r/Catswhoyell • u/gamefreaq • Feb 13 '25
Scream Team Why's my cat yowl like this only when nobody's looking??
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u/SpicyVibration Feb 13 '25
I've heard lots of cats do this specific call. It means, "I don't know where you are, come play with me" surprisingly enough.
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u/second2no1 Feb 13 '25
Where are Yoooooooooouw?!?
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u/LaureGilou Feb 13 '25
And I'm so sorry...
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u/CmdrWoof Feb 13 '25
I cannot sleep
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u/Dashie_Loko42069 Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 13 '25
I cannot dream tonight….
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u/5lash3r Feb 13 '25
I need somebody and always
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u/weird-snail Feb 14 '25
This sick strange darkness
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u/ShellzNCheez Feb 14 '25
Comes creeping on
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u/Sarenai7 Feb 13 '25
Cat wants love and attention just like me :(
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u/5lash3r Feb 13 '25
now picturing a human wondering around a mall doing this
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u/v-v_ToT Feb 14 '25
I’m going to train my husband to respond to this when he wanders away from me in Walmart 🤣
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u/naastiknibba95 Feb 13 '25
It's a Call
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u/PyroCatt Feb 13 '25
Hello?
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u/frameshifted Feb 13 '25
One of my cats gets into the bathtub and does this every so often. I think he just likes the acoustics; he definitely isn't looking for me.
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u/john_humano Feb 13 '25
How old is your kitty? I ask because I had a cat who got very vocal like this when she got older. I suspected it was a combination of maybe not being able to hear/see as well, maybe being a little confused and also just getting to that age where you stop worrying about politeness and just yell when you want attention. Regardless I don't think it seems like distress. Some cats just yell.
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u/gamefreaq Feb 13 '25
Supposedly he's somewhere between 15-17 years old, and yeah he only recently started doing it in the last year.
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u/ballpitwitch Feb 13 '25
So he’s probably going deaf or is totally deaf. Our older cat did this whenever she couldn’t see us. He can’t hear you so seeing you is the only way he knows you haven’t abandoned him. I would literally go find her and the moment she saw me she was fine. Just needy, dramatic ass cats 😹
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u/themaniacsaid Feb 13 '25
Does it happen mainly at night? Look into sundowners and ask the vet about it at his next visit. He might be confused. My boy had it and his yells were spot on to yours.
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u/gamefreaq Feb 13 '25
It's no discernable time, he does it pretty much randomly throughout the day and night, though only when we aren't in view.
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u/imtriing Feb 13 '25
One of my cats yowls a bit like this when he's calling for his brother or sister to come and have a rough and tumble with him.
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u/ksccsk Feb 16 '25
It can be a sign of metabolic disease, high blood pressure, dementia, etc. It’s a good idea to talk to your vet about it. Mine did the same (17 years old) and had both high blood pressure and high metabolism (both of which could be treated).
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u/Neo-Chromia Feb 13 '25
Mine started doing this at around 17, after we lost her brother. She was also deaf around 16-18 so it was most likely one or both of those issues.
In her last few days she went almost fully blind and she went practically silent. She just stayed in bed :( maybe she was looking for us/brother/company when she could see?
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u/PomegranateCorn Feb 13 '25
So I'm wearing my headphones over my pretty thick hat, meaning the sound feels like it comes more from the space around me. Combine that with the sound coming strongly from the right headphone + having scrolled without looking, I was momentarily very worried about there being a random cat stuck in this house where nobody has been in a few days
Anyway, cat wants to know where you are/thinks they're alone/wants your attention
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u/pidgeypenguinagain Feb 13 '25
My old girl does this in the middle of the night. I think she just wants her heating pad turned on lol
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u/themaniacsaid Feb 13 '25
Look into sundowners if she seems to be confused or unhappy.. my baby got it at the end of his life and he would cry in the middle of the night like this.
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u/DLoIsHere Feb 13 '25
It’s a cat reason we’ll never know. Lots of people make assumptions but, after eight cats over many years, I can’t say that there is a set pattern other than them yowling in the rooms that echo the most.
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u/Nervous_Contract_139 Feb 13 '25
Lost for a sec. Cats can get caught up in whatever they’re doing and if they don’t hear you then they can get worried.
When my cat is running around and then I’m in a different room than I was last I will hear him yowl, then I’ll call him or even say I’m over here and he will run to me.
Yowling is a minor (sometimes major) sign of distress, it can happen when cats are going to throw up or when lost, or basically anytime they need help.
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u/Gratuitous_SIN Feb 13 '25
Cat is looking and calling out for you. Cat stops yowling when you look at cat because cat has found you and no longer needs to yowl.
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u/Derek_Gamble Feb 14 '25
If your cat yowls and only stops when you go to it, congrats, your cat has trained you.
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u/LTDSC Feb 14 '25
Mine screams like this when he has his prized possession toy and walking around the house screaming with zero regard for noise level. It’s annoying adorable
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u/Beli_Mawrr Feb 13 '25
My cat used to do this when he "Found" a special toy that I'd hidden somewhere in the house. It's the "Look at my hunting prowess" sound for me.
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u/rlgh Feb 13 '25
Mine sits on the stairs and howls at roughly the same time each day... who are we to ask?!
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u/BurtonLongBottoms Feb 13 '25
Our old family fat cat, would sit at the bottom of empty stairs and just howl "hellllllooooo yelllooooooo", for months. We figured cool, a ghost came with this place. He missed my brother, he was deployed at the time. As soon as JD was home, he wouldn't yowl anymore.
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u/djcrumbs Feb 13 '25
Both my cats came running when they heard this video, never seen that before
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u/666afternoon Feb 13 '25
our boys do this too 🥺💖 such a cute behavior
in a vacuum, I think of it as "killed a prey! killed a prey! friends, come eat! non friends go away cuz this is my territory!" [lots of them do this while prowling around carrying a toy!]
my boy usually seems confused when I come find him after he makes this noise lol, it doesn't SEEM like he does it to summon me... but your cutie pie seems to be calling you with that sound from what you said, how adorable ;_; 💖🌟
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u/Professional-Sort797 Feb 14 '25
My 17 year old Tortie does it for one of 3 reasons:
She wants me to watch her eat.
She wants me to go up the stairs with her.
She made a stinky-boomer in one of her litter boxes and wants it cleaned out.
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u/MattieShoes Feb 14 '25
One of my cats always wants me to watch her eat... I'm guessing it's just some sort of "protect me while I'm vulnerable" things?
She always watches me in the bathroom, I assume for the same reason.
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u/WeeOoh-WeeOoh Feb 14 '25
My 16 year old void started doing this a few months ago. Generally around 2-3 am. Scared the crap out of my boyfriend and I. When I call to him, he stops and rejoins us in bed. It may just be a call for attention, looking for you. At least yours is doing it during the day. Do you know just how horrifying it is to wake up to that!
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u/Brompy Feb 14 '25
My cat is doing this too a lot lately. He does the same thing: runs up stairs and starts yowling at the top of his lungs. He’s an old boy, like 16 or so.
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u/Hazeldruid95 Feb 14 '25
This audio summoned my black cat, Maus, that normally hangs out downstairs directly into my lap. She rarely does this. I'm going with that means "Hey, come here!" (It's dark and moving would disturb her, so I can't provide tax)
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u/Great_Office_9553 Feb 14 '25
He’s doing it BECAUSE no one is looking!
(I have one of these. She will also wake up from a nap with a holler because she’s not getting pets.)
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u/IsleViolet Feb 17 '25
This definitely made my two cats come running! So I think others are right - "Where are you? I'm so alone! Come play with me!"
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u/ADAMSMASHRR Feb 14 '25
Mine does the exact same thing. It’s usually when lights out at night or when she’s carrying a toy in her mouth. But if I’m within her field of vision she will just regular meow.
If I were to guess it means “come here look what I have”
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u/MuddlinThrough Feb 14 '25
This is the "where is everyone, I'm bored/lonely" cry followed immediately by "hi!"
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u/Sidewalk_Tomato Feb 14 '25
My big tabby tomcat had a similar repetitive cry in the basement. I think it gave him the creeps.
What-WOW? What-WOW?
Meow-WHOA!
He wasn't deaf, just being a lonely dork with an existential crisis. I would call him and he'd come running up the stairs.
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u/Far_Insurance_1313 Feb 14 '25
My orange will do the same when she's in that mood...where are you?!?! I just go yo I'm over here! And she comes running
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u/jabby_jakeman Feb 14 '25
Our cat has recently gone blind and does this frequently when she thinks no one is about, we think.
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u/YourLittleWeirdo Feb 14 '25
In my experience they yell like that when they want your attention, need you or are looking for you. Possibly wanted you to come look at something. Maybe there was a bug he wanted
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u/-Skelan- Feb 14 '25
They DEMAND attention. My cat Mia does this when she wants to play or just needs to see I'm at home.
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u/Weak-Comfortable7085 Feb 14 '25
My cat did this all the time. He would go into the furthest room away from me, and start screaming.
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u/Josamo_ Feb 16 '25
Old pussies make noise. I had an 19 year old orange and white and we lived in a 900 sqft house and yet he would walk into a vacant bedroom and sound the air raid sirens until i acknowledged them. Wonderful cat, treasure that sound because you will eventually miss it.
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u/Neveremi Feb 17 '25
Mine does the same and stops when he sees me. I think it's for attention? He can't even sleep anymore when I leave the room, follows me and falls asleep again in the same room I moved to 😅
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u/Dazzling_Chance5314 Feb 16 '25
It means you're cat's in heat...
...the only cure is to get the cat fixed, which should be a lot of fun at the vet, lol ;-)
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u/apoopingcow1 Feb 13 '25
When mine yowls like this I can just call her name and she comes running! Pretty sure they just lost track of you and were calling for you!