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Why Does My Cat Walk Around Meowing – 14 Unique Reasons

By: Author FAQCats

Cats are extremely vocal pets, and it’s often a joy to be around them. However, sometimes it can be concerning when a cat is meowing incessantly. These situations can be annoying and worrying at the same time; especially if you can’t figure out what the cause is. So you’re likely wondering; why does my cat walk around meowing?

Your cat walks around meowing because they want attention. In some cases, cats will meow when they are hungry, in pain, upset, or are not feeling well. Restlessness caused by hyperthyroidism can also cause cats to walk around and meow.

The reasons above apply to most cats, however, every cat is an individual and you can never be sure. Below we’ll jump into 15 unique reasons why cats do this, and what you can do as a pet owner to help solve their problem.

Reasons Your Cat Is Walking Around Meowing

At this point, you’ve probably spent a lot of energy trying to figure out why your cat is meowing and can’t seem to stop. No worries, we’ve all been there, and sometimes figuring out what’s wrong isn’t always easy. Below are 13 of the most common reasons why cats walk around meowing along with some unique behaviors only some cats show.

1. Your Cat Is In Pain

One of the leading causes and cats walking around and meowing is pain. Think about it anytime your cats are playing around; whether it’s jumping off a high ledge or taking a run around the house, there’s always the risk for injury. Eventually, your cat will hurt itself.

However, the funny thing about cats is that you’re never entirely sure what they injured until you pick your cat up and begin to assess our weak spots. Because of this, your cat may approach you walking around meowing but not appeared injured or in pain.

What you can do is get a hold of your cat and gently begin feeling in different areas. Start with the Torso and then look around the leg areas looking for any noticeable scratches, bumps, or missing patches of fur.

Your cat starts to get sensitive when you touch a particular area; then, it is almost certain that your cat is walking around meowing because they are in pain. Once you figure out what areas are in pain, then you can start to look at treatment. In most cases, cats need a bit of rest when they are in pain, and the neon will eventually stop.

However, the meowing is at a varying level; then, you’ll want to consult your vet and see if the injury needs further treatment. Things such as Bone bruises, fractures, and internal damage will need to be diagnosed via x-ray. Another way you can tell your cat is in pain is to look for any noticeable limping or gingerly holding their paw as they walk around meowing.

2. Something Upset Your Cat

It’s almost impossible to read a cat’s mind. However, when they are upset it’s usually pretty clear. Cats do one of two things:

• Act out aggressively
• Become more vocal

So, if your cat is walking around meowing nonstop, they are likely upset with something. This can be anything from running out of food, needing a refill of the water bowl, and a lack of attention. Sometimes figuring out what’s upsetting your cat is the tricky part. It’s best to go down a list of potential reasons why your cat could be upset. Think about any recent changes, have a look at their living conditions, and see if you can put two and two together.

After attempting to fix a few of the possible issues, see if your cat’s behavior changes. If so, then you’ve nailed it! If not, you’ll need to get back to the drawing board. Cats are really reactive, so if you fix the problem, chances are the meowing will stop almost instantly.

3. Your Cat Is Hungry

Food is one of the leading contributors to a cat’s behavior. They are insanely happy when they have it, but equally insane when they don’t have it. If your cat’s food bowl is empty, they’ll start meowing at you; sometimes nonstop until filling it.

Leaving a cat’s food bowl empty is not intentional on our part as pet owners. However, it happens from time to time. That’s why it’s best to put your cat on a feeding schedule and find a way to make sure they always have access to food when they need it.

One helpful thing to do is to measure your cat’s weight and portion food out to be fed multiple times per day. You can either make sure to feed them manually in small amounts, or you can get an automatic feeder. Automatic feeders work really well though.

Most of them can work with apps too, and you can control when food is dispensed. If your cat eats all of its portioned food and wants more, you can set the feeder to provide more. It’s a helpful tool to keep your cat happy and comfortable throughout the process.

4. An Underlying Illness

Underlying illness can be a contributing factor to a cat meowing and walking around. This meow has a different tone to it though. Usually, there’s a bit of strain associated with it. You can hear that your cat is experiencing discomfort. Sometimes, a cat may meow to the point that they are straining their voice and fully exhausting themselves.

Some common underlying conditions include:

• Hyperthyroidism
• Kidney Disease

No matter what the underlying issue is, this is not a good position to be in, and the only way to know for sure what’s going on is to take your cat to the vet. One health issue that commonly associates with excessive meowing is Hyperthyroidism which we’ll dive into later.

5. Your Cat Is Thirsty

Much like a desire for food, cats need plenty of water for their daily function. In fact, without water, a cat simply can’t survive. When your cat is thirsty and the water bowl is empty, expect to see them running up towards you meowing for more.

Much like an automatic feeder, a simple solution to this problem is to provide your cat with an automatic water dispenser. There are also fountain options that work quite well. They run at intervals so that your cat never becomes dehydrated.

There are also water dispensers that allow you to fill the entire container. As your cat drinks water, fresh water will flow from the container until the bowl is full. So, in a way, your cat never runs out of water and it’s less monitoring on your part.

6. Your Cat Is Greeting You

Cats love to greet their owners, especially when they first get home. The greeting doesn’t just stop there, however. Cats can become very excited and continue this greeting behavior for several minutes to several hours. This is particularly the case when they have been alone and away from social life for the majority of the day.

Instead of ignoring your cat when they do this, give them the extra attention they crave!

7. Wanting Attention

Sometimes a cat meows because they want attention. No, there are no health issues or any complex thing about it; it’s simply attention.

This kind of situation doesn’t affect every type of cat though. Instead, if you have a cat that is often bored and alone, along with no companion , this is likely to happen.

The easy solution is to give your cat the attention they want. Play with them, pet them, pick them up, and spend time keeping them active.

If you are the busy type and don’t have this kind of time to give your cat (20 – 30 minutes per day), then you need to invest in the following:

• A companion cat
• Automatic toys

If you can’t do those two things and you neglect your cat, then it’s probably a good idea to give it away to someone who can give them that kind of attention.

8. Mental Confusion In Older Cats

Certain mental conditions can develop with cats over time, especially as they get into their senior years. This can also contribute to them walking around meowing seemingly for no reason.

This can include things like cognitive disfunction and also be seen in the form of disorientation.

Sometimes you might find your cat just staring at a wall meowing , or in places they normally don’t go. Other times, the meowing is accompanied by frantic pacing, and a cat walking around in circles . Sudden shifts in mood are often associated with this too.

Your cat could show some signs of sluggish responses, have a lack of appetite, have schizophrenia, and even start using the litter in random locations without a set pattern. Anxiety and depression also accompany your cat’s behaviors too.

To really know for sure if your older cat has a mental issue, they’ll need testing.

9. Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism occurs in older cats; usually eight years or more. It’s an overproduction of thyroid hormones, and this leads to an increased metabolic rate. This means your cat will be full of meowing energy to the point it won’t stop. This leads to cats pacing around rather frantically and meowing along with it.

Because of your cat’s thyroid location (near the larynx), the meow your cat gives off will have a unique tone to it. There will also be things like frequent panting and crying too . Your cat will not only be hyper, but they’ll show an extreme level of discomfort too.

When a cat is dealing with this condition you’re likely to see the following:

• Rapid weight loss
• Bigger appetite
• Frequent urination
• Dehydration

Now, figuring out if your cat has hyperthyroidism isn’t as simple as looking at these symptoms. It requires a special blood test It’s a single test that measures your cat’s T3 or T4 concentration. If those levels are elevated, then you’ll know your cat has a problem.

10. Your Cat Feels Sick

Your cat could be feeling sick and want to make sure you know. When a cat is sick the only way they really communicate that is through their meow. Things like an upset stomach, nasal discharge from a cold, and more are all ways cats can be sick.

Think about any changes in diet your cat may have recently had. Perhaps the new food is not working well with them, or maybe they are too cold (more on this later).

11. Your Cat Is In Heat

Cats that are in heat will go through a period of excessive meowing. Sometimes the meowing will be to other cats outside the home that they can sense. That meow is their way of calling out to them.

If your cat is in heat, there are not too many options you have to stop the meowing other than to get them neutered or spayed.

12. The Temperature Is Bothering Your Cat

Cats are very sensitive to temperature changes; especially extreme ones. The temperature you set in the home is important. Set it too hot and your cat will be in a constant state of agitation. Make it too cold and your cat will walk around shivering hoping it’ll warm up.

You can tell if your cat has issues with the temperature just based on the body language in combination with the meow. They’ll likely try to find warm areas and materials like blankets and pillows. If it’s too hot, expect the water bowl to empty frequently (this can also cause meows too if it is constantly empty!).

13. Communicating With Other Cats

Sometimes cats walk around meowing because they are communicating with other cats. for the most part, this is to the other cats in your home if you have them. Listen carefully, chances are the other cats are communicating back much the same way.

However, if you notice your cat is running up to the window to meow, or perhaps the door, then it can sense other cats in the area.

In that case, this can be a bit problematic.

One solution is to put deterrents around the home. This can be something simple like sprayer vinegar or citrus smells around the perimeter. That can help keep the other cats away as those scents are normally ones they dislike.

14. Time Of Day

Cats are naturally more active at night. Because of this, you can expect to hear them roaming the home late at night meowing. This doesn’t mean anything is wrong most of the time; it’s just something cats do. Still, if you’re looking for a specific reason it can be any of the following:

• Your cat is aging
• They feel boxed in
• Your cat is understimulated

Thankfully there are some things you can do to stop this. The first is making sure to really tire your cat out during the day hours. Keep them active, give them lots of playtime, that sort of thing, and then they’ll be good and ready to sleep more during the night.

You can also provide them with non-noisy toys and gadgets so that you’re not hearing too much noise. Keeping your cat preoccupied and helping them rid themself of the “zoomies” is key.

My name is James, and welcome to FAQCats!

Along with our  team of cat owners, expert pet enthusiasts, and pet professionals, we aim to write engaging helpful, engaging content about cats. At FAQCats we strive to provide content that’s accurate and fun to read. Our team writes about everything related to cats; even the most complex of topics. Through extensive research and caring for our own fur-pals, we’re able to provide something cat owners worldwide will love. Have a look around, and leave us feedback anytime!

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7 Reasons Why Your Cat Is Meowing Around the House

Introduction

Cats communicate with us through a range of vocalizations, and each meow has its purpose and message behind it. Understanding these vocal cues is crucial for any cat owner, as it allows us to respond to their needs, strengthen our bond with them, and ensure their well-being. By adopting a caring and observant attitude, we can deepen the connection with our feline friends and become attentive caretakers. As we explore the reasons behind your cat’s meows, you’ll gain insights into their world and learn how to foster a nurturing environment for them.

Your Cat Wants Attention and Affection

Cats crave social interaction with their human companions and often express this through meowing. Although they are sometimes seen as independent creatures, many cats form deep bonds with their owners and seek regular engagement.

Understanding Your Cat’s Need for Social Interaction

While every cat’s personality is different, they generally require a balance of attention and solitude. Meowing can sometimes be a direct request for quality time with you, whether they desire play, petting, or simply being in the same room. Ignoring these calls for interaction can lead to a feeling of neglect in your cat, possibly resulting in behavioral issues.

Practical Tips for Providing Healthy Attention

To satisfy your cat’s social needs without promoting incessant meowing, establish regular playtimes using interactive toys like feather wands or laser pointers. Encourage quiet companionship as well by inviting them to sit with you as you work or relax. By reinforcing calm behaviors, you can help your cat understand that silence can also lead to affection and attention.

Your Cat Is Hungry or Thirsty

Cats often meow when their stomachs are empty, and it’s essential to recognize these hunger calls. Just as important is establishing a feeding schedule to maintain their health and minimize excessive vocalization.

Recognizing Hunger- or Thirst-Related Meows

The tone, pitch, and repetition of meows can signal that your cat is hungry or thirsty. Familiarizing yourself with their particular sound when they want food or water can help you distinguish these meows from others. Keep an eye on the clock and their food bowl — if it’s close to their normal feeding time or their bowl is empty, these are obvious clues.

Maintaining Proper Feeding Routines

Consistency is key when it comes to your cat’s diet. A predictable feeding routine not only contributes to their physical health but also provides a sense of security, reducing the need for them to remind you it’s mealtime. Incorporate an automatic feeder if needed, and always ensure fresh water is available to quench their thirst, as this could reduce their need to vocalize for these necessities.

Your Cat Is Experiencing Stress or Anxiety

Stress and anxiety in cats often result in increased meowing as they seek to communicate their discomfort. It’s vital to identify the sources of these feelings and address them to create a serene environment for your feline.

Identifying Signs of Stress in Cats

Cats exhibit stress in various ways, with meowing often being one of the more audible signals. Other signs include changes in eating habits, avoidance, or increased aggression. Understanding the underlying causes, whether they’re due to environmental changes, conflicts with other pets, or disruptions in routine, is the first step toward helping them.

Mitigating Stress Factors for Your Feline Friend

To alleviate stress and anxiety, provide a safe and calm atmosphere. This may involve creating designated quiet areas, maintaining a consistent daily routine, or introducing pheromone diffusers that help soothe anxious behaviors. Also, remember to spend calming, quality time with your cat — this can significantly help reduce their stress levels.

Your Cat Needs a Partner in Crime or Is in Heat

Social companionship is important for cats, and a lack of it can lead to vocalization, as can the biological drives in an unspayed cat in heat.

Understanding the Role of Companionship or Mating Calls in Meowing

For some cats, the presence of another feline can greatly impact their happiness and reduce feelings of loneliness and boredom. Moreover, if a cat is in heat, they may vocalize more frequently and loudly to attract a mate. This is a natural and powerful instinct that can be distressing for both the cat and the owner if not properly managed.

Addressing the Needs of a Lonely Cat or One That’s in Heat

Consider the benefits of introducing a second cat into your home to provide constant company. Additionally, spaying or neutering your pet can prevent the intense cycle of behaviors associated with being in heat, including excessive meowing. Always consult with a veterinarian when considering these options to ensure the health and happiness of your cat.

Your Cat Is Trying to Alert You

Cats often use meowing to alert their owners to possible dangers or changes in their environment. As a cat owner and enthusiast, I consider it essential to understand the nuances behind these vocal cues. It is not just about listening but about interpreting and responding with keen awareness.

Cats as Alarms: Interpreting Urgency in Their Meows

When your feline friend suddenly embarks on a meowing spree, it might be more than just a call for attention. They may sense something amiss that we, as humans, haven’t noticed. Cats have an acute sense of hearing and a sharp instinctual nature, enabling them to detect subtle changes in the environment. It could range from a stranger lurking near your home to a gas leak or a fire hazard. Listening closely to the tone, volume, and frequency of their meows can give us clues. Meows that are unusually persistent or louder than usual warrant closer investigation.

Responding to Your Cat’s Alerts

Investigating when your cat seems to be persistently trying to get your attention is crucial. It is essential to search the immediate area for anything unusual or out of place. Observing your cat’s behavior during such instances can also provide hints: are they staring at a specific spot or avoiding a certain area? Responding promptly to these cues can prevent potential mishaps, and it also reinforces the bond between you and your pet. By acknowledging and acting on their alerts, you communicate to your cat that their signals are important and effective.

Your Cat Is in Pain or Discomfort

Meowing can be a sign that your cat is experiencing pain or discomfort. As someone experienced in feline behavior, I understand that it is essential to discern the signs of pain early to provide prompt and effective care for our companions.

Recognizing Pain-Induced Meowing

Unlike humans, cats are stoic creatures that often hide their pain, making it more challenging for owners to recognize. Nevertheless, changes in their meowing – such as shifts in pitch or volume – can be telling signs. Listen carefully to a meow that sounds more like a cry or if the cat exhibits a change in normal behavior patterns alongside the vocalizations. Restlessness, loss of appetite, or reluctance to jump or move can accompany the vocal cues, indicating your cat might be in discomfort.

Seeking Veterinary Care for Your Cat

The moment you suspect your cat is meowing due to pain, it’s time to consult a veterinarian. Proactive measures not only ensure comfort for your pet but also prevent possible health complications. Regular checkups can keep track of your cat’s well-being, but immediate care becomes a priority when pain-related meows occur. In such situations, describe the meowing patterns and behavior changes to the vet, providing them with a comprehensive picture of your cat’s condition. Timely veterinary intervention is vital for pain management and recovery.

Your Cat Is Aging and May Be Experiencing Sensory Changes

Aging can lead to sensory decline in cats, affecting their ability to navigate and understand their environment, which may lead to an increase in meowing. Being deeply connected and committed to feline care, it’s crucial to recognize these signs of aging and support your cat through these changes.

Understanding Sensory Decline in Older Cats

Sensory decline can be quite distressing for older cats. They may become disoriented more easily, leading them to vocalize their confusion or frustration. A decrease in vision or hearing can make once-familiar environments seem strange or intimidating, prompting more frequent meowing. Recognizing these changes requires not only observation but also empathy. Understanding the connection between increased vocalization and sensory decline is important so that we can provide appropriate support.

Supporting Your Senior Cat’s Changing Needs

To support an aging cat experiencing sensory changes, we should make our homes more senior-cat-friendly. This may include providing extra lighting, minimizing the rearrangement of furniture, and keeping their essential items like food, water, and litter boxes easily accessible. Also important is keeping a close watch for any signs of distress or changes in behavior that could indicate health issues. Patience, gentleness, and understanding will go a long way in ensuring that our feline friend’s golden years are peaceful and comfortable.

How can you tell if a cat is meowing due to illness?

Cats often communicate through meowing, but when it becomes excessive, it may be a sign of an underlying health issue. If a cat is meowing more than usual, it is important to observe for other symptoms such as changes in appetite, weight loss, changes in bathroom habits, or signs of pain when being touched. Sometimes, excessive vocalization might also be accompanied by lethargy or behavioral changes. It’s critical to consult a veterinarian if you suspect that your cat’s meowing is due to illness. A professional assessment can help determine if there are medical interventions that can provide relief or treatment.

Regular veterinary check-ups are crucial for maintaining feline health, and they can catch issues before they become severe. A vet can conduct a thorough examination, which might include blood tests, urinalysis, or imaging to assess your cat’s condition. Depending on the diagnosis, treatment might include medication, dietary changes, or even surgery. Ensuring that your cat is regularly vaccinated and kept free from parasites also contributes to their overall well-being, potentially reducing health-related meowing.

Is your cat meowing for attention, and how can you effectively give it?

Attention-seeking is a common reason for a cat’s vocalization. Cats are social animals and may meow to initiate play, petting, or conversation with their owners. If you believe your cat is meowing for attention, try to establish a routine for interactive play sessions and quiet time. Use toys that simulate hunting behaviors, such as feather wands or laser pointers, to keep your cat engaged and to provide the necessary mental and physical stimulation.

Positive reinforcement plays a key role; reward your cat with treats and affection when they are quiet and calmly seeking attention. It’s important not to inadvertently encourage excessive meowing by responding to it with attention every time, as this can teach the cat that meowing is an effective way to get what they want. Instead, give attention when your cat is being quiet. In addition, making sure your cat has plenty of toys, perches, and, if possible, a window to look out from, can provide entertainment when you’re not available.

Could your cat’s incessant meowing be due to hunger or changes in diet?

Cats may meow excessively when they are hungry or experiencing changes in their feeding schedule. If your cat is meowing around mealtimes or seems unusually obsessed with where their food is stored, they might be trying to communicate that they are not satisfied with their dietary regimen. It’s important to feed a balanced diet appropriate for your cat’s age, size, and activity level. Stick to a consistent feeding schedule to reduce anxiety around meal times.

Additionally, sudden changes in diet can cause stress or digestive issues, so any transition to new food should be done gradually. It’s also essential to monitor your cat’s weight and health, adjusting portion sizes accordingly. If your cat continues to meow excessively despite a regular feeding routine, it may be worth discussing with a veterinarian to rule out any possible health issues that could be affecting their appetite or causing increased hunger, such as diabetes or hyperthyroidism.

Could your cat’s meowing be linked to stress, and how can you create a stress-free environment?

Cats are sensitive to changes in their environment and may meow more when they are stressed. Stressors for cats include moving to a new home, the addition of new family members or pets, changes in the household routine, or even rearranged furniture. Providing a consistent and calm environment can help reduce feline stress levels. This includes establishing a routine for feeding, play, and quiet time.

Creating a safe space for your cat, such as a cozy bed or a hideaway where they can retreat when overwhelmed, is also beneficial. Use pheromone diffusers that mimic calming feline scents can help some cats feel more at ease. Limiting loud noises, addressing any bullying between pets in the household, and slowly introducing new pets or people can help minimize stress as well. Additionally, ensure that your cat has access to clean litter boxes located in quiet areas of the home. If stress-related meowing persists, consult with a veterinarian or a feline behavior specialist for further guidance.

Can excessive meowing be a sign of an underlying health issue?

Yes, excessive meowing can sometimes be an indicator of health problems in cats. If your cat is meowing more than usual, it could be signaling discomfort or pain from conditions such as urinary tract infections, thyroid issues, or other medical concerns. It’s essential to consult with a veterinarian to rule out any health issues.

Is it normal for a cat to meow more as it ages?

Meowing can increase with age due to several reasons. Senior cats may develop cognitive dysfunction syndrome, which affects their memory, perception, and awareness, leading to more vocalization. Additionally, they can experience loss of vision or hearing, which might cause them to meow more for orientation and communication.

How can I discourage unwanted meowing behaviors?

It’s important to avoid reinforcing excessive meowing by giving in to your cat’s demands. Instead, offer attention and treats when your cat is quiet. Use positive reinforcement techniques, such as clicker training, to reward silence. Also, ensure your cat has enough stimulation during the day so it is less likely to seek attention by meowing excessively.

Are certain breeds of cats more prone to meowing than others?

Yes, some cat breeds are known for being more vocal. Siamese, Oriental, and Burmese cats, for instance, are often more talkative than other breeds. They may meow more frequently as part of their natural behavior and communication style. If you have a naturally vocal breed, understanding and accepting this trait is key.

Can meowing be a sign of my cat trying to communicate a specific need or desire?

Absolutely. Cats meow to communicate various needs and desires to their human companions. They may meow to let you know they’re hungry, want to play, need attention, or request access to a particular area of the home. Paying attention to the context of the meowing can help you understand what your cat might be trying to tell you.

Should I consult a pet behaviorist if my cat’s meowing is persistent and disruptive?

If your cat’s meowing becomes problematic and solutions like environmental enrichment or veterinary interventions don’t seem to help, consulting a pet behaviorist might be beneficial. A behaviorist can provide tailored strategies to address the excessive meowing and improve your cat’s overall behavior.

Can spaying or neutering reduce my cat’s tendency to meow excessively?

Spaying or neutering can reduce meowing that is related to mating behavior, like calling for mates or marking territory. After being spayed or neutered, many cats become less vocal and exhibit calmer behavior overall. However, this procedure will not change meows related to other needs or habits.

Is it okay to ignore my cat when it meows for no apparent reason?

Ignoring your cat when it meows without an obvious reason can sometimes be effective in reducing attention-seeking meows. However, you should first ensure that all of your cat’s needs are met and that there are no health issues causing the behavior. If these conditions are satisfied, then it can be okay to ignore the meowing as long as it’s not a sign of distress.

Understanding why your cat is meowing around the house is crucial for ensuring its well-being and strengthening your bond. It’s important to consider a range of factors, from environmental stimuli to possible health concerns, when addressing your cat’s vocal behavior. Always observe your cat’s overall behavior, as changes in meowing patterns can signal important needs or issues. If health problems are ruled out and you provide ample attention, along with regular playtime and enrichment, your feline friend’s communication should become easier to comprehend and manage. Remember, every meow is a chance to understand your cat better and to respond to its unique language with care and affection.

As an avid cat lover with years of personal experience and expertise, I have developed an intimate understanding of our feline friends. From the playful antics of mischievous kittens to the regal demeanor of wise old cats, I have had the pleasure of sharing my life with a diverse array of feline companions.

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Why Does My Cat Keep Meowing? 7 Reasons Why They Won’t Stop

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Last Updated on July 15, 2024 by Catster Editorial Team

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Meowing is one of your cat’s main sources of communication with you. Most meows are harmless and hearing them is a normal part of your day. But if your cat is meowing excessively, you may wonder why. Read on to find seven reasons why your kitty is meowing and how you should respond to it.

• The 7 Reasons Your Cat Is Meowing
• 1. They Want Something

Cats are pretty intelligent little creatures; most learn from a young age that meowing will get them what they want. And, whether you believe it or not, they’ve conditioned you to respond to their meows. When they meow at you to ask for food, and you give them food, your furry little overlord has just taught you to give in to their demands. Once this happens, they’ll continue to vocalize to get their wishes met, and some may even do it more often.

There are a lot of reasons your kitty may be seeking attention from you, including:

• An empty or dirty water bowl
• A dirty litter box
• 2. They’re Sick

Many diseases or health conditions can cause cats to feel discomfort, pain, or other abnormal things that can lead to excessive meowing. Cats in pain can be very restless and meow as a result of not knowing what to do to relieve themselves of said pain. Those with urinary issues may meow excessively in or around their litter box if they’re uncomfortable or in pain while doing their business. Some cats with kidney disease will be more restless and vocal, especially on particularly bad days.

• 3. They’re Experiencing Cognitive Decline

Cat dementia is a very real and heartbreaking condition that may be behind your pet’s excessive vocalization. Other common behavioral signs of feline dementia include disorientation, changes in interactions, changes in the sleep-wake cycle or activity levels, or having accidents. You may notice your kitty is more confused, anxious, restless, or irritable than usual. They may not play as much or be unable to follow familiar routines.

• 4. They’re Stressed or Afraid

It’s common for cats that feel stressed or frightened to vocalize these feelings. Think of the last time you took your kitty to the vet. Were they quiet the entire drive to the clinic, or did they meow nonstop?

• 5. They’re a Specific Breed

Some cat breeds are known for their vocalization skills . “Talkative” breeds include Siamese, Bengals, Sphynx, and Tonkinese. Mixed cats that contain any of these vocal breeds in their lineage may have inherited the trait, too.

• 6. They’re in Heat

Female cats in heat can be extremely vocal . Their meows advertise to the nearby male cats that she’s looking to find a mate and have kittens. They may also be to alert you that they want desperately to go outside.

• 7. They Want to Play

Young cats, and those that are young at heart, will often bring a toy to their favorite humans along with a happy meow to let them know that they wish to play with them or that they’re just happy to see you.

• What Should I Do About My Cat’s Meowing?

Your approach to your kitty’s excessive vocalization will depend on the root cause of the meowing.

• Meet Needs and Provide Enrichment

If they’re begging for attention , you’ll need to determine what exactly it is they want from you. Food? A clean litter box? Playtime? You might consider leaving out a food puzzle for your pet to use at their convenience. These toys will satisfy not only their hunger but also their boredom. Ensuring you’re offering appropriate enrichment can go a long way in preventing attention-seeking meowing, so provide your kitty with plenty of toys and energy-burning activities like cat trees and scratching posts.

• Go to the Vet

If signs of illness accompany their meowing, make an appointment with your veterinarian right away. This is especially important if your cat’s meowing has changed in its tone or frequency or if you notice signs like weight loss, not eating, or other issues.

• Give Them Time to Acclimate to New Things

If it is fear or stress causing your cat to meow excessively, think about things through your pet’s eyes. Is there something new in your pet’s space that’s causing them to feel stress or fear? Have you welcomed another human or animal into your home? Did you change your routine? Do you have visitors? Have you rearranged the house or bought new furniture? Your pet may need some comforting and time to adjust to things new to their environment.

• Get Her Spayed

If your female cat is in heat, you might consider having her spayed. Not only will spaying her eliminate those signs of being in heat, but it’ll also make her less likely to develop some types of cancer.

• Never Punish

Punishment is not a great way to teach your cat proper behaviors. Hitting them, yelling at them, or spraying them with water will rarely ever work to correct behaviors in the long run. Instead, these actions may ruin the bond you’ve built with your kitty and may even make them dislike you entirely. Additionally, punishment can actually work against you as it can cause your kitty to become stressed and may exacerbate the behaviors you’re trying to stop. Instead, ignore the negative behavior and reward the positive ones.

If you’ve tried all of the above and your kitty is still vocalizing excessively, try ignoring them. Do not give in to the meowing if you know your cat’s needs are all being met and that they’re not sick. If your kitty is used to getting what they want from meowing, they’ll keep doing it until you cave. Instead, reward quiet behavior and ignore their vocalizations until they get the point. It may get worse before it gets better, but stick to your guns.

• Final Thoughts

It’s important to remember that when a cat’s meowing, they’re trying to communicate something with you. Pay close attention to what other behaviors your kitty exhibits to determine what they’re trying to tell you. If you’re not able to discern the reason behind their meows from context clues, contact your vet to get their expert opinion.

• All About Cat Hissing — Why Do Cats Hiss?
• Do Cats Get Senile? Vet-Approved Signs & How to Help
• I Just Adopted a Cat and They Won’t Stop Meowing: Vet-Reviewed Causes & Advice
• https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/spaying-in-cats
• https://www.webmd.com/pets/cats/cats-excessive-meowing
• https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/cat-meowing

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Chantelle Fowler

For Chantelle, writing and animals are the two driving forces in her life. Growing up on the Canadian prairies surrounded by pets, she now shares her home with five cats, two guinea pigs, and a bearded dragon. Chantelle, her husband, and their child pride themselves on being dedicated pet parent , even spending a fortune on wall-mounted cat shelves to provide their cats with an indoor jungle gym. When she's not snuggling with her cats or photographing their humorous moments, Chantelle is exploring the Rocky Mountains, rewatching her favorite Netflix series, and reading up on various random subjects.

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Meowing Mayhem: Why Your Cat is Meowing So Much and What You Can Do About It

Is your cat meowing because she's happy, mad, sad, or not feeling well? As with everything cat behavior and health—it's all about context.

Janelle is a cat mum to two resident adventure kitties, Lyra and Atlas, and numerous cat and kitten fosters. Janelle and her furry family enjoy filling their days with hiking, kayaking, and seeking out the best cat-friendly destinations around the Pacific Northwest. You can follow Janelle, her adventure kitties, and adoptable fosters at @paws_pdx.

Amy Shojai has championed cats and dogs for over 40 years. As one of the best known pet journalists, her career focuses on empowering pet lovers to make the best informed choices for their cats and dogs. She enjoys translating complicated "medicalese" into information everyone easily understands, to improve the lives of cats and dogs we love.

When a cat meows excessively, it's natural to wonder what they're trying to say and why your cat is meowing so much anyway. Meowing can basically be attributed to one thing: cat-to-human communication.

That's right—meows are typically reserved for conversations with humans and less commonly used for cat-to-cat communication. "Cat-to-cat communication revolves around body language , eye contact , growling, and hissing ," says Sheena Haney , DVM with Koala Health.

If your cat is meowing excessively and it's just killing you that you can't crack the translation, here's your guide for decoding the cat's meow.

9 Reasons Why Your Cat Meows Excessively

If you've ever meowed back at your cat ( guilty! ), Haney admits what you likely already know—your cat has no idea what you're saying. But there's no harm in talking back to your cat. And, pro tip, scientists say talking to your cat in a baby voice can achieve the best results.

Language barriers aside, cats—much like humans—have a lot to "say" when they need or crave something. "Learning and paying attention to your cat's vocalizations and body language is a great way to bond with [and care for] your pet," Haney says. Some of the most common reasons for meowing include:

• Seeking attention: If your cat is extra chatty, it may be a sign they simply want your attention or to play. When it works, your furry friend notices and associates meowing with a positive feedback loop.
• Saying hello: It may not feel like an act of love when a cat is meowing excessively, but it's one of the best ways they know how to say, "Hi! I missed you!" (And "Where have you been? You smell weird. Did you bring me a treat?")
• Asking to be fed or to have another treat: While beckoning for more food is hard to deny, it's best to stick to a feeding schedule. "Offering a snack every time she meows may pave the way for weight gain," Haney says. It also rewards the meowing and may make it worse.
• Fear, anxiety, or stress: Some cats may become subdued or frozen in posture when stressed, while others become more vocal, restless, or agitated.
• Pain or discomfort: Anything from arthritis to an ingrown nail could put the "ow" in "meow." Usually a sign of contentment, your cat might purr when in pain , too. So, look out for clues such as your cat excessively grooming one spot or changes in mobility.
• A health condition: Unfortunately, there may be a more serious cause behind your cat's meowing. "A geriatric cat may vocalize due to confusion or disorientation. This can be the result of cognitive dysfunction, much like humans with Alzheimer's disease ," Haney notes. She adds that an increase in meowing could also point to other conditions, such as hyperthyroidism .
• They're in heat: And in response, intact male cats will meow excessively if they hear or smell an intact female cat in heat .
• They're pregnant: Female cats could become more affectionate and talkative when expecting . They'll also meow more when labor begins.
• Your cat could just love to chat. Cat breeds including the Siamese, Oriental, Balinese, Tonkinese, Singapura, and Japanese bobtail are known to be extra talkative, Haney says.

How to Stop Excessive Meowing

If your cat is meowing more than usual, the first thing to do is take her to the veterinarian. Let your vet know what time of day your cat seems to be meowing the most and if it's accompanied by anything else out of the norm, like accidents outside of the litter box or changes in sleeping habits or appetite.

If your veterinarian deems your cat to be healthy, then try these tips to reduce meowing. And if these tips and the trip to the veterinarian don't help, you can always ask for a referral to a veterinary behaviorist.

Enrich Your Cat's Environment

Cats should be played with every day, Haney says. Ideally, your cat should enjoy at least two 10-to-15-minute interactive play sessions , allowing her to stalk, pounce, and bite her toys like the predator she is. Enrichment also includes cat-appropriate furniture and toys that she can scratch, climb, and enjoy while you're away—like scratching posts , cat trees , and cat feeder puzzles .

Use Calming Pheromones

"Your new cat may be meowing because of the stress and excitement of moving into a new home," Haney says. To help a new cat or any anxious kitty settle in or adapt to a new family member , use calming pheromones in addition to providing an enriching environment with plenty of places to explore and hide.

Stick to a Routine

Cats crave routine. If they know exactly when playtime will happen, when dinner will be served, and when they'll be groomed—they'll be less inclined to meow for these things to happen. Plus, if your cat is stressed or anxious, clear expectations for the day will help calm her nerves and make her feel secure.

If you're introducing a new cat to your home, there's no better time to start a routine than on day one. But, of course, it's never too late to create a schedule for your kitty.

Spay or Neuter Your Cat

If you're wondering why your intact female or male cat is meowing so much, chances are they're looking for a mate. You might also spot a cat in heat meowing a lot and rubbing on everything. "This can occur as early as 6 months of age," Haney says. "Consider spaying or neutering your cat to eliminate the drive to find a mate."

What Not To Do

You don't always need to give in to your cat's request for food or attention. But Haney says not to ignore your cat's meows, either. First, rule out medical issues or environmental needs before chalking your kitty up to a chatty Cathy. No matter the root of the meowing, Haney adds, never punish your cat for their vocalizations. After all, they're just trying to communicate with you in the best way they know how—even if some mews and meows come out as bizarre jibber jabber.

Related Articles

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Home > Behavior > Why Does My Cat Walk Around Meowing? – 7 Reasons!

Why Does My Cat Walk Around Meowing? – 7 Reasons!

Quick Navigation

1) They Are Saying “Hello” To You

2) “i want attention” or “feed me please”, 3) signs of interest or pleasure, 4) they suffer from cognitive dysfunction disease, 5) sign of stress, 6) health issues, 7) mating behavior.

Does your cat meow when they see you? Or when they have a toy in their mouth? 

Have you ever wondered what’s the meaning of their meows while roaming all the time?

Although our little feline friends mostly use body language to convey something, their vocalizations have various interpretations for us. 

Meowing is very common to cat parents.

But sometimes, we couldn’t stop thinking about what are they trying to convey. 

And, it concerns us more, especially if the meow sounds more persistent.

There are over a hundred known cat meows, and it’s probably the best-known vocalization among domesticated animals.

It’s essential to understand their body language to interpret an individual meow.

Considering that their vocalization will always be accompanied by certain postures and facial expressions.

We also need to be observant of their meows’ tone, intensity, and frequency.

It is the key to understanding their meaning.

In general, the stronger, more intense, and more frequent the meow , the more urgent and essential the message they want to give you.

It’s a little tricky for cat parents to understand the meows because we don’t speak the language.

So, it will be up to us how we should translate them.

Cat’s meow is a go-to sound for cats and is specially reserved for communicating with humans.

That is why, if your feline starts talking to you, you better start listening too.

Why Does A Cat Walk Around Meowing? Here Are Seven Possible Reasons For It

Meowing is one of the cat’s ways to greet their cat’s parents.

If your cat walks towards you right after entering the home with a cheerful tone of meow.

Furthermore, accompanied by affectionate postures such as a raised tail , ears forward, and a soothing facial expression.

This is probably your cat simply greeting you, welcome home.

When a cat vents a meow of a petition, they convey to you that they need or want something.

This could mean they are hungry, wants a treat, or want to play outside.

In these cases, their meows are louder and more intense with an insisting tone.

They’ll not stop until they get what they want.

If your cat repeatedly meows in a high-pitched tone when they see you, they are most likely looking for something or wants access to a room.

Remember, cats cling to a routine and need security in their environment.

As a cat parent, always respect their feeding schedules and daily habits at home.

See also: How To Stop Your Cat Meowing For Food?

There are times also when the meows mean that something gratifies your cat.

You will identify it, as their meow is short and sounds like a positive exclamation.

Cats will meow in this way if they think their cat parents are about to give them a treat, their meal , or when you pick up their favorite toy and play with them.

Cats are known to be more active during nighttime.

Their constant meowing and roaming at night are not common to many cat parents.

But if the meow becomes more intense and frequent, your cat could be suffering from CDS.

A cat who suffers from CDS or Cognitive Dysfunction Disease loses the ability to understand what’s happening in its surroundings.

Hence, they meow more.

CDS mostly happened to elderly cats.

Furthermore, if you’re guessing your cat suffers from this disease, it is better to ask for professional advice from a veterinarian.

Excessive meowing is sometimes a sign of stress , and some cats become more vocal when they’re experiencing it.

It’s their way of expressing their unease, and it likely won’t stop until they feel more relaxed.

You might think your cat’s life is nothing but naps in the sun and fresh catnip.

But, contrary to that, there are countless reasons why a cat might be stressed out.

Your cat might experience anxiety as a result of changes in the home, such as relocating to a new residence, welcoming a new pet or child, transporting him in a carrier, or rearranging the furniture.

If you think your cat won’t stop meowing because of stress, try pinpointing what he’s concerned about.

Look for other signs of stress, like not using the litter box which we could associate with digestive issues or excessive grooming .

If you can figure out what’s worrying your cat, you can work to alleviate her feelings.

In many cases, cats just need a little more attention to help them feel like themselves again.

If your cat meows a lot while roaming after using the bathroom, or while in the litter box, an underlying health issue could be to blame.

While not all occurrence is due to health complication, bear in mind that cats will never meow without reason.

If your cat simply meows during or after the bathroom reason could be, they tell you to get rid of the waste in the litter.

But, if you notice the meow becomes more persisting and frequent, your cat might be suffering from a health issue.

Concerns like urinary tract infections, intestinal blockages, cystitis, and small anal glands are notable.

There is a serious medical problem if you hear a cat howling or moaning in a deep, guttural voice.

Cats that are suffering from end-stage kidney disease, have a blood clot or are mentally unstable make this noise.

All of these issues are not just painful but also dangerous if not treated correctly and on time.

So, in times like this, a veterinarian visit is a must.

When the mating and breeding seasons arrive, almost all cats amid sexual calls.

In cats, both females and males meow an intensely prolonged sound to communicate their presence and attract their partners.

When your cat is in heat, she may wail, moan, or meow more than usual. This is known as “calling.”

A male cat will also make this noise to wad away other males in their territory.

Meowing is a way for your cat to communicate.

Since his vocabulary is more limited than yours, as a cat parent, it is your job to determine what your cat is trying to convey to you.

Interact with your feline and pay attention to him.

With these, it will give you a little more understanding of their vocalization and behavior.

If their meow sounds worrisome, try to be calm.

Do not raise your voice or scold them, as it may develop fear, which would cause further additional issues.

Show your cat more love; after all, cats are part of the family.

A passionate content creator on pet behavior, nutrition choices, and health, Mike is an experienced pet expert. He has been writing on multiple websites to compensate for his passion for cats. Mike grieves around plenty of pets in his parents’ house. At the start of his career, he had a sturdy intention to be a part of pet care by any means.

With his affiliation to Purrfect n’ Pawesome, he found a way to satiate his craving to participate in pet health, wellness, and behavior analysis. He has been a significant part of our team and a major contributor in equipping our site with useful, authentic, and research-backed articles.

“I love pets as much as I love to travel to explore multiple places and lifestyles. I have been attached to this pawsome platform for many years, and my experience regarding pets has enhanced significantly by using various devices to write articles. I believe in writing my thoughts and experiences, so I try to write down the experience and learnings for my readers no matter where I am and what my mood is.”

Related Posts:

Understanding Why Your Cat Constantly Meowing: 7 Common Reasons Explained

Learn why your cat constantly meowing might be due to hunger, stress, or old age. Discover 7 common reasons and how to address them.

This article about understanding why your cat constantly meowing was originally published in 2015 and is regularly updated. It was last reviewed for accuracy and updated on June 28, 2024

Cat constantly meowing? If you’re like me, you want to know what your cat is trying to convey (especially when they won’t shush). From just saying “hello” to simply being hungry, here are some possible explanations for constant meowing.

1. Your Cat Simply Wants Attention

• 2. Your Cat is Sick (H3)
• 3. Your Cat is Hungry (H3)

4. Your Cat is Stressed

5. your cat is old and confused, 6. your cat is in heat, 7. your cat just wants to tell you hello, understanding excessive meowing in cats, please: do not yell at your cat for meowing, tips to reduce excessive meowing, cat constantly meowing: 7 reasons why.

Maybe this is because the cat wants to play, or they’re bored.

• Don’t respond every time your cat meows; instead, give them attention when they get quiet.
• If your cat keeps meowing, walk away until they calm down.
• Walking away is for excessive meowing, but be sure to spend time with your cat every day (they are part of your family, after all).
• Playing with your cat provides a proper amount of exercise, essential for their well-being.

Keep rewarding the quiet behavior and ignoring the constant meowing. Rewarding your cat for their calmness can help curb the noises, but it might still be a long process. For more on keeping your cat entertained, check out they’re bored and learn about the proper amount of exercise they need.

2. Your Cat is Sick

Meowing is one way a cat communicates, and your cat may be trying to tell you that they don’t feel well.

• Cats are good at hiding illnesses, and meowing or making noise without showing interest in food could be a sign of a health problem that needs attention.
• Constant cat meowing could indicate an overactive thyroid, kidney disease, problems urinating, or a host of other health issues.

If this behavior is new in your cat, it’s worth a trip to the veterinarian. Learn more about how a cat communicates and potential health problems like overactive thyroid , kidney disease , and problems urinating .

3. Your Cat is Hungry

Some cats may meow for only 2 things: a litter box–related reason or food.

• If the food bowl is empty, your cat will let you know by meowing a lot.
• Make sure your cat is getting enough food and is eating at the appropriate times.
• While you’re at it, check the water bowl too.

By understanding these reasons and responding appropriately, you can help reduce your cat’s constant meowing and ensure they are healthy and happy.

Changes in the home, new people, new animals, or other causes could stress your cat out.

• If your cat is meowing a lot during these changes, it could be an occasional “I don’t like this” meow or a constant and loud “I’m really mad about this!” noise.
• Keep an eye out for new changes that may upset them and interact with them as much as you can.
• If you are adding an animal to your household, properly socialize the new pet with your cat to avoid behavioral issues.

For more on this topic, check out how to introduce new people to your cat.

Cats, like people, can become forgetful or confused in old age.

• Disorientation is not uncommon, and your cat may meow out of frustration or confusion.
• Leave a light on at night if your cat vocalizes then or if they are bumping into things.
• If your older cat isn’t just “talking” to you but is yowling very loudly, then please see the vet.

Finding and treating the underlying cause can do a lot more than give you back a good night’s sleep — it can add happy years to your cat’s life, as Dr. Debora Lichtenberg, VMD, explains in her article “Why Does My Older Cat Yowl All the Time?” Learn more about why cats become forgetful or confused in old age .

Why does my cat meow so much? Check out the range of noises this little meow-machine makes:

Female cats in heat can become very vocal suddenly. They do this to attract males. Males are also noisy if they detect a cat in heat nearby.

• Do yourself and the feline overpopulation problem a favor — have your girl spayed. This not only helps with the noise but also addresses the issue of feline overpopulation.

Learn more about caring for a female cat in heat and the benefits of having your cat spayed .

Sometimes your cat may be meowing to say hi. It’s as simple as that.

Excessive meowing in cats can be a cause of concern for many pet owners. It’s important to understand that meowing is a primary way cats communicate with their owners and their environment. However, when a cat is constantly meowing, it might indicate an underlying issue that needs attention. Some of the common reasons include:

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• Hunger: Cats will often meow to alert their owners that it’s time for a meal.
• Attention: A cat might meow excessively if they feel neglected or want to play.
• Stress: Changes in the environment, such as new people or pets, can stress a cat, leading to increased vocalization.
• Medical Issues: Conditions like hyperthyroidism, dental problems, or arthritis can cause a cat to meow more than usual.
• Old Age: Older cats might meow out of confusion or due to cognitive dysfunction.

Interact with your cat and try to calm them if the vocalizations become worrisome.

• Don’t scold your cat for meowing. Apart from not being nice, this may cause fear and insecurity — which would mean further behavioral issues.

Learn more about how scolding your cat may cause fear and insecurity

If your cat is constantly meowing, there are several strategies you can try to help reduce this behavior:

• Consistent Feeding Schedule: Ensure your cat is fed at the same times each day to avoid hunger-related meowing.
• Attention and Play: Spend quality time with your cat daily. Engage them with toys and interactive play to keep them stimulated and satisfied.
• Environmental Enrichment: Provide scratching posts, climbing trees, and interactive toys to keep your cat entertained.
• Positive Reinforcement: Reward your cat with treats or affection when they are quiet and calm. Avoid giving attention when they meow excessively.
• Veterinary Check-up: Regular vet visits can help rule out any medical issues that might be causing the excessive meowing.

Implementing these tips can help create a more harmonious living environment for you and your cat.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why is my cat meowing constantly.

Your cat may be meowing constantly due to hunger, attention-seeking, stress, medical issues, or old age.

What does it mean when a cat is constantly meowing?

Constant meowing can indicate a need for food, attention, or indicate stress, illness, or aging-related confusion.

Why is my cat constantly meowing at me?

Your cat might be meowing at you constantly to communicate needs like food, attention, or discomfort.

Why is my male cat constantly meowing?

A male cat may constantly meow due to the same reasons as any cat, including hunger, attention, stress, or health issues, and if unneutered, he might be responding to a nearby female in heat.

• “Meowing and Yowling.” ASPCA.  https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/common-cat-behavior-issues/meowing-and-yowling .
• Yin, Sophia, DVM. “Cat Constantly Meows and Drives Owner Crazy.” Cattle Dog Publishing. Aug. 17, 2009.  https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/cats_constant_meowing_is_driving_owner_crazy/ .
• Newman, Aline Alexander, and Gary Weitzman, DVM.  How to Speak Cat: A Guide to Decoding Cat Language . National Geographic Books. 2015.
• Moore, Arden.  The Cat Behavior Answer Book: Practical Insights & Proven Solutions for Your Feline Questions . Storey Publishing. 2007.
• “Excessive Meowing in Cats.” WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/pets/cats/cats-excessive-meowing .

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• Cat Care Forums
• Cat Behavior

Cat walks around the house meowing very loudly

• Thread starter VinceL
• Start Date Nov 19, 2020

Thread starter

Furballsmom

Cat devotee.

Hi! Start weighing her every couple weeks and keep a log, so that you catch if she starts losing weight beyond where she should be. Does she respond, and stop meowing when she is petted? Is she visual, in other words does she respond to a visual distraction such as a wand toy, a hexbug toy or a smartykat electronic motion toy?  

DreamerRose

You may be on to something. She could possibly hear herself through the bones in her head. On the other hand, my son had a cat with dementia, and she did go around the house meowing. She would also go to a corner of a room and meow at the wall.  

ladytimedramon

Is she spayed? When I adopted Delilah, she was quiet for the first month or so. Then she started walking around yowling at the top of her lungs. My friends said she was finding her voice. Then other things started happening and I thought it was her having reactions to food changes. Things stopped for about a week. Then they started again and she started "assuming the position". After I took video of some things happening i showed it to cat owning friends. They said she was acting like she was in heat. It turned out all of her yowling (and everything else) was because she had ovarian remnants. So Delilah was acting like she was in heat for about a week, acting normal for a week, heat for a week, etc. It didn't stop until surgery for the remnants.  

• Thread Starter Thread Starter

Thanks for all the responses. Let me answer your questions: Start weighing her every couple weeks and keep a log, so that you catch if she starts losing weight beyond where she should be. She is very petite...only about 5.5 lbs. Because of her small size we regularly monitor her weight, and it is very stable. Does she respond, and stop meowing when she is petted? Yes. She likes face rubs when she comes to me. If I am sitting or laying, she likes to get up on my stomach and be held and petted. Is she visual, in other words does she respond to a visual distraction such as a wand toy, a hexbug toy or a smartykat electronic motion toy? Yes, she follows a thrown toy or rolled ball. When she goes around the house meowing, she literally goes around the house....all rooms, on the floor, on our bed, on a cat tree, etc . Lexi was spayed as a kitten. ladytimedramon, your experience with your cat reminds me of our other female, Bonnie. We adopted her when she was about 8 months old. She had been spayed by the Humane Society. After we had her for about 6 months, she started the howling, rolling on her back, etc. And our 2 male cats (both neutered) reacted to Bonnie's signals. We had her spayed (again), and the vet removed tissue about the size of a pencil eraser. Never any problems since. Because of her deafness, she is easily startled if you approach her from behind. So, I always go around her to get in her field of vision before I get too close.  

FeebysOwner

Hi. I think the meowing is very likely due to her hearing issues. Feeby (16+ yo) started walking around meowing loudly (I call it 'squawking'), almost like calling out to someone or announcing herself. She also does not do it at night, just during the day, and many times is does seem to be around food desires. She is quieter after eating, but will still squawk off and on shortly after. She also seems to squawk more when there is no one immediately around her, as if she wants to have company and to be acknowledged. She, too, can be startled if you walk up behind her, so I try to do as you do in order not to scare her. Since these two things occurred around the same time, I am pretty sure the are connected. I am OK with it, since she seems happy otherwise.  

VinceL said: and it is very stable. Click to expand...

VinceL said: On a few occasions I have snuck some food to her without the other cats knowing. She ate most of the food Click to expand...

VinceL said: she literally goes around the house.... Click to expand...

This all sounds very familiar. Unfortunately, I don*t know of any remedies. One of my older cats started yowling at night after her cat companion died. They had been together for perhaps15 years, had never actually been friends, but the male had been the one to take a quick walk around the outside of the house before settling down for the night. I imagine, after he died, she felt insecure at night and yowled, hiding in the darkest corner of the living room. A short time later I took on a very placid second, unwanted older cat. Although, at first, the resident cat was not amused, she stopped yowling. She had something else to think about and right up until her death we had no more problems with a noisy cat at night. Mogi (13 years old) started pacing up and down and yowling about 8 months ago. I'm told it's only when I'm at home, whatever that implies! I also thought she was hungry and have been feeding her extra portions - in the bathroom, away from the other cats. She was in rather bad shape - probably because I was away from home so often in the previous year. The vet could find nothing wrong, but I was also told to weigh her regularly and ensure she had enough fluids. She is much fitter now, has a constant weight having put on 200g in the first few months. But, she's still yowling. Unless I am really occupied (or just too tired to get out of bed), I let her take me into the bathroom where she rubs herself against my legs and then climbs on my lap to drink from the tap. She prefers to rub herself against objects to being stroked but she purrs for 3 or 4 minutes and then is happy to walk away. By the way, I don't think that water is the problem - she has 2 fountains and bowls of water which she uses. She's always loved taps. Hopefully, someone will come up with some bright idea on how to help aging cats so that they keep their voices down and don't upset the two-legged residents. The noise certainly doesn't seem to bother the other cats.  

tarasgirl06

VinceL said: One of our cats, Lexi, is 13 years old. She has become deaf within the past year. Over the last few months she has started walking around the house during the day meowing very loudly. Fortunately, she does not do this at night. I thought maybe she was meowing because she was hungry. She no longer eats dry food. And, we can't leave wet food out for her 24/7 like we do with dry food. Since she can't graze on the dry food, I thought maybe the meowing was her saying she was hungry. On a few occasions I have snuck some food to her without the other cats knowing. She ate most of the food and then walked away. So, I figured she was full. A few minutes later she was walking around meowing. I don't think she is in any pain. She runs and jumps like she always has, and she enjoys play sessions. Our vet can't find any medical condition that he thinks could be causing her to meow. Her teeth look very good so he doesn't see how eating dry food would cause her any pain. I am wondering if she is meowing to try to hear herself in what is now her silent world. I have read that cats with dementia sometimes wonder around meowing and seeming very confused. Lexi does not appear confused. She demonstrates that she is familiar with her surroundings. Any cat whisperers out there who can shed some light on Lexi's behavior? Click to expand...

MiloTheBlackCat

Mama of milo and breeze.

Yeah, it could have something to do with her hearing loss. Then again you said she goes to every. corner. and. room. so, she could be looking for something. I'm also pretty sure cats do that when they are grieving. It's kind of a personal question, but has anyone died around or in your house recently? If so, she could be looking for them or grieving for them. That's all I've heard- I'm not sure I'm 100% right though-  

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Meet Taylor Swift’s Famous Feline Trio: The Cats That Rule Her Heart

By: Author Amanda OBrien

Posted on Last updated: September 16, 2024

Image by Taylor Swift on Facebook

Taylor Swift may be one of the world’s biggest artists of all time, but she’s also a loving mother to three fluffy felines. Not your average pets, the Taylor Swift cats, Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson — the Scottish Folds, and Benjamin Button — the Ragdoll Cat , are also wealthy superstars of their own. 

While Taylor tours the globe on her Eras Tour, her kitties often wait patiently in her dressing rooms. If you’re wondering how many cats does Taylor Swift have, how much they’re worth, and what breeds they are, keep reading. 

Here is everything you need to know about Taylor Swift’s cats and a few extra fun facts.

Taylor Swift’s Cats’ Names

What are Taylor Swift’s cats’ names? The pop star’s cats are named Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button. If you’re into pop culture, you might recognize those names.

Her first two cats, Meredith and Olivia, were named after powerful female characters from two of Taylor’s favorite TV shows. Yup, Taylor Swift is just like us; she binge-watches series too. And then there’s the lovely Benji, the latest edition of her litter. 

Meredith, Taylor Swift’s Cat

Image from Taylor Swift on Twitter

Meredith Grey is the lead character in the medical romantic drama “ Grey’s Anatomy .” Named after the iconic medical textbook, the show follows Meredith Grey through her journey as a surgeon and her many trials and tribulations along the way. 

Besides the fact that Grey’s Anatomy is one of Taylor’s favorite shows, Meredith Grey is a very appropriate name for a grey cat . That’s possibly the biggest inspiration behind her name. 

Meredith was adopted on Halloween in 2011, so it’s expected that she has her quirks. Meredith is a loveable Scottish Fold but’s not particularly fond of snuggles. You know how cats can be. 

This pretty kitty is the first of Taylor’s feline children. She’s around 11 years old and has a pretty large fanbase of her own. Meredith was adopted just before Taylor Swift released her fourth album, Red, which she re-released in November 2021 as “Red (Taylor’s Version).”

Olivia Benson The Cat

And then came Olivia Benson. This spunky Scottish Fold packs a lot of charm into her little body, and it’s no surprise that she was named after one of TV’s most powerful female characters. Olivia, the cat, was named after Law and Order : Special Victims Unit’s Captain Olivia Benson, who at the time was a Sergeant. 

While Taylor fondly calls her Sergeant Olivia, she’s also known as Dibbles around the house. According to Taylor, Olivia is sometimes too stately of a name for this little feline. 

Most of the time, Olivia (Dibbles) is rather rambunctious and quite the goofball. She boasts a personality that better suits her nickname. 

Olivia Benson was adopted in June 2014, just before the release of Taylor Swift’s 1989. This was the first of the singer’s albums to definitively switch her from a country singer to a pop artist. 

Taylor Swift’s Cat Benjamin Button

Image from Taylor Swift on Facebook

Benjamin Button, also known as Benji, is the youngest of the cats Taylor Swift owns. Benji famously debuted in the music video for ME!, the lead single of Taylor’s seventh album, Lover. In fact, the set of that music video is where the Anti-Hero singer first fell in love with Benjamin Button as a kitten. 

A behind-the-scenes clip reveals that Taylor jokingly asked if she could take Benji (then just a set prop) home with her, and the answer was yes. Now Benji is a frequent feature on Taylor Swift’s Instagram and is most revered for his stunning blue eyes . 

From Taylor Swift on Facebook

Benji is a Ragdoll cat, which means although he’s the younger brother of Olivia and Meredith, he’s much larger, which could be why he’s named Benjamin Button. This gorgeous kitten is named after the lead character in the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In the film, Benjamin (Brad Pitt) has a rare aging ailment that makes him age backward. 

Net Worth of Taylor Swift’s Cats

You read that correctly. Taylor’s cats have a net worth that most of us foolish humans could only dream of. Oh, to be born as a superstar’s cat. 

While the net worth of Meredith and Benji are unclear, Olivia Benson’s net worth comes in at a whopping $97 million, according to 2023’s Rich Pet List . It’s estimated that her other kitties also cross the multi-million dollar line, which means that they’re worth over $100 million collectively. 

In fact, Olivia Benson the cat is the world’s third-richest pet. She is on the list with Choupette – the famous feline companion of Karl Lagerfeld, Pontiac – Betty White’s Golden Retriever, Oprah Winfrey’s pups, and more. 

What Are Taylor Swift’s Cats Breeds

Taylor Swift is the proud owner of two Scottish Fold cats and one Ragdoll cat. Both breeds are perfect for owners who want all the cuddles and plenty of personality. Although Meredith isn’t too fond of cuddles, she makes up for it with her oodles of personality. 

About the Scottish Fold Breed

Scottish Folds are known for their intelligent and talkative natures but are most recognizable by their small folded ears and flat faces. This breed is found in an assortment of coat colors and patterns and is a great indoor cat . 

Unfortunately, because of their small folded ears, owners need to regularly ear the wax from the outer ears of their Scottish Folds to avoid ear infections. Although they are irresistibly adorable, Scottish Folds are prone to bone and joint diseases, kidney disease, and heart disease, so caring for them can be tasking. 

A Little Bit About Ragdoll Cats

On the other hand, Ragdoll cats are pretty easy to care for if you don’t mind their size. Ragdolls are one of the best breeds of cats for families. They are loving, friendly, intelligent, and inquisitive by nature. 

They also quite enjoy being lap cats, so you don’t usually have to worry about them wandering off. Ragdoll cats are most loved for their sparkling blue eyes and chirpiness. They also come in a few different coat colors and patterns. 

Benjamin Button is a Bicolor Seal Point Ragdoll or a Seal Bicolor Ragdoll. This is identifiable by his panda-like bicolor face, dark ears, and tail, and of course, his dazzling blue eyes. 

How Does Taylor Swift Travel With Her Cats?

You’re probably wondering how Taylor Swift can be a devoted cat mom when she spends her time jet-setting and performing to millions of fans around the world. The short answer is that she takes her cats everywhere. And I mean everywhere. 

Meredith, Olivia, and Benji are often seen lounging around in Taylor’s cars, dressing rooms, and even her private jet. These kitties have racked up enough frequent flyer miles for everyone.

Taylor also sports a futuristic-looking cat carrier every now and then. It has a porthole-like window for kitties to gaze out of and plenty of breathing holes. Plus, you can wear it on your back like a backpack. Pretty neat, isn’t it?

Thinking of traveling with your feline friends? Check out these amazing travel litter boxes and cat carriers for car trips . Plus, here’s a handy guide to get you through a kitty-friendly road trip .

Does Taylor Swift Have Other Pets? 

No, Taylor Swift’s cats get all of her love, affection, and fame. However, Taylor has also been spotted hanging out with her mother’s Great Dane, Kitty. Appropriate name, isn’t it? 

Image by Karen Arnold on Wiki Commons

While Taylor is a self-proclaimed cat person, she grew up with a couple of dogs. Taylor’s mother, Andrea Swift, had always wanted a “giant dog,” so Kitty was introduced to the Swift family a couple of years ago. Kitty can be seen trying to take a seat on Taylor Swift, outrunning her, and even flying on her private jet, as seen in her Netflix documentary “Miss Americana.” 

Final Thoughts on Taylor Swift Cats

So, there you have it, everything you need to know about Taylor Swift’s cat names and more. We now know all too well that Taylor is the world’s favorite cat lady, and her lovable furballs would happily defend her title. 

From Olivia’s striking poses, Meredith’s feisty personality, and little Benji’s gorgeous blue eyes, you now have enough knowledge to impress the next Swiftie you come across. 

Next read: Best Lap Cat Breeds

Funny Cat Memes

White Cat Breeds

Best Family Cat Breeds

13 Cute Cat Names

Black Cat Memes

Best Black Cat Breeds

Amanda created and owns The Discerning Cat. A lifelong cat lover she is the proud parent of two Siberian cats, Alexei and Vladimir. She is passionate about understanding cats and different cat breeds.

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The Exotic Cat-Eaters of Springfield, Ohio

A pretty long story about a thing that didn’t happen.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—They come to Ohio from one of the most desperately poor places in the Western Hemisphere. They have few to no belongings. In many cases, they are uneducated, and most don’t speak English well. They do not understand the local culture where they have settled—and it shows: in their dress, in their speech, in their manners, in their housing arrangements, in the food they eat, and in the music they dance to. 

Most profess to be Christians, but many maintain superstitious folk magic traditions from their homeland, and many quietly hold to a belief in witchcraft. They blithely violate social taboos. Locals complain that they are stealing their jobs, driving up costs, and consuming too much in the way of social services. And then there are the dietary norms: Though the rumors no doubt exceed the reality, some of them eat animals not generally considered food by the good people of Ohio. Ask the locals, and many of them will quietly say that they wish they would all go back to where they came from.

But that was a long time ago. And while J.D. Vance’s hillbilly ancestors may not have been the inbred, possum-eating, superstitious bushwhackers of legend and lore, as they descended on Ohio from the hills of Kentucky they had more than a little in common with the Haitian immigrants Sen. Vance now spends his days vilifying in terms that would have been familiar to Fritz Hippler, the filmmaker whose 1941 propaganda film Der ewige Jude comes to its climax with images of leering kosher butchers covered in the blood of animals slaughtered in the service of “the so-called Jewish religion.” 

Lord Acton would have us believe that it takes absolute power to corrupt absolutely. But even the dream of the vice presidency—that “bucket of warm piss” in the immortal words of Vice President John Nance Garner—will do the trick, if you are the right kind of person. 

By which, of course, I mean the wrong sort of person—the wrong sort to wield power. You can send little J.D. to Yale to make him polished, you can send him to Silicon Valley to make him rich, and you can send him to the Senate to make him powerful, but you cannot stop him from being what it is he apparently wants to be: Cleetus the Gap-Toothed Twitter Troll. 

Poor people have been coming to Ohio in search of jobs in its factories and warehouses for centuries: From the original New Englanders who settled in the Northwest Territory to the Scots-Irish to the Irish and Germans in the 19 th century to the Haitians today, that story has been repeated over and over. At the turn of the 20 th century, a majority of Cincinnati’s population consisted of those who either were foreign-born or were the children of foreign-born parents, mostly German. Naghten Street in Columbus, on the other hand, became “Irish Broadway” in the middle of the 19 th century. The J.D. Vances of that era didn’t much care for the whiskey-drinking, potato-eating papists invading their cities, but they made good use of the canals and railroads built by those illiterate exotics from distant lands. 

The guy who wrote Hillbilly Elegy understood all that. This asshole who is running for vice president, on the other hand …

I fuel up and have the big 6.7L diesel spooled out and growling happily as I speed by the exit for Possum Hollow Road—honest to God, that’s the name of the place; you can’t make up details like that—way out here in the Blue Ridge Mountains where it is 40-odd degrees early in the morning in the last days of summer. The Appalachian Highlands are gorgeous this time of year, with all sunshine and sapphire skies and cool breezes, good green hills and splendid rivers, and pretty good asphalt that is, barring the occasional construction backup, wide open for RPMs. If you like to drive, it doesn’t get much better in the eastern half of these United States. There’s a lot of that gross, weird old leg-tattoo America out there, too, of course, including a guy with a leg tattoo of the Monster Energy logo, along with the inescapable herpetic rash of Dollar General stores and the strip-joint billboards sprinkled like pox along the highways and backroads from the fine vistas of southwestern Virginia to the alpine rivers of West Virginia to the literal amber waves of grain in Ohio’s cornfields.

It makes you wonder why they ever left—the Vances and the rest of those Appalachian folk who followed Steve Earle’s “ Hillbilly Highway ” up to Detroit or down to Houston or wherever else the Scots-Irish diaspora ended up. And then you remember why: need and desperation. There weren’t a lot of Dairy Queens or Walmarts out here, and even if there had been, there were no jobs to earn money to spend in them. It was a world—and a life—of subsistence agriculture and hustling, with very little in the way of rule of law or decent public administration, where the biggest business was organized crime and where politics vacillated between demagoguery and banditry, beautiful in some parts, hideous in others, and poisonously backward—you know: Haiti , but with white people.

“Columbus: 162 miles.”

There are signs everywhere, of course, in our advertising-addled country: for deer corn, for Biscuit World, for the Beef Jerky Outlet (and how much beef jerky do you eat before you become a jerky- outlet shopper?), for the Sen. Robert Byrd Memorial This and That (the Exalted Cyclops is immortalized everywhere in West Virginia), for “Fox Run Featuring Go-Go Dancers!” and for “ YouTube Denvil Curry the Man with No Vocal Cord .” Out of nowhere, a Tim Horton ’s appears for a dash of cosmopolitanism.

I do not, however, see very many signs for Donald Trump. There is one roadside house with a “Truckers for Trump” banner, one billboard in Ohio with a dead raccoon rotting in front of it, and a GMC Sierra HD 2500 with “Trump” written on the window in weird sci-fi Tron letters and the inevitable “FJB” details on the side windows, but not much else. For perspective, the ratio of signs for adult bookstores (and how do these brick-and-mortar establishments survive in the age of ubiquitous digital pornography?) to Trump signs runs about 8 to 1.

Funny thing about those Trump signs: Even in Ohio, there is a name conspicuously omitted from them. Denvil Curry, the Man with No Vocal Cord, gets his name on a highway placard, but not J.D. Vance, that horny-handed son of Ohioan soil and Yale Law School. It’s just Grandpa Joe’s $5 candy buffet—candy buffet , you wild-hearted people of this vast diabetic republic!—sounding its barbaric yawp across the roofs of the great wide American world. 

“You can send little J.D. to Yale to make him polished, you can send him to Silicon Valley to make him rich, and you can send him to the Senate to make him powerful, but you cannot stop him from being what it is he apparently wants to be: Cleetus the Gap-Toothed Twitter Troll.”

And, toward the end of the road to Springfield, Ohio, where I’m going to report on a story that isn’t happening—“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs! The people that came in! They’re eating the cats! They’re eating! They’re eating the pets of the people that live there! And this is what’s happening in our country! And it’s a shame!”—one last sign, as though TikTok slang had seeped into real-world meatspace and been made literal and geographic:

“ Mid Ohio .”

“I believe that Sen. Vance’s comments were spoken without … real knowledge of what the workforce situation in Ohio is,” says Ross McGregor, CEO of Pentaflex Inc. His company makes brake and axle components for trucks. Which trucks? “All of them,” he says proudly. He tries to be diplomatic about Sen. Vance. “I don’t think he really understands from a boots-on-the-ground perspective what employers are dealing with in trying to have a consistent and reliable workforce. If he were to apply a business mindset to this situation, he would see the benefit that we get from simply being able to rely on somebody coming to work every day.” 

Eventually, he stops trying so hard to be diplomatic: “It doesn’t help all the memes going around about eating cats and geese and crazy sh-t like that. None of that helps.” The McGregors have been active in business and community life in Springfield for more than a century, and the CEO is proud of that longevity, which also gives him a little bit of perspective that the senator seems to lack.

“He is a highly intelligent man,” he says of Vance, “and he has a fantastic education. But from a business standpoint, I don’t get why he doesn’t understand what a stable workforce means for us.” He compares Springfield to Vance’s hometown. “Springfield and Middletown are like twin sisters. The Appalachian migration—this is a documented historical fact—was real, and it was about jobs, people looking for jobs, here and on up into Detroit. They came here for jobs. They needed work. They needed to take care of their families. And that’s exactly what the Haitians need as well. In Springfield, it’s history repeating itself. Before it was the Haitians, it was German and Irish immigrants, and they were treated like sh-t. This is nothing new. It’s not that there are no issues trying to assimilate 12,000 to 15,000 people in a community of 58,000. They are stressing our social services networks, our health care, and our education system. It’s hard.” 

Then, there’s the real issue. 

“And they are horrible drivers.”

There were tensions with the new arrivals in Springfield before the August 2023 accident in which a reckless driver—a Haitian—crashed his minivan into a school bus, killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark. But that amplified the stress. The boy’s father has been publicly critical of attempts to use his son’s dead body as a soapbox from which to deliver political speeches, and he laments that “hate-spewing people” have glommed onto the case. “My son was not murdered,” he said. “He was accidentally killed by an immigrant from Haiti.”

Springfield, like many similar cities, had been suffering from a declining population and economic stagnation when it joined a number of other Rust Belt cities in an effort to actively recruit immigrants to settle there. The town fathers may not have had 12,000 Haitians in mind, but that is what they got—and the results were pretty good: Contrary to the rhetoric you hear from Vance et al., employment went up, not down— and wages went up, too . In fact, Springfield handily outperformed nearby Dayton—and the country as a whole—in wage growth coming out of the COVID-19 downturn. And where population is increasing and wages are rising, some things—notably housing—will typically get more expensive. The Haitian newcomers, who are in the main legal immigrants under “Temporary Protected Status,” do use a lot of social services—those who are eligible have made heavy use of programs such as Medicaid—but they also work a lot of hours and put a lot of money into real estate, buying houses and commercial properties to start businesses of their own. 

And that is where this gets politically interesting. With the Haitians working overtime—McGregor, the Pentaflex CEO, reports losing Haitian workers because he couldn’t offer them as much overtime as they wanted—and putting their money into houses, landlords who had been participating in affordable housing voucher programs widely used by the preexisting (largely white) population of Springfield began shifting to offering their properties on a market-price basis, and found Haitian renters willing to pay. From the traditional conservative point of view, the Haitian story in Springfield is, at least in part, a success: Hard-working people got jobs and put in a lot of hours and drew assets out of the subsidized welfare-state economy into the free market. Which is great if you are the ghost of Milton Friedman but a real inconvenience if you are an underemployed denizen of Springfield looking for a subsidized housing arrangement and unwilling to match the … rigorous Caribbean work ethic? … of your new neighbors.

J.D. Vance and Donald Trump practice a form of European-inflected right-wing politics known in academic circles as “welfare chauvinism,” which rejects the traditional Republican emphasis on individual responsibility and free enterprise and instead embraces a combination of welfare statism and Kulturkampf sensibilities: populism and nationalism shading into ethnocentrism and xenophobia. The case against the Haitians isn’t that they are welfare malingers or cat-eaters—or even that they are illegal immigrants who came here thanks to Joe Biden’s lax border enforcement, which most of them aren’t. The real issue is that by working overtime and investing in the community, they have made life more challenging for a reliable Trump-voting constituency: marginally employed white people on the dole. 

Springfield, as you may have deduced by this point, is a surprisingly cosmopolitan place, and the scene outside the First Evangelical Haitian Church of Springfield offers a rich, diverse mosaic of … mostly white media people: There’s me, der Spiegel , the Times of London, Reuters, and a very severe Australian gentleman who doesn’t speak to the rest of us. Collectively, our presence explains why it suddenly costs $250 and takes a bit of effort to secure a crappy hotel room in Springfield, Ohio, on a Wednesday night. The streets around the area where the Haitian community center is located are beaten to rubble, somewhere between those of East St. Louis and the ones in Española, New Mexico, in drivability, and I’m glad to be in the truck.

Reporters on the road are a funny bunch: The men almost all dress like war correspondents in-country (cargo pants, Merrells, unshaven) while the women wear business casual, sneakers their only concession to the rigors of American travel. We’re all here to see Viles Dorsainvil, president of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, and other representatives of the Haitian community who drift in and out of the storefront facility. In the modest community hall next door—the walls of which are festooned with framed photographs of Haitian musicians and other prominent figures in the community—they are decorating for a girl’s 15 th birthday party. There are no pets on the menu. One suspects there may be cake. Considering the dramatic story of Haiti’s convulsions and the Haitian exodus, it is all just breathtakingly normal. 

Dorsainvil, who, like most of the other leaders of the community center, has an education in (among other things) theology and ministry, is one of those compact young men who can look dressed up in an untucked button-down shirt. He speaks confidently and easily and with a certain amount of practiced diplomatic misdirection. Somebody asks about voodoo, because there are tales of voodoo, along with the stories of dognapping and cat-devouring. “There is no voodoo here,” he answers serenely. “I would know of it.” Somebody points out that a shop around the corner sells voodoo paraphernalia. He offers a diplomatic non-recognition of the fact. “But it is not practiced.” I assume he expects us to believe that the Haitians are doing so well that they spend their disposable income on voodoo gear to not practice voodoo with—like we’re in New Orleans rather than Springfield, Ohio. He is very forthcoming about some things, and other things he clearly would prefer not to talk about. Like many of the Haitians in Springfield, he has worked in the warehouse business ( Amazon, which has a pretty big footprint in Ohio, is a big employer ), and he is proud of having mentored workers who struggled with English. Other social challenges he downplays. 

“They want to work,” he says. “But they need some help.” 

Asked about threats, he says there haven’t been any serious ones. He gets the occasional nasty phone call or text message, and somebody apparently stopped in to ask whether they’re really eating pets behind closed doors. But no bomb threats or anything like that.

As it turns out, our conversation is happening about four hours before city hall will be evacuated over bomb threats. After that, the schools, and then several health-care facilities. 

The community center was founded in December after the bus accident, but didn’t open its doors until April, just a few months before J.D. Vance and Donald Trump would make the Haitian community in Springfield a big enough story that you have der Spiegel parachuting in to ask uncomfortable questions about ethnonationalism-tinged right-wing extremism in the United States, transmitting the troubling news back to Hamburg. Weird times, indeed. 

But also totally normal ones. 

“When there is an influx of people arriving in a specific place, some people will feel threatened,” Dorsainvil says. It’s normal and not necessarily unreasonable. What’s needed? “More ESL classes and interpreters,” he says. “Cross-cultural education, which goes both ways.” Anything else? 

“Driving lessons.” 

He’s serious about the driving lessons. In Ohio, nobody has to take a driver’s education class to get a license: If you are at least 18 years old and can pass the test, you can drive. And, of course, some people don’t bother with the license at all. Dorsainvil concedes that this is a real flashpoint, that it isn’t a stereotype invented by local bigots who just don’t want Haitians around. Haitian driving culture is different, and Haitians from the poorer and more rural parts of the country may not have driven at all before arriving in Springfield, which gets about 20 inches of snow a year. He’s not surprised that the locals are a little freaked out, and he doesn’t really blame them: A lot of the tensions in Springfield are the result of real things. When people look different from you, don’t speak your language, don’t understand your culture, come from a faraway place with an abysmal reputation, there’s going to be friction. But Vance and Trump aren’t talking about the real things: They are talking about imaginary ravenous fiends for cat-flesh stalking the mean(ish) streets of Springfield. 

“That’s the American story: weirdos and geniuses, scoundrels and patriots, pimps and roadside horsemeat dealers and other entrepreneurs of a fancier sort.”

Dorsainvil is one of those guys who believes—naïvely—that elite education in the United States is associated with character formation. He is genuinely surprised that a man with Vance’s educational credentials could be so dishonest or would choose to be. He says the same thing of Trump. “They had almost 48 hours between Vance’s post and when Trump walked onto the debate stage,” he says. “They had enough time to check and see that what they were saying was not true.” I suggest that the most obvious explanation there is that they do not care about what is true and what isn’t, a proposition for which there is abundant evidence. He doesn’t quite respond. Because foreigners often have a better education in American civics than Americans do, he indulges some very old-fashioned language, talking about the United States as a “melting pot” (he doesn’t know it’s supposed to be the “salad bowl” these days) and references E pluribus unum —his English isn’t perfect, but he knows what that Latin means. And he knows that scapegoating a powerless minority group is fundamentally un-American—something of keen interest to a man who would like to have for himself and his family a more American kind of life, and not only when it comes to consumer goods. 

“Words are powerful,” he says. “And words from a powerful man are even more powerful.”

But many local institutions and leaders here are a lot less wordy than you’d expect. The city government is worried about getting blamed for this mess. In July, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and city manager Bryan Heck went on Fox and Friends to talk about the state of affairs in their community, and the clip ended up being: “ Ohio city battling housing crisis stemming from Haitian migrant surge .” The mayor has been out front about the cat-eating nonsense, but he’s still in the middle of the mess in a way that must be politically uncomfortable. Vance has made a point of citing Springfield leaders in his disquisitions on the situation, but local organizations such as the Greater Springfield Partnership are currently practicing omerta and won’t even talk to media about ordinary stuff such as the general state of Springfield’s economy or business environment.

 (“No comment,” says the terrified-sounding woman answering the phones at the Greater Springfield Partnership. On anything ? “No comment.”)

Even accounting for the native cowardice of the public-sector and public-sector-adjacent functionary, this is a sign of dysfunction—and it is dangerous in its own right. Somebody is going to flood the zone: either with information, misinformation, or disinformation. The zone is going to get inundated, for sure. The less people are willing to be forthright and voluminous about what is really happening, the more opportunity it creates for propaganda merchants, demagogues, social-media trolls, and conspiracy kooks—two of whom have a pretty good chance of becoming president and vice president in November. And they are really, really miffed that people think that they —with their kitty-carpaccio fantasies—are weird . 

Words are powerful. Words from powerful people are more powerful still. And the silence of the powerful is powerful, too. 

As of this writing, Springfield’s schools had been closed for two days in a row— bomb threats . City hall was evacuated—bomb threat. Other municipal buildings—bomb threats. An elementary school—bomb threat. Two medical centers— bomb threats . Meanwhile, Donald Trump is on Truth Social posting images of kittens holding a sign reading: “Don’t let them eat us, vote for Trump!”

Do you know the most important word in that sentence? Them . 

At the end of my time in Springfield, I turn around and head back into the mountains, taking a different route toward the south, moving in the direction opposite from the ghosts of J.D. Vance’s ancestors, eternally marching the other way. In West Virginia, I think of John Brown—hanged on the other side of the state at Charles Town—and his last words, not the famous summation of his life and his jihad but what he said when he was led up onto the scaffold, where he could take in the view: “This is a beautiful country. I did not have the chance to see it before.”

And it is a beautiful country. But one of the little ironies of life that you really come to appreciate wandering around Appalachia after some time in Springfield, Ohio, is that the things that make a place quaint or unspoiled are also the things that make the people there poor, while the engines of human flourishing bellow black smoke, spoil the view, take the tops off the mountains. There is a price to pay for everything, for prosperity most of all. 

When J.D. Vance’s hillbilly antecedents came pouring out of the Appalachian mountains into the factory towns of Ohio, they were looking for jobs and a decent standard of living. They were leaving something behind—something they loved but couldn’t live with. Vance knows all about that: He wrote an interesting and moving book on the subject of moving on. He is an intelligent and energetic man: If he had been born in Haiti, he’d have made it to Ohio a long time ago, and he surely would be thriving there.

Some of these Haitian newcomers are going to send their children to Ohio State, the Marine Corps, and Yale Law, too. Some of them will end up in Silicon Valley and Wall Street and, bless their hearts, in elected office. Donald Trump is the grandson of one of those German immigrants, the man who started building the Trump fortune—and the Trump reputation—by operating a whorehouse in a Yukon mining town and a restaurant that did not serve kitty kebabs but did offer freshly slaughtered horse meat. Young Ewan, Mirabel, and Vivek Vance are the grandchildren of immigrants, too. That’s the American story: weirdos and geniuses, scoundrels and patriots, pimps and roadside horsemeat dealers and other entrepreneurs of a fancier sort. J.D. Vance made good, but the upstanding people of Ohio were not offering three cheers for the Vances when they hauled his mother off to the pokey . The Haitians are no doubt a mixed bag. So were the Irish.

But I wonder if Vance thinks about his ancestors in terms of anything other than book sales and political posturing. Because his life as a politician is very difficult to fit with their hillbilly lives as the Haitians of their time, endless parallels right down to the tales of eating animals not meant for eating. Very few of those internal economic refugees from Appalachia had any sense of themselves as participants in some great historical happening. They were not marching out of the shadows and into the light, toward the sunlit uplands of history, but simply trying to make a living. Vance, with the benefit of his admirable education, can take a longer and wider view. He knows precisely what he is doing: He is marching back into the shadows in search of something ghastly but fascinating.

Vance has turned Solzhenitsyn’s maxim on its head: “Let the lie come into the world, but only through me, and only if I get something good out of it.” A man who is not suffering from whatever disease of the soul with which Vance is afflicted would have a hard time even imagining wanting to be vice president—of all petty things!—that bad. A different and better sort of man would understand that bearing false witness against 15,000 poor and vulnerable people in the pursuit of political power is the same as bearing false witness against anybody else. 

But I’ll give Vance the last word. Here he is on Twitter , back when Twitter was Twitter and J.D. Vance was J.D. Vance: “Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this, I find him reprehensible. God wants better of us.”

Kevin D. Williamson

Kevin D. Williamson is national correspondent at The Dispatch and is based in Virginia. Prior to joining the company in 2022, he spent 15 years as a writer and editor at National Review, worked as the theater critic at the New Criterion, and had a long career in local newspapers. He is also a writer in residence at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. When Kevin is not reporting on the world outside Washington for his Wanderland newsletter, you can find him at the rifle range or reading a book about literally almost anything other than politics.

Please note that we at  The Dispatch  hold ourselves, our work, and our commenters to a higher standard than other places on the internet. We welcome comments that foster genuine debate or discussion—including comments critical of us or our work—but responses that include ad hominem attacks on fellow Dispatch members or are intended to stoke fear and anger may be moderated.

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What Does It Mean When Your Cat Walks Around Meowing

Cats are known for their mysterious behaviors, and one common behavior that many cat owners have witnessed is their feline friend walking around the house meowing for seemingly no reason. This behavior can be puzzling and even frustrating for cat owners, as it can be difficult to understand what their cat is trying to communicate. In this article, we will explore what it means when your cat walks around meowing, as well as delve into some interesting trends related to this behavior.

One of the most common reasons why a cat may walk around meowing is simply because they are trying to get your attention. Cats are social animals and they crave interaction with their human companions. By meowing and walking around, your cat may be trying to tell you that they want to play, be petted, or simply spend time with you. This behavior is especially common in indoor cats, who may become bored and seek out attention from their owners.

According to a feline behavior specialist, “When a cat walks around meowing, it’s important to pay attention to their body language. Are they rubbing against you, purring, or showing other signs of affection? This could be a sign that they simply want some attention from you.”

Another reason why a cat may walk around meowing is because they are feeling anxious or stressed. Cats are sensitive creatures and changes in their environment or routine can easily trigger feelings of anxiety. Meowing can be a way for cats to vocalize their distress and seek comfort from their owners. If your cat is meowing more than usual and displaying other signs of stress, such as hiding or excessive grooming, it may be a good idea to consult with a veterinarian or animal behaviorist for advice on how to help your cat feel more at ease.

A veterinarian specializing in feline behavior explains, “Cats are creatures of habit, and any disruptions to their routine can cause them to feel anxious. If your cat is walking around meowing more than usual, try to identify any recent changes in their environment that may be causing them stress.”

Interestingly, some cats may walk around meowing simply because they are feeling lonely. Cats are independent animals, but they also form strong bonds with their human companions. If a cat is left alone for long periods of time, they may feel lonely and seek out their owner’s company by meowing and walking around the house. Providing your cat with plenty of toys, interactive playtime, and companionship can help alleviate feelings of loneliness and reduce excessive meowing behavior.

A cat behavior consultant suggests, “If your cat is meowing excessively due to loneliness, consider getting them a companion or spending more quality time with them. Cats thrive on social interaction and can become lonely if left alone for extended periods of time.”

In some cases, a cat may walk around meowing because they are in heat. Female cats in heat can be quite vocal, meowing loudly and constantly to attract male suitors. Male cats may also meow more frequently when they sense a female in heat nearby. If your cat is not spayed or neutered and is exhibiting excessive meowing behavior, it may be a good idea to consult with your veterinarian about the best course of action to prevent unwanted litters and reduce vocalization.

A feline reproductive specialist advises, “If your cat is walking around meowing excessively and is not spayed or neutered, it’s important to consider the possibility that they may be in heat. Spaying or neutering your cat can help reduce this behavior and prevent unwanted pregnancies.”

It’s important to note that some cats may walk around meowing due to medical issues. Cats are masters at hiding their pain and discomfort, so it’s crucial to pay attention to any changes in their behavior or vocalization patterns. If your cat is meowing more than usual and displaying other symptoms such as lethargy, vomiting, or changes in appetite, it’s important to seek veterinary attention promptly to rule out any underlying health issues.

A veterinary specialist in feline medicine cautions, “Excessive meowing in cats can sometimes be a sign of an underlying medical problem, such as urinary tract infections, dental issues, or arthritis. If your cat’s meowing behavior is out of the ordinary, it’s best to have them examined by a veterinarian to rule out any potential health concerns.”

In addition to the above reasons, there are several other common concerns that cat owners may have regarding their cat’s meowing behavior. Here are 15 common concerns and answers related to cats walking around meowing:

1. My cat meows constantly at night. What can I do to help him sleep?

– Try providing your cat with interactive toys and playtime before bed to tire them out. You can also create a bedtime routine to help signal to your cat that it’s time to sleep.

2. My cat meows when I leave the house. Is he anxious?

– Cats can experience separation anxiety when their owners leave. Consider leaving out toys or treats to keep your cat entertained while you’re away.

3. My cat meows when I’m in the shower. Why is he doing this?

– Cats are curious creatures and may be meowing to get your attention or simply because they are intrigued by the sound of running water.

4. My cat meows when I’m on the phone. Is he trying to communicate with me?

– Cats are social animals and may meow to join in on the conversation. They may also be seeking attention from you while you’re distracted.

5. My cat meows when I’m cooking. Is he hungry?

– Cats are opportunistic eaters and may meow while you’re cooking in the hopes of getting a tasty treat. Make sure to feed your cat on a regular schedule to prevent excessive meowing.

6. My cat meows when I’m trying to work. How can I get him to stop?

– Provide your cat with a comfortable sleeping area away from your workspace and give them plenty of toys to keep them occupied while you work.

7. My cat meows when I’m watching TV. Is he trying to tell me something?

– Cats may meow while you’re watching TV to get your attention or simply because they are feeling playful. Try engaging your cat in interactive play to distract them from meowing.

8. My cat meows when I’m getting ready in the morning. Is he anxious?

– Cats can become anxious when their routine is disrupted. Try to create a calming environment for your cat while you get ready in the morning to help reduce their stress.

9. My cat meows when I’m cleaning the house. Is he trying to help?

– Cats are curious creatures and may meow while you’re cleaning to investigate the new smells and sounds. Consider involving your cat in a safe way to keep them entertained.

10. My cat meows when I’m on the computer. Is he trying to get my attention?

– Cats are social animals and may meow while you’re on the computer to seek attention from you. Take breaks to interact with your cat and provide them with playtime to reduce excessive meowing.

11. My cat meows when I play music. Is he enjoying it?

– Cats have sensitive hearing and may be meowing in response to the music playing. Some cats may enjoy certain types of music, while others may find it stressful. Pay attention to your cat’s body language to determine their comfort level.

12. My cat meows when I have guests over. Is he stressed?

– Cats can become stressed when there are unfamiliar people in their environment. Provide your cat with a safe space away from the commotion and ensure that they have a quiet place to retreat to if needed.

13. My cat meows when I’m getting ready to feed him. Is he excited?

– Cats may meow when they are hungry or excited about mealtime. Establish a consistent feeding schedule to help reduce excessive meowing and provide your cat with a balanced diet.

14. My cat meows when I’m gardening. Is he trying to help?

– Cats may meow while you’re gardening to investigate the new smells and textures. Consider involving your cat in a supervised way to keep them entertained and engaged.

15. My cat meows when I’m reading a book. Is he trying to get my attention?

– Cats may meow while you’re reading a book to seek attention from you or simply because they are feeling playful. Try engaging your cat in interactive play to distract them from meowing.

In summary, when your cat walks around meowing, it could be a sign that they are seeking attention, feeling anxious, lonely, in heat, or experiencing a medical issue. By paying attention to your cat’s body language and vocalization patterns, you can better understand what they are trying to communicate and provide them with the necessary care and attention. Remember to consult with a veterinarian or animal behaviorist if you have concerns about your cat’s meowing behavior, as they can provide guidance on how to address any underlying issues and help your cat feel more comfortable and secure in their environment.

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