Okay, so my cat, Mittens, she’s usually pretty chill. But lately? Non-stop meowing. Like, seriously, all. the. time. It was driving me nuts, so I had to figure out what was going on.
First Steps: Is She Okay?
My first thought was, “Is she sick?” So, I checked her over. I looked at her eyes, felt her belly, made sure she was eating and drinking normally, and checked the litter box (glamorous, I know). Everything seemed…fine. No obvious pain, no weird lumps, nothing. She was still using the litter box and eating like a little piggy. Okay, medical emergency ruled out, or at least, not obvious.
The Boredom Factor
Next, I figured maybe she was just bored. We live in a small apartment, and she’s an indoor cat. So, I tried playing with her more. I got out her favorite feather wand toy, the laser pointer (which she goes crazy for), even some of those little crinkle balls. She’d play for, like, five minutes, then…back to the meowing. I even bought a new cat tree, thinking maybe she needed a change of scenery. Nope. More meowing.
Attention-Seeking Behavior
This is when I started to think it was attention-seeking. I work from home, and I’ll admit, sometimes I get really focused and maybe…ignore her a little. So, I started making a conscious effort to give her more attention. I would stop what I was doing every hour and give her some pets, talk to her, even just sit with her on the couch for a bit. It…helped a little. The meowing decreased, but it didn’t stop completely.
The Food Puzzle Solution (Finally!)
Finally, after a few days of meowing and a trial of different things, I remembered something I’d read about: food puzzles. Basically, you hide her food in these little puzzle toys, and she has to work to get it out. I ordered a couple online, and when they arrived, I filled them with her dry food.
I placed it by her bowl as usual before her regular meal time.
And…silence. Well, not complete silence, but a HUGE reduction in the meowing. She was so busy trying to get the food out of the puzzles that she completely forgot to complain! It was like a light switch flipped. She would spend a good 30 minutes figuring out the puzzles, then she’d eat, groom herself, and take a nap. Peace and quiet (mostly)!
- Check for medical issues: Always rule out pain or illness first.
- Provide enrichment: Toys, playtime, and climbing structures can help.
- Give attention: Make sure your cat isn’t feeling neglected.
- Try food puzzles: These can keep your cat mentally stimulated and satisfied.
So, yeah, it turns out my cat was just bored and wanted a challenge. Who knew? Now, if I could just get her to stop knocking things off the shelves…
