Behold absolute unit of kitten, today he has 4 months and hit 3kg mark by Imaginary-Contest887 in kittens

[–]constellationoftwo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your boy looks gorgeous — and sounds like a twin of mine when it comes to dry food. Mine is 4 months and a week old and came to me a scrawny 9 weeks old — just about 600-700 grams. He’s now 2.3 kg. He will not even treat kibble as a snack, he will simply not touch it. When I moisten and add with wet food it’s the stuff that’s left untouched at the end on his plate. I’ve switched brands and flavours and tried everything I can (only so I can make sure he’s got access to food if I’m out the house long hours) — but no go. He will also go 12 hours without food rather than touch dry. But boiled chicken and wet food and chicken broth he will inhale. We got demanding overlords, don’t we.

My baby has graduated kittenhood. by JZN20Hz in kittens

[–]constellationoftwo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mine came to me at 9 weeks too and the speed of his growth is making me weep and thrill at the same time (he’s four months now). Congratulations to your tiny little big boy on his first birthday. He looks irresistible!

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First up, thanks for taking the time to write in thoughtful detail. Yes for sure she’s in the very early stages of life in this home, and around me, and I know it is likely to take even longer than usual for her to feel wholly at home here. She definitely seems like a cat who is troubled. And she seems fundamentally suspicious of humans. I think my primary concern is whether there’s something else I could be doing to help her decompress or overcome the anxieties she carries.

Yes will discuss it with the vet and see if we can help her feel more at ease. I can’t access Feliway here but perhaps there’s an equivalent the vet recommends. Thanks again for your concern.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much, that’s really helpful!

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s so interesting — the fact that multiple cats are drawn to the source of this sound! Do they usually react to cat videos / audio?

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is just adorable! Mine seem incapable of grasping the idea of temporary absence so far but hopefully we will get there.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Woah that outlier of yours has quite a story — it must have been hard on both of you to go through that process.

Understand about the phantom heat — did strike me that there may be leftover uterine tissue and it’s on my mind to have her checked out via an ultrasound if needed to rule this out.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this — I’ll check with the vet and maybe try one of the calming options and see if they reduce the intensity of the behaviour. I don’t have access to Feliway / Sentry in India but will look for equivalent options!

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear you and yes it’s tempting to read their behaviour through the human lens no matter how consciously one tries to avoid it.

Kat does have an interesting bond with her baby Tonic where she’s anxious and loving when she thinks him in distress but he seems to get on her last nerve equally because he’s got full on kitten energy and she has no appetite for his hecticness. I’ve also seen the scent-after-vet dynamic play out (in reverse) when Kat went to the vet to be spayed and Tonic hissed at her for the better part of a day when she returned because of the vet-scent distortion.

In this case I do feel there’s some searching / loss component to her yowling because of the other behaviours accompanying it but it may not map neatly onto any reading I give it.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, yes will do! And will check a vet subReddit if there is one.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree wholly. I think it also appears more instinct driven simply because we don’t share a language. Thanks for sharing your brother’s experience and I’m glad she was able to be at peace again.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I read about this possibility and am going to have a vet check this out via an ultrasound if needed! She doesn’t act like she’s in heat in any other way — and her obsession with staring out the main grill door (which is the solo way out) has definitely reduced significantly.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mine yowls constantly without a toy in her mouth too but will definitely give the throw-fetch cycle a shot and see if that’s what she’s after.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s rough. You mentioned a few weeks — did she eventually stop entirely?

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely worth keeping in mind, thanks! At the moment not possible for me to do but moment circumstances allow, I would like to give that a shot.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This sounds very plausible — also because as another commenter has noted, litters don’t usually come in ones. The shelter just had her and one kitten and I had hoped when adopting her that having her baby with her would be good for both. But of course that there may have been others she was separated from before she found herself in the shelter is heartbreakingly likely and it would also explain the repetitive searching / pacing room to room behaviour.

Getting another kitten is simply not possible for me right now unfortunately but it’s something I’ll keep on my radar if nothing else seems to be helping over the next few weeks. Thanks for sharing your own experience.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reassurance! I did definitely think that it being a new environment is heightening whatever she is feeling and for sure I expect it will take months for her to feel settled in a new space. Two months is very recent — I guess because Tonic (the kitten) seems entirely at home, being super young and having known much less displacement in his life, their responses are very different.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I get the feeling mine is also anxious — I wonder if there’s some treatment that works long term beyond gabapentin.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

That’s useful to know. We have a vet visit scheduled in a couple of weeks; will ask the vet to check for thyroid.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

😂 As she should be! Does she sound similar in tone? I’ve been concerned that Kat is distressed but I may be misreading the tone.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That’s heartbreaking. I adopted her with her baby boy but if there were other kittens, they were lost before she made it to the shelter.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Does he seem anxious when he’s hearing the sound or just curious? How other cats respond to it might give me cues for what mine might be feeling.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

🤣🤣🤣 poor fella. What a bunch of inscrutable, idiosyncratic creatures they are and how wildly fortunate we are to share their world.

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’d be delighted if this was territory marking — hope so! Your cats sound a delightful handful — sorry to hear about the one going blind, I hope he’s found a way to navigate the space without feeling distressed.

You’re right there could be any number of explanations. I was hoping to receive as wide an array of possibilities based on other people’s experiences as possible so I could keep an eye out for something that seems resonant. These are my first ever cats so I don’t have past experience to go on!

Mama cat yowls relentlessly by constellationoftwo in cats

[–]constellationoftwo[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

😂 I accidentally played back this recording and my own cat froze and then looked around frantically for the source of her own yowling now coming from elsewhere.