I've created a monster...

[thistlechaser]

Now and then, I'll teach an animal a trick that I know will later come back and bite me. (I taught a dog to open doors once. Worst. Idea. Ever.)

Because I got Ellie New Cat when she was young, I wanted to do things to keep her brain engaged with the world. (My previous cat was 18 when she died, so all she did was sleep and eat and maybe walk a few steps between the two.) One of the things I did with Ellie was teach her to do tricks. All well and good, even though she's not perfect about it (she tends to just run through all of her tricks until I give her the treat, instead of doing the right one the first time).

The problem is that one of the tricks I taught her was to "talk" (meow). Now, more than an hour before her meal times, she starts meowing. Nonstop. Loud. And when I say nonstop, I mean it, just MEEEEEOW MEEEEEOW MEEEEEOW MEEEEEOW with no pauses other than to inhale. For more than an hour straight. It's loud and demanding and drives me crazy.

I've tried a number of things to break her of this. Saying "NO" loudly doesn't work, nor does "QUIET". Hissing at her surprised her at first and made her pause while she eyed me, but that stopped working fast. As of last night, I think I might have hit on the solution: When she starts meowing, I hiss at her and chase her around the apartment. I'm a little worried about that, as it took me two years to get her to trust me, but it seems to be working (and more importantly, seems to have no lasting effects afterwards).

I figure chasing her might be the most "natural" way to fix this -- cats don't meow endlessly in the wild because, while they are predators, they're small ones and thus prey as well. They wouldn't want to attract attention and get chased/eaten by something.

I'm glad no one's around to see me, because I'm sure it would be comical to watch.

My 'crazy cat lady' icon seems fitting for this post...

Comments

[manue7a.livejournal.com]

You could throw something at her, like a pack of tissues, and perhaps under your elbow or something so that it's not quite clear YOU threw it..would save some chasing.

In any case you're doomed :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea, and it would be no less exercise for me, since I'd have to get up and fetch them each time I threw them.

She'll have me trained in no time! :P

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Yikes! Except rewarding the noise even with negative attention is going to worsen the problem, especially if after an hour of meowing, the ultimate reward is food. That means, with time the problem is going to get worse, and it's teaching her endurance and persistence. :/

I know how annoying it can be! Mubbie used to squeak and mewl endlessly when he was a baby (he's part Siamese - talk about vocal power and endurance!). I trained him not to do that and eventually it stopped.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Even if it's after her feeding time, I'm waiting until she's quiet before I put her food down. Otherwise it'll just be counterproductive.

This is made especially hard since she's on a diet, so she's extra hungry...

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly, that's how I trained Mubbie. The only way to stop it is to not react to it at all, not with negative attention either (scolding, saying "no", etc.). So I just flat-out ignored whining or attempts to wake me when I was sleeping, and it eventually stopped because he knows it's futile and won't get him ANY attention. That sounds mean, but most meowing is just attention-seeking and even negative attention is attention (and he gets plenty of positive attention all day). I know how annoying it can get though, and what you describe sounds awful! Can you remove yourself from the room when she starts up, or will she just follow you?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she just follows me where I go. I considered putting her in the bathroom alone, which maybe I'll try tonight.

I love her, she's such a dear (and silent!) outside of that hour before mealtime.

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Might work, if you can completely ignore her and not let her out until she's quiet for a bit. I couldn't do that with Mubbie if he started up that behavior, he'd simply open the door himself (I didn't even teach him that, he taught himself, but what you said is true - not a skill you really want a pet to have, haha).

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

So far, she's doing a lot better tonight. Five minutes until dinnertime, and she has mostly not meowed yet. Let's hope it's sunk into her little kitty brain that meowing for dinner isn't good!

And agreed, a pet that can open doors is not a good thing. :P

[bacchuslives.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel any better, she might have picked up the habit even if you hadn't taught her... I've had two cats that developed that skill all by themselves :)

Fortunately, we're able to leave food out for the cats at all times so it isn't an issue. When the food is low, one cat of the three expresses her displeasure by biting your feet while you walk. Another excellent trick. So she is both tripping you and chomping simultaneously. It's especially excellent when your feet are bare.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I wish I could leave food out for her all the time! That'd be so much easier, plus I wouldn't have to worry if I were late or couldn't make it home. Unfortunately she'd quickly become the fattest cat ever if she had free access to it!

Heee! Biting you and tripping you at the same time is an accomplishment, if she can do it without getting stepped on.

[becofoz]

Oh man, I have a cat that constantly meows as well (especially around feeding time). I try ignoring it but it drives me batty. I might have to try the hissing method.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

It seems to be working, though at the moment I suspect it's annoying me more than her.

Good luck!

[jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)]

That's funny, and annoying to deal with. Our cat has gotten REALLY demanding as he's getting older. He meows incessantly for food, or for us to open a door. He's an in/outdoor cat and now we have to put him outside at bedtime, otherwise he wakes me up at four or five am demanding food. Even if the doors are shut, he sits outside the door and meows LOUDLY it drives me crazy.

Maybe you can try teaching her another behavior to get a food reward for? Like give her food when she sits (quietly of course) and then she'll come sit and STARE at you instead. Our cat will sit on command for a treat- learned it from a dog he used to live with.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

The hissing and chasing her idea is working surprisingly well (with added 'waving my arms over my head'). It's been two days since I started it, and she's about 80% better. I'm really, really surprised at how fast she's changing.

I like the idea of making her do something else to get her food! Adding that in would be two birds with one stone, since I have to stand there and wait for her to be quiet before I feed her anyway.

That's pretty impressive that a cat would learn a trick from watching a dog do it. :)

[jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)]

Yeah- he grew up in a house with a dog. We adopted him when he was about two. I read a story once about a cat that lived with a small dog, some toy breed. Owner was trying to teach the dog to sit on a child's rocking chair and make it rock, for a treat. The cat was nearby watching. Many attempts, the dog just didn't get it. Finally the cat jumped on the chair, made it rock, and looked expectantly for its reward!

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

I suggest the squirt bottle, if you haven't tried it already. Also, put her out of the room you're in and shut the door, ignore her if you can.

Another thing to try is the "eater of noisy kittens" - basically plant the vacuum cleaner outside the door with switch on, and bring the cord into the room with you, and get an extension cord so you can plug it in as soon as the noise starts and NO doesn't work.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

The squirt bottle is my usual go-to cat training tool, but unfortunately it's currently packed in a box and I didn't want to go get another one.

I like the vacuum cleaner idea! That would get an immediate reaction from her.