Cat talk 5 January at 4:59PM in Pets & Pet Care 8 replies 330 views

SteveQ

I have an 18 year old cat, that for 17 1/2 years of his life has been silent

He is now squlking like squalkings going out of business

When he comes through the cat flap, to let me know he's used the litter, to wake me up in the morning

He's on Thyronorm for his thyroid - any link ?

SteveQ

Any advice ?

Mrs_Z

Sorry, no advice as such.  We're on cats no 4 & 5 and all of ours have been 'talkers' some more than most.  If the cat does not seem to be in pain, I would not worry too much or if it's really troubling you - maybe a phone consultation with the vet?

Carrot007

Every cat I have had has become more talkative as they get older. Some when others unfortunatly were out of the picture :-(

Just enjoy it while you can, it means nothing more than he wants your affection.

NaughtiusMaximus

Perfectly normal, all the cats we've had became much more vocal in their old age, as I type our 16 year old boy is letting us know he's here. When he was younger he was a very quiet cat, now he never shuts up.

SaintJudy

Cats can get more vocal as they get older due to increasing deafness

Pennypincin

my cat has also gradually become more talkative with age and the loss of other cats that were around.
other cats ive had have been vocal from an earlier age than others though.

greenspark

My cat is 20 and went through a phase of the strangest yowling and squawking meows when she was 17/18. It would worry me as she'd make such weird sounds but I'd go into the hall or wherever she was to check and she'd be looking perfectly happy and when she saw me she'd look at me as if to say 'oh hi, everything ok?'.

As SaintJudy mentioned it could be that they are getting deaf. My cat is fully deaf now and she still meows sometimes but usually silently now.

Fuzzy_Duck

If the yowling is a symptom of hyperthyroidism it should decrease once the condition is under control. My last cat used to do a bizarre honking noise in the early hours of the morning until she was diagnosed and on medication. As your cat is on Thyronorm he should be getting regular checks to ensure he's on the right dose, so your vet should be able to rule that out as a cause.

As others have said though it's normal for senior cats to be vocal. Often they meow for comfort and reassurance from their owners. They may be a bit deaf and have no idea how loud they're being. Possibly they could have dementia and excessively meow at antisocial times for that reason, but if that was the case they'd probably be other signs that the cat is confused. 

From experience my cat always meowed at the same times yours does (can't say if she was always vocal as she was 15 when I got her). I always just thought it was her saying "I'm here, where are you?" "Clean my litter tray!" and "Wait up, I'm hungry!" As long as kitty doesn't seem distressed when meowing it's hopefully just a case that as he's getting older, he feels the need to communicate with you more.