How To Stop My Cat From Meowing For Attention

Schedule three or four small meals of canned food picking up the remainder after 20 to 30 minutes.

How to stop my cat from meowing for attention. You ve reinforced the meowing at night behaviour by giving your cat attention which can prolong the meowing behaviour once it starts. Change in schedule yours or his. It might shut up for a while as you play with it but will then know that meowing works. If you need to feed dry food due to your cat s preference or your schedule give one small meal of dry food in the evening which you can leave down for the night.

First it s important to address the need for attention when the cat is not demanding attention with play sessions treasure hunts clicker training and other activities says krieger. Reset your cat s body clock. Cats often meow to initiate play petting or to get you to talk to them. To get your cat to stop meowing for food in the middle of the night galaxy recommends playing with the cat in the evening to wear him out before bed and then feeding your cat after playtime.

Health issues may be at play especially if the behaviour has suddenly surfaced with no changes in the cat s environment. Eventually the cat will learn that meowing no longer works as a way to get your attention. Fill a spray bottle with water and give the cat a short mist. Keep the cat indoors at night if she s an indoor outdoor feline.

If all else fails you can as a last resort use a squirt of water. It sometimes work but your cat will resent you for a while until the next meal time. If your cat wakes you up by bringing you vermin you need to stop the behavior. He calls it the hunt catch kill and feed method.

Giving in to an unwanted behavior will only exacerbate the problem. Pawing your arm or leg. This will remove her ability to bring you kills in the middle of the night. You may need to divide your cats last meal of the deal into two servings so you could feed your cat at 5pm then give the last portion at 10pm this will help your cat feel satiated throughout the night and into the morning.

If you want to cut down on attention seeking meows stop responding when it happens. Minimize your cat s access to vermin. Attention seeking meowing claims krieger can be stopped gradually and without the use of negative reinforcement when your cat is vocal. Cats are crepuscular active at dawn and dusk and nocturnal active at night.

Come out when the cat stops meowing to fill the food bowl. After first ruling out a health issue with a vet visit you can try these tips for stopping your cat from meowing all night.