Bloody noisy yowling cat!

I'm trying to type with my boy cat Ozzy on my knee..not easy 'cos he wants to help with the typing. He's purring away. Our other cat (a girl) is Mia. We didn't choose their names as they are both rescue kittens. Ozzy usually gets called The Great Oswaldo and for some reason talks with an Italian accent! Mia is very quiet and we call her Mimi - she is fast asleep on her favourite chair. They are both 1 year old and we took them in last December. Ozzy very nearly died within 24 hours of us collecting him as we didn't realise he had cat flu and had to spend a week in care at the vets. Ozzy approves of what I've written so I can post now....

My cats mostly had names beginning with S - not sure why! There was Sophocles (Soppy for short), Stevenson, Sam and Sandy. The exception was also Orlando the Marmalade Cat. No more cats now - living on a dangerous road.

absentgrana that post did make me laugh!

It's funny how cats' names can evolve, our Maurice is often referred to as "Maurice-ovitch" and the yowling cat, who is Clucky, becomes "The Cluck Meister"

I've often wondered about the names they may have with each other.

Maurice is a very sociable chap, and would often bring his friend Fluff Gordon (from next door) in for a share of his biscuits. It did cross my mind that although to us and his owners he was Fluff Gordon and of course Maurice was Maurice, perhaps to each other they were "Voltan the Vole Slayer" and
Magoth, Murderer of a Million Mice"

My four youngest cats were born in my office and so were named after fonts – Dingbat (never was a cat more accurately named), Helvetica semi-bold (frightened of his own shadow), Bodoni (she of the sinuous tail) and Frutiger light condensed (last born, tiniest and definitely sanserif). Their mother is called Fishpaste, but that's another story all together. The sixth cat is called Dylan but on his microchip registration form his name appears as Pylon. He doesn't like it.

I've only ever had boy cats as well - I don't know why it's worked out that way. I'll have to have a look at the next one to see what name springs to mind - we don't know who he/she is yet, but can't wait!!

It's not like it matters. I usually have boy cats, and I give them boys' names, although not usually the names that human boys would actually have.

But I did have a little girl rescue cat - we called her "Ashtaroth", but, since it was a bit of a mouthful, she was "Ashty" for short.

I'm not really up on religion....only why cats are called what they are! Now, whether my neighbour's cat was called after John or Charles Wesley...I'm not sure! (I did go to Methodist Sunday School!)

Oh, I see. Looks like our neighbours achieved some kind of balance, but are there no famous Episcopalians?

No Jangran! My neighbour is an Episcopalian minister! I think his wife named the cat (as she's a Methodist)! Another of their cats was called Pisky (a shortening of Episcopalian)! In the past, one of my cats was called Spider.....there were/are always so many in my house, that it just seemed right that he should be called after them!

My Wesley was called after a boy we fostered. He was a neglected child, who clearly needed a boost to his confidence. His face lit up when I told him what we were going to call the new kitten.

How can a cat be an Episcopalian minister?

Jangran, my neighbours used to have a cat called Wesley - she was brought up a Methodist and he is an Episcopalian minister!

Our Wesley is getting noisier, but I suppose you need to worry when he goes quiet.

Funny, though. He used to be such a quiet cat, you only knew he was purring by feeling him, rather than hearing him.

I have 2 elderly cats and one has been doing this wandering around howling for some months. Years ago I had another who did just the same. I looked up "yowling cat" and it's evidently common but nobody knew why nor how to stop it. My yowling cat has kidney failure but is well and happy, not deaf. They just seem to want to say, "Here I am! Where are you?"

We had a very vocal cat, even the vets remarked that he had the loudest voice they had ever heard. He was the third in a series of cats who have just walked in when there was a vacany and made themselves at home. He was perfect in every way really - not too fussy about food, used the cat flap with no problems, very patient with the DGC - except for the constant noise. It was impossible to have a quiet chat or listen to the TV without him joining in and drowning it out. There seemed to be no reason for his yowling, it did not indicate that he wanted out or fed. I suspect he was like a child who has learnt to whistle - very proud of his ability and just showing off.

During the severe weather last winter we noticed he had gone very quiet and taken to his bed. Consultation between his two staff (me and DH) revealed that he had not been eating and had not been outside (no footprints in the snow), so an emergency trip to the vet in a blizzard. She diagnosed kidney failure and while we were trying to decide whether to have expensive, unlikely to succed treatment or have him put to sleep, he had a fit and just died. Came home in floods of tears and although we enjoy the peace and quiet, the house seems eerily silent at times.

OK - deafness is a possibility too.

Jangran X-rays, I think, but I repeat my suggestion of deafness. Deaf cats do a lot of yowling. Maybe a trip to the vet – expensive though it is.

I have the same problem with my elderly cat. He has taken to wandering around the house from mid afternoon onwards, yowling. We used to think he was ready for his tea, but he carries on well after tea as well, and only settles down when we settle down for the evening when he can scramble onto a lap.

But a brain tumour? That is scary. Can they be diagnosed accurately in cats, does anyone know?

absentgrana my JR Barney is not yet used to the clock's changing and it will be time to change back soon,but he is awake at 5am every morning jumping on the bed to go out for his morning 5mins,so by lunchtime we are both ready for a nap and Barney is flat out in his bed

Mind you, having said that, I have six cats, one of whom feels obliged to start banging the bedroom door and yowling as soon as it gets light in the morning. She's the ringleader with regard to breakfast and that's the only time she does it. But it is very annoying in the summer, at least.

Do you think she might be deaf?

Thanks all, I will speak to our vets, the old girl seems very well in herself, but the racket is somewhat annoying to say the least!

A few years ago DH and I fostered abandoned dog's and once we where given a poor scrap of a dog who was very very hypo in everything he did,loud crying for particular reason and following us everywhere we went,it became a real trial trying to access him for rehoming and in the end we took him to a vet who specialised homotherapy for animal's,he gave us a powder that we sprinkled on his food every day and it had the most calming effect on him he became the most loving animal and was rehomed after 4/5mths to a lovely family,we received a letter a few month's later to tell us how well he was doing and the new owner's had even been able to take him to obedence classes.So have a chat with your vet and see what they say.Good luck

This sounds something like what happened with my neighbour's cat. He suddenly started to make this strange yowling noise as well, and he wandered about the house losing his balance sometimes. The vet thought that he may have developed a brain tumour. He was put on steroids and he seemed to improve for a while. Unfortunately though, he did have to be put to sleep. Hope your wee cat settles down again.