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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

New Kitten yells so loud it's actually quite disruptive?

47 replies

ElspethFlashman · 17/08/2021 20:43

Putting the kids to bed. New Kitten has been for the last week following us upstairs and yelling loudly outside their bedroom doors as we're trying to tell them their stories. (and it's really not miaowing, it's yelling!)

And then when they're settled down and trying to go to sleep, it's still at it. So they end up coming out and asking is the cat OK, which just makes the cat think it's working and the cycle continues. Just roaring it's head off on the landing throughout bedtime.

So tonight we basically shut the kitten in the living room downstairs to try and avoid this happening, especially as the kids were fighting and frankly we had a lot of rows to diffuse and cheekiness to battle. Not a good time to be yelled at from the floor.

Well.

You would swear the kitten was being murdered! The yelling went through the whole house!

And so I ended up going downstairs so he'd stop whilst DH stayed up to settle the kids. But the cat actually yells at you even when you're beside it until it does what it wants. So I was trying to make a cup of tea and the kitten was just at my feet ROARING at me. Turns out it wanted to be picked up and cuddled!

So then I put him down again to finish making the tea and he yells until I literally sit down on the sofa, when it immediately starts purring as loud as a jet engine and settles into my legs.

Tbh given my choice, I'd have stayed upstairs and read my book and tried to de-stress from the kids.

I don't really mind the cat being LOUD in itself, after all I used to have dogs before and they were loud as hell, but this bedtime disruption is really pretty something I'd like to nip in the bud pronto.

Any advice? Am I being thick and missing a really obvious solution?

OP posts:
Wimowehwimowehwimowehwimoweh · 17/08/2021 21:21

He’s training you to behave how he wants you to Grin

Mine used to yowl at me until I sat down so she could jump on my knee for a cuddle but she did get over the separation anxiety and stop doing that after she’d been here several months. She was a rescue so I think she was insecure.
She now yowls at me when she wants me to come outside and play! Sometimes I do, sometimes I can’t.
I sternly say “No! Fluffy” (not her real name) a few times and she does go off eventually.
No advice except to say maybe one of you needs to stay with the cat whilst the other one does bedtime, unless you just ignore him.

Mycatcontrolsmymovements · 17/08/2021 21:22

You can't contain a cat

icedcoffees · 17/08/2021 22:04

Yep - ours did this as a kitten. He had two older cats and a dog for company but he wanted me Hmm

We just ignored him. It didn't last long but if you give in, you're teaching him that yelling gets him what he wants.

He only does it now when I ask him if he wants his dinner Grin

picklemewalnuts · 17/08/2021 22:06

He needs a pocket to ride in. He's not keen on being alone.

picklemewalnuts · 17/08/2021 22:07

Presumably he's left his family and been with you for quite a short time- he's not used to being expected to be independent.

Hellocatshome · 17/08/2021 22:12

How little is he? We ended up with a kitten at 5 weeks (not old enough to leave Mum but as Mum had died there wasn't really much choice) he yelled and yelled if we ever left him so he was carried around in the pocket of a hoodie or rode on our shoulder like a parrot. He doesnt yell much anymore usually just when he accidentally gets shut in a cupboard cos he is the reason we have the phrase "curiosity killed the cat"

crimsonlake · 17/08/2021 22:16

He's a new kitten in a new environment and needs you close by. I used to carry mine around zipped up in my fleece, I miss those days.

StartingGrid · 17/08/2021 22:18

I just got screamed at right in my ear by my old boy who was on my shoulder, telling him I'm not the deaf one, he is, is doubly futile Grin
You have my sympathy! Have you any toys the kitten can be left to play with while you try to settle the kids, like a battery operated laser chaser or something to distract it?

Papergirl1968 · 17/08/2021 22:19

Take him upstairs with you and he can lie on the bed while you read the story. He just wants to be part of the family. No wonder he yells if he’s shut outside the bedroom or downstairs in another room!

AnnaMagnani · 17/08/2021 22:19

You can train the children easier than the cat. The cat is currently training you - very effectively by the sounds of it.

Each time you respond, the kitten thinks yelling is working and so he just learns to yell some more. Ignoring is the only solution.

In terms of volume, get used to it. Some cats are practically silent, some like a bit of chirrup and some like my Desert boy can be heard in the next county.

Also, next time get two kittens. Far far easier than one. They entertain each other while a lone kitten really needs attention from you all the time.

Toddlerteaplease · 17/08/2021 22:27

One of mine has started doing this when she wants attention. (She's 11 though) but has only just learnt how to be demanding and has also started being deliberately naughty. (She looks me straight in the eye while scratching the sofa.) she gets away with it as I'm just so pleased to see her blossom after 6 years!

Blankspace4 · 17/08/2021 22:29

Awwww. I’d capitulate and take him to bed with me, snuggle him up with a fleecy blanket at the end of the bed

Justilou1 · 17/08/2021 22:54

What a character! I think we need a photo!

LemonSwan · 17/08/2021 23:01

Very sad. The best part of a kitten is when they are young and spend all their time snuggled with you and wanting your attention.

This is it. You never get that again.

Enjoy it :)

Somuddled · 17/08/2021 23:06

It's adjusting to a totally new world. Assuming it has come from somewhere with cats (mother and siblings) to somewhere with none? If the poor thing some attention. It is small and scared.

EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall · 17/08/2021 23:08

One of mine was a shouter, he was still shouty when he died suddenly a month ago just before he turned 2 😢 it was very annoying at times but I miss all his funny shouty noises now. He did settle down a little as he got older though

WhoNeedsaManOfTheWorld · 17/08/2021 23:10

I had a kitten who was very needy. She was the runt and pretty much rejected by the mother. I carried her on my shoulder for weeks
She would snuggle around my neck while I was doing housework
When she grew up she totally rejected me and moved in with a relative who lived close byConfused
I couldn't even stroke her

ElspethFlashman · 17/08/2021 23:32

Well he came from a shed, and into a house with adoring kids and a million toys and several sofas, so he's definitely not struggling to adjust that's for sure!

He's loving his life, tbh. He's 12 weeks old. Settled in literally immediately, he's actually been great.

And weirdly is 100% quiet when we go up to bed at night? Like, I've come to bed and left it on the sofa downstairs and not a peep. In fact he's quiet until 7am.

So I'm not sure what to do about bedtime. We had no problem with him being on the landing but he's just wanting to get in. But once he gets into the bedrooms he goes under the kids beds and the kids get hyper. And bedtime isn't always easy here, we can't add a big distraction.

Really hope he grows out of this phase in time.

OP posts:
Heartofglass12345 · 18/08/2021 01:33

You need one of these Grin

New Kitten yells so loud it's actually quite disruptive?
Davidbowieshair · 18/08/2021 01:33

This reply has been deleted

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InTropicalTrumpsLand · 18/08/2021 02:08

Ah, yes. I have a screamer too, and whenever I move I worry about what the neighbors will think because dcat sounds like a wailing baby. Sometimes are guaranteed screaming times (if I dare shower and don't leave the door open so she can see me, or if I close the bedroom door and she's stuck outside, whenever there's a bug she can't reach). Can be completely at random, too, such as when she decides she's bored.

The pp are right. Don't give in, else you'll teach your little bugger that screaming means attention. Whenever mine is being too annoying I tell her "tough shit, cat" and remove myself from the room.

It might be worth trying to distract dkitten before your night routine. Is there a favourite toy that could appear downstairs, or maybe even a meal (BEFORE any noise)?

I've added an obligatory picture of my drama queen, who's currently suspiciously quiet (so, she's probably up to no good).

New Kitten yells so loud it's actually quite disruptive?
elvislives2012 · 18/08/2021 06:36

We must have a picture! Can't believe you've been allowed not to for so long!

TruckDrivingLady · 18/08/2021 06:58

It is quite simple - as others said, kitten learned that this behaviour gets your/everyone's attention. Nip it in the bud.

When mine were acting like that - I would hiss (yes like a cat, and yes my husband thought I was crazy) at them.

felinelucky · 18/08/2021 07:01

@Papergirl1968

Take him upstairs with you and he can lie on the bed while you read the story. He just wants to be part of the family. No wonder he yells if he’s shut outside the bedroom or downstairs in another room!
^ This!
ElspethFlashman · 18/08/2021 08:30

Sorry, picture attached!

He's so funny. This morning he was literally silent until he heard someone get up, then "YEEEOOOOOOWWWWWWW!"

But I do appreciate his nighttime silence.

Tbh u think tonight I'm going to keep him in the living room and just try to ignore him. It's only for half an hour, I have to keep it in perspective!

New Kitten yells so loud it's actually quite disruptive?
OP posts: