Hi everyone! It's been a while, hope everyone is great!

So Finnegan (1.5 years) has always been vocal but the last few weeks it has been ridiculous. He has been meowing non stop, just high pitched not nice sounding meows, then low pitch ones. He does this all day long. He has food, water, clean litter, toys. We play with him as often as we can, but he just wont stop. I am going bonkers, with hardly any sleep and a loud cat. He will just lay on the floor all sprawled out and meowing at the top of his lungs, or at the door to the snake room where he is not allowed, nor ever goes in. Or he just sits on his bed, or the window... I cant find anyting wrong.. Any advice?

SO far I have been say saying be quiet, in a calm voice, but this seems to encourage him, I lock him in the bathroom until he stops meowing, then let him out, takes about 2-5 minutes. Soon as hes out he goes at it again...

Please help, any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

P.S. Yes I realize bengals are loud and like to meow, I know what I signed up for. But this is new behaviour within the last couple weeks, hes always been chatty but never this loud or often.

Thank you,
Stephanie, Aleya and Finnegan

I've never had a cat that meows to such excess that it drives me crazy (Serafina comes somewhat close). But if I did, I would probably give this a try:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSwUw9DiT6A

I think you need to be careful in how you react when your cat "acts up", because if your response is to give him something that he wants, then it becomes motivation for him to do it more, not less. So the above video is kind of counter-conditioning for that. Actually giving him incentive to *not* do that.

No idea how effective it us, but worth trying imo. And if you do, I'd love to know how it goes :)

Brian

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The little monsters 3

Steph - have you taken him to the vet to get him checked out/rule out any medical problems ?

Im.guessing he is.bored or unsettled.
Clive does that when he cant find Indiya or she is asleep. Once she s awake or he found her(we have large house), he becomes calm and quiet.
Maybe try to give him some comfort, stroking him/talking tp him/finding something to occupy -new box, water in the sink,etc?
This is just based on my own experience

I had an older cat that started howling for no reason. I thought she was senile. I mentioned it to my vet but they didn't offer a solution at first so it went on for a while. She went to the vet every week for sub Q hydration and they finally gave me pain medication for her. When I finally gave it to her she stopped howling and purred very loud. That's when I realized she had been howling from pain. :-(

When a cat abruptly changes behavior, it's usually a sign that something is wrong -- and the first thing I'd do is get him to the vet for an exam just to rule out anything medical. Have you checked his paws just to make sure nothing is stuck in them? Has he had his teeth cleaned lately? Tarter buildup will cause pain in the mouth, especially when eating. Finn seems too young for arthritis, however, could he have suffered an injury jumping? Do you have other cats? Could one have injured Finn? Yes, bengals are vocal, but you get used to their cries and what each cry means. Constant crying could also mean a neighbor's cat is coming around and Finn can sense that.

Does he do his crying in a particular area of your home? Back door/front door meaning he wants outdoors? I mean, there are SO many things that could be causing this change in crying. You've got to become a pet detective and take note of the environment around Finn and what might have changed. Observe him, really observe him. Body language can tell you a lot as well.

Good luck.

Thanks for all the replys.. i have tried a few different things. I have also called the vets and they did not have much to say on this subject.

I have tried telling him to be quiet, he gets three warnings then he is locked up in his room, until he stops meowing. Usually 5-10 minutes. I think he is just meowing just to hear himself talk.

There is nothing out of the ordinary, he just meows in all areas of the house, but mostly at the front door and the snake room door. He also meows alot into the air vent. Also he meows just when hes laying around. He pretty much meows all the time, at the window just laying on the table or the floor.

SO not sure what is going on in his mind. I've tried playing more, giving him those new calming treats that I found before bed. I buy him new toys and try and keep him distracted but no matter what he just wails.

I was in the midst of buying a cat wheel to see if exercise would work, but apparently they only ship for free within the united states. It cost 100 Dollars to ship to Canada and I just dont have that extra money right now :( I have been saving for the wheel itself for 5 months now. So that was a big disappointment.

Not sure where to go from here. It is getting very frustrating.. Thanks for the replys we will keep working to see what we can come up with..

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Stephanie, Aleya & Finnegan

Awe, maybe he is just a talkative fellow. I had a blue point siamese that was the most vocal cat. He drove me crazy especially when I was busy doing something and he wanted me to hold him and play. He would follow me around and howl at me. I would yell stop it! But it just became a game to engage me in play. Honestly I don't think time out will work with meowing. You can't punish the communication out of him. Maybe try the Felaway plugin. It calms cats down within a few minutes. My kitties play for a long time on their cat towers without meowing. Have you tried cat nip? I have a little blanket that has a zipper pouch that you fill with catnip. My cats love to roll on it.

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Stephanie, Aleya & Finnegan

I got mine years ago, but a google search turned up similar one:

http://www.priscillaspetproducts.com/sh ... anket.html

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Stephanie, Aleya & Finnegan

Sorry to hear the meow fest is still going on. Have any other animals moved into your area? Other cats around can cause bengals to cry and cry. You may not see or smell them, but your kitty can. Shushing them doesn't help. I do that to Raiden ..... basically, I just try to ignore him and he will settle down! Right now, I know he's crying because he wants his morning walk. When we first got him, it was 24/7 crying! Over time, it has lessened, but still ... it can be so annoying when I'm trying to get something done. I've also read that bengals like hearing their own voice! Really???? I'm sure yours sleeps at some point and is quiet.

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Stephanie, Aleya & Finnegan

Raiden does not cry when he's out in his enclosure. Once he comes back in the house, he starts. He's the funniest thing after eating and licking his chops and trying to meow in between while he's walking away from his bowl. I feel it's just the breed, although we do have a black and white cat that visits and cries constantly -- only it's a light cry. Raiden howls at times. He's a bengal and I just accept it. Drives me crazy at times, but he's way too cute when he's sleeping and quiet.