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Written By- Kashaf Fatima| November 26, 2021
You may be worried about your cat crying or meowing at certain times. You may think of it as abnormal behaviour, but to be honest, this is entirely normal. Different types of meows predict different situations. We first need to understand the cat’s cries and meows to know well what she tells us.
Cats cry for various reasons like maybe she needs your attention or is asking for food. Sometimes, you may notice that the cats cry excessively at inappropriate times, thus making it unbearable for us. In simple words, we can term this crying as excessive vocalization.
There are a lot more reasons which I am going to review for you in this article. So, stay with me so you can know the facts about why your sweetie is crying a lot and how you can help her with this!
Don’t want to read the entire article? Here’s a quick infographic expressing the major reasons behind your cat’s cry.
Do Cats Actually Cry with Tears?
Some of you might have a question in mind, “Do Cats Tear Up in Response to Emotions?” The quick answer is, NO. Cats may shed tears in response to eye irritations, allergies, clogged tear ducts, and for other eye maintenance reasons. However, no evidence demonstrates that cats cry emotional tears of joy, sadness, pain, or grief.
How Can You Know If Your Cat is Crying?
You might be wondering, “How Can I Know If My Cat is Crying?”. You will notice some changes in your cat that show that your cat is crying out for help. Some cats will meow persistently, while some show aggression when they need help.
You will notice that your cat is not allowing you to touch her. This is also a sign that she needs to be examined as early as possible.
The most noticeable change is that cats will start to refuse to eat the food. Don’t leave her unattended since eating food is extremely important for a cat’s survival.
If you see any of these changes in your sweetie mentioned above, seek veterinarian help in the first place.
Why Do Cats Cry at Night?
Many of you might be looking for the answer to the question, “Why do Cats Cry at Night?”. I am here to answer this query of yours. Since Cats are crepuscular animals, they are most active at night. If cats cry at night, you don’t need to give them attention; otherwise, they will follow this behaviour on a daily basis.
There could be many reasons a cat is crying at night. She may be asking for food or want to play with you. It can also be possible that they are attracting a mate at night.
What can be done to avoid the cat’s nighttime crying? Play with your cat as much as possible in the day so she feels tired early and will not disturb your peaceful sleep at night. If you are not home, give her some toys to play with before leaving the house. Bought her an automatic feeder so she will no longer cry for food at night and will only depend on the feeder for her food. If your cats are attracting the mats at night and making noises, let them neuter in the first place. Spaying is beneficial if you want to avoid a cat’s unwanted pregnancies.
Why Do Cats Cry When Mating?
A female cat cries while mating due to the painful procedure. In some cases, the female cat even attacks the male cat during mating. In reaction to the female cat’s screams, the male cat also screams.
What Do Different Cat Cries Mean?
If the cat’s cries are pleasant, it most probably means that the cat is crying for food or asking for your attention. However, if she is crying persistently and undesirably, it usually means that she is in pain and needs medical assistance as soon as possible. Please don’t leave your pet unattended if the cries sound undesirable and excessive, as it can lead to some severe consequences, which can put your sweetie in trouble.
Now, let’s discuss some common reasons that are making your sweetie cry!
Reasons To Cry
1. Old Age
Like humans, as cats start to age, their hearing power starts to decrease. This could be the main reason for her crying uncontrollably. It may also be possible that she is suffering from cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS). It would be best if you let her examine by the veterinarian to know the actual cause.
2. Medical Condition
If you notice any unusual crying in your cat, there is higher chance that she is suffering from a medical condition that is causing her to cry a lot. For example, excessive meowing in the cat might be associated with hypertension or hyperthyroidism. Ensure to let she examine by her veterinarian as soon as possible to avoid any serious medical consequences.
Female Cat in Heat
Many people get worried when their female cats howl a lot in the heat. If your female cat cries or howls in heat, the reason is she is attracting a mate. Although this is not an uncommon behaviour, it can significantly irritate your cat.
For this, you need to get her spayed in the first place so that you won’t face this problem anymore. Also, there are a lot of benefits associated with spaying and neutering. Plus, if you are a parent of a male cat, get him spayed too.
4. Stress
When cats are under stress, they used to cry a lot. Stress can be due to many reasons like moving to a new home, separation from a loved one, or it could be anything that is making her stressed to death! It can also be possible that she is feeling lonely which is making her sad. Help her kill her loneliness by spending a lot of time playing with her. You can own another cat too, which can accompany your lonely cat. This way, she can feel a lot better.
5. Frightened
When cats are frightened of something, they cry a lot. So try to figure out what is causing her fear and relax so she no longer feels frightened.
6. Seeking Attention
Cats love to play with their owners. Whenever the cats want your attention, you will notice that they start crying until you hold them or give them some love. Make sure that you do not link s with crying. Once your sweetie stops crying and gets settled, cuddle her, love her and play with her. You can also buy her some toys to play with!
7. Access to a Room
You might have noticed that cats cry outside a closed door. The reason is they want to enter that room, so they cry, believing that you might open that door.
8. Traveling
Some cats cry a lot while travelling. The reason is they are uncomfortable or feel stressed while travelling. Try to keep your cats calm while travelling by making sure they are in a comfortable position. For example, you can buy her a comfortable carrier so she can enjoy happy travelling.
9. Greeting
When someone enters the home, the innocent little creatures cry or meow to greet them, especially their owners. So we can say that they are excited to see their owner come home back. And they show this excitement in the form of meowing.
10. Illness or Injury
If your cat is sick or is experiencing any injury, she will cry a lot to let you know about her condition. Examine her and take her to the veterinarian to avoid any serious complications onwards.
11. Feeling Cold
In winter, cats cry a lot when they feel cold. So ensure that your cat wears proper clothes in winter so she won’t feel cold anymore!
12. Outdoor Activity
Not only indoors, but cats also love to play outdoors. Whenever cats want to go outside and engage in any physical activity, they cry a lot. Take your cats to the park often and play with them. This will keep them mentally as well as physically active.
13. Hunger and Thirst
When a cat is hungry and thirsty, she cries or meows a lot until she receives food to satisfy her hunger and water to satisfy her thirst. You can buy her an automatic feeder if you are busy with your routine and can’t give her meals at scheduled times. Also, you will be able to get a peaceful sleep as the cat will not meow or cry at night for food or water anymore!
How to Avoid Undesirable Vocalization
Many of the cat parents get so frustrated with the excessive vocalization of their cats that they start throwing things at them. Believe me; this won’t work. However, there are some points to keep in mind, and you can treat this situation efficiently and quickly.
Firstly, diagnose the cat yourself. If you see any abnormal changes, take her to a veterinarian and ask the doctor to examine her properly so you can conclude what is causing her to cry excessively.
If the final deduction is that she isn’t experiencing any medical condition, there are higher chances that she is crying to gain attention from you.
If a cat is crying overly to seek your attention towards her, ignore her until she settles and calms. Otherwise, she will cry more the next time, and you will regret that you gave her attention when she was crying.
Give her attention and play with her only when she is quiet. If you perform opposite to this situation, she will think onwards that crying is the only solution to play with her or love her.
Conclusion
As always, I have tried my best to gather all the authentic and reliable information for you. I hope now you know why your cat is crying and what steps you need to take to stop her from crying. I have discussed and everything in detail, from “What do different cries mean?” to “How can you help your cat stop crying?”.
Know what your cat’s cry means and treat it accordingly. In case of any serious situation, seek her medical assistance quickly. Don’t take your cat’s excessive crying non-serious otherwise, your cat can suffer a lot. If you have further questions in mind, ping me in the comments section anytime you want. I would love to hear and answer your queries!
References
https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/neurological/c_ct_excessive_vocalization
https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/vetr.3
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/spaying-in-cats
https://www.petmd.com/cat/general-health/when-cat-meowing-indicates-medical-problem
