Behaviourist Francesca Riccomini advises on how to stop your cat miaowing throughout the day and night.
(Q) Our cat is now 18 months old. Recently, he has become very vocal and miaows all the time when he is awake. We let him outside, but that does not seem to keep him quiet. He usually wakes everyone at with his miaowing!
Behaviourist Francesca Riccomini says: Cats are naturally more active at night when their prey species - rodents and small mammals - are out and about, and even if they sleep during the hours of darkness, they are active at dawn and dusk. Then, if they make a noise, we try and stop them by responding. So they quickly learn that being vocal is a good way to get our attention.
The best way to deal with this is to make sure your cat is kept occupied during the day. Use puzzle feeders, scatter his dry diet around for him to fi nd and provide several tiny meals of wet food in different locations for him to hunt out rather than in one bowlful.
Give him a variety of interesting toys and boxes to play with, rotating these frequently to maintain his interest. Hang mobiles for him to watch too. Ignore him consistently until he stops miaowing. He needs to learn that vocalising won't get any him any attention.