we currently have three old (11-13 y/o) cats - one who (usually) cant meow, one who only meows when shes carrying her favorite toy, and one who is suddenly much, much more vocal than hes ever been before. do you have any ideas on why that would be? hes perfectly healthy as far as we know. our only theory is that hes taking over for a fourth cat that we had who passed last thanksgiving. she was pretty much always crying about something. do you think maybe hes just still sad about her being gone?
“Healthy as far as we know” tends to indicate that the cat hasn’t actually seen a vet yet. If that’s the case, you really should take them. Increased vocalization can come from a lot of things, but as long as “health issue” is on that list, as far as I’m concerned it’s the most important possibility that needs to be ruled out.
Now yes, it’s possible that this newly vocal cat is experiencing the loss of this fourth cat in a different way. Cats can even be prone to depression at the loss of another cat, even if they weren’t close with them. And the problems that develop may not be very clear until much later. Some cats will overcome it, others may actually begin to decline if it gets too severe. My opinion, as always, is “better safe than sorry”.
First thing is a trip to the vet, increased vocalization is so broad that it really could be anything, even something that occurs with no other symptoms. Mention the loss of the fourth cat, though. That may actually play into the diagnosis, but it’s important to rule out physical causes before going onto possible emotional ones.
