that is causing massive issues with the op's relationships and life. 17 is a good innings for a cat, the op has tried lots of things without success. It is time to be kind and put it out of its misery.

The cat is 17 and given it came from a rescue centre many years ago, could be older.

So your vet has just given him a once over and said because he's always been a loud cat he's fine?!

What the fuck?

Some cats are quiet, some cats are loud - conditions like dementia and thyroid problems can absolutely cause the symptoms you're describing, and your vet is suggesting that if a cat was already pretty vocal, he CAN'T be suffering from those conditions too (causing him to get louder and more annoying?)...?!

Find a new vet.
Test for thyroid - medicate that if necessary.
Ask vet to check if its appropriate and trial Selegiline and Vivitonin for the dementia.

If in a couple of weeks there is no significant improvement, euthanise.

Could also be younger then I guess.