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the story of dave
My wife and I have a 17 year old mixed breed cat called Dave. Despite
his age he's remarkably playful - he will chase a piece of string for at least 5-10 minutes before getting bored. He'll also still turn up at my feet with a variety of outdoor wildlife from time to time. He's a great cat and very well behaved - he eats/drinks well, only ever users his litter box, only ever scratches his scratching post and so on. I have a lot of time for him, but I have one problem with him that is driving me to distraction: his meow. It is so SO loud, and he is so incredibly... expressive. He meows all the time, for no apparent reason at all. His meow is so loud that when he's in our (finished) basement and I'm in our Attic, I can hear it as though he's standing next to me. I've seen many people walking by our house turn and look in at the moment he's been doing it. One day last year we had a neighbor from across the street turn up at the front door with food and water because they thought our cat had been left home alone and was screaming for help. It was so embarrassing. At the last visit to the vet, he was given a clean bill of health, and has always been healthy in the past. I thought this behavior might of been triggered by me moving in 3 years ago with my wife, but she reliably informs me that he's always been like this. My wife just "tunes him out". Over the last year I've tried a variety of tactics to try and at least reduce the frequency of meowing: I've tried (for around 3 or 4 months each) 1) squirting him with water (he meows from out of range) 2) rattling a coin in a can (he meows from out of sight) 3) throwing screwed up paper at him (he started to fetch them, dog style) I have resigned myself to appreciating he is just going to meow like this, but I really want to try and understand it a bit, for his potential benefit and mine too 1) Is it possible he has some sort of long term problem like arthritis that the vet hasn't seen 2) Could he be a bit deaf? He is easy to sneak up on. 3) Could he be lonely and/or bored? When my wife and I are home (which is a lot), he absolutely HAS to be in the same room as us at all times, and he hardly sleeps at all (unless we do). 4) If we got a friend - say a kitten- is the kitten likely to learn the loud and constant meowing? Chris |
#2
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Excessive vocalization is a classic symptom of hyperthyroid. Get him
back to the vet and have his thyroid function tested. It is not a test that is included in standard bloodwork and must be requested. Megan "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray |
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#4
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wrote in message ... Excessive vocalization is a classic symptom of hyperthyroid. Get him back to the vet and have his thyroid function tested. It is not a test that is included in standard bloodwork and must be requested. And at my vet it costs $25. |
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wrote in message
... Excessive vocalization is a classic symptom of hyperthyroid. Get him back to the vet and have his thyroid function tested. It is not a test that is included in standard bloodwork and must be requested. Same applies to hypertension, for which howling is also a classic symptom Helen http://www.felinecrf.org/symptoms_tr...ts_index.htm#H |
#6
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I like the squirting idea. I'm going to try it on my boyfriend.
-- Message posted via http://www.catkb.com |
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