While people sleep at night, cats as nocturnal animals can be particularly lively at night. There are cats that sleep or snooze at night and cats that restlessly tramp through the apartment at night and are, so to speak, on a nightly prowl. While cats also communicate with each other by means of body language when they meet, meowing is primarily used for communication with humans.
Tonalities of the nocturnal meowing
Meow! I want something! With a dark sad complaining sound similar to the barking of a dog, the cat draws attention to stress that it feels. The situation in which the cat currently finds itself does not please it at all and it demands an immediate change.
If a kitten meows at night like a baby, then the baby cat is longing for company, attention and closeness or it misses the security in the litter box and the siblings. The meowing can be loud and energetic, but also tender and whiny.
Why the cat meows at night?
To find out the reason is not very easy. Cat owners need to know exactly the needs and habits of their cat and observe the cat. Depending on the meowing can be behind the most diverse reasons. These include boredom, hunger, loneliness or even the power of habit. If the cat has learned that the human gives her affection and attention on her meowing, she will meow again and again. Cats meow at night when they are anxious or insecure. A move, new surroundings or new furniture can be the trigger. Once the cat becomes more confident in the new environment, then the nighttime meowing will disappear. If you have found out that the cat cries out of hunger at night, you can switch to giving the cat some food before you go to bed yourself or leave a portion of cat food in the food bowl for the night. Cats, unlike dogs, prefer to eat several small portions of food a day. This suits their digestion. So that you don’t have to get up at night, you could purchase an automatic feeder from which the cat can help itself. But if the cat meows out of boredom, you need to keep it more busy during the day. This is easy with outdoor cats. These have enough movement, so they sleep at night. But if you sleep all day on the cat tree or on the sofa, you will not be tired in the evening. For the occupation of domestic cats are suitable cat toys, a sports program or you romp with your cat properly, so that it exhausts itself. Intelligence toys for cats can make the cat keep itself busy at night without waking it up. It challenges any curious cat to get busy with it. Does the cat feel lonely as soon as they go to bed as a caregiver? Then you might consider getting a second cat. A second cat would be the ideal playmate for your cat at night. Kittens can be socialized more easily than older cats.
More causes nocturnal meowing
If the cat has learned that she gets attention and affection by meowing, she will continue to do so at night when she is bored. Here it helps only to ignore the nocturnal meowing and hope that the cat will understand it after a few nights. Therefore, do not pet the cat at night in or put food so that it does not get used to it. If the cat is not neutered then the meowing may be hormonal. Female cats meow when they are in heat, even at night, to attract the attention of males. Males, on the other hand, do everything they can to get to the female in heat. Their scent marks can be smelled over long distances. If this does not succeed, then the tomcat announces its displeasure by loud meowing. Here it helps only to castrate sexually mature cats around male.
In many cases, sick cats meow more at night. If you do not find any other psychological cause for the nocturnal meowing, you should have your cat examined by a veterinarian. Possible diseases are for the nocturnal meowing are:
- Age-related limitations due to the decline of the five senses
- Pain in the joints
- Pain on the organs
- Hypertension
- Hyperthyroidism
- Heart disease
- Kidney diseases
Keep in mind that the nocturnal meowing only occurs when the cat does not know any other way to help itself, because most cats suffer in pain rather silently. So the meowing is a cry for help. If your cat is healthy, you have to look for other causes. Many cat owners give their cats Bach flowers so that they are more balanced or less anxious at night. With this, the nocturnal meowing is also part of history.