Why Does My Cat Meow in The Morning?

Continuing on with our question series is a funny one I was asked by a friend.

She goes up to me and said, ‘I have a bone to pick. My cat LOVES to meow in the morning. Why does my cat meow so much in the morning?’ I laughed and gave her my answer.

After I answered her, I started thinking about the question.

Why Do Cats Meow in the Morning?

Cats really do love to meow, and I am sure there are so many of you at a loss as to why your cat is so LOUD in the morning. But, fear not!

I will give you answers!

And some tips as to help make your mornings a little easier.

What Does It Mean When My Cat Meows At Me?

Before we go any further, I first want to talk about why cats meow in the first place.

There are a lot of reasons why cats meow. In fact, I have an entire post about why cats meow, found here.

In short, cats meow as a way to talk to their humans.

Whether it is just to say hello, or is distressed, they are working on finding a way for you to hear them.

I know I have said, and research shows that cats don’t meow to talk to each other. However, there is still a small glimmer of hope in my mind that my cats meow to each other because they figured out how to talk to each other.

Yes! I know that’s crazy! But, in my delusional mind, that’s why I choose to believe. If you want to believe a little bit in your cats, I think that’s okay

If you notice your cat won’t stop meowing in the morning, keep reading.

And fear not, my cat meows in the morning all the time, these are these are are quite easy to get resolved once you figured out the reason.

 

>>> You May Also Like: 10 Ways Your Cats Show Love For You

My Cat Meows Loudly Every Morning

One of the reasons this question hits so close to home is the fact that this is something I deal with on a daily basis. Every single morning I am awoken by cats. Whether it is at 3 in the morning, or 8 in the morning (if they are being nice).

For me, I wanted to learn QUICKLY why they were meowing so I can appease them, and hopefully crawl back to bed.

The interesting part is out of four cats, there are multiple reasons why each of them meows.

So I had to do four times the homework. But let’s get into some of the details that I found.

Why is My Cat Meowing So Much In the Morning

The million dollar question.

Well, there are actually 4 (with a bonus fifth) reasons why the cats are meowing. Within each reason there are also tips of how to make your cat stop meowing in the morning!

1. They want attention

Well isn’t this just the most obvious and frustrating one?!

Sometimes, when a cat is meowing at you in the morning, they are just wanting your attention. Most of the time cats are mainly nocturnal.

So, they don’t understand why you are trying to sleep when its play time.

They want to show you the awesome toys they just randomly found at 3 am!

In my cats, our kitten, Chloe has a tendency to do this randomly at 3 am. Sometimes she will even bring toys into the bed in an attempt to play.

I learned very quickly that if you just give her a little bit of attention, she is okay.

She understand that it is still bedtime.

If this sounds like your cat, try appeasing them for a few minutes. I know it’s hard in the middle of the night.

But it may keep the quiet the rest of the night.

2. They are hungry

This one cracks me up.

Sometimes, cats are just hungry! And you’re the person that feeds them!

So what’s the fastest way to get food?!  Wake up mom or dad!

Phoebe is the cat that always does this. On the weekends, if we attempt to sleep in a little more than normal, she will sit on my chest and meow to wake me up.

It’s pretty obvious that she’s hungry because we feed her early in the morning. Us sleeping in means she doesn’t get her breakfast until later.

Luckily for us, Phoebe is easily quieted.

Simply give her food and you are free to go back to bed.

If you are someone who feeds your cat in the morning and notice them waking you up on weekends, chances are they are just hungry.

You can also go with the route of automated cat feeder if you don’t typical have a normal bedtime routine. Then the entire waking up process should hopefully subside.

3. They had a bad dream and need comforted/snuggled

Awe, this one is my least and my most favorite.

Cats, like humans, dream. Which means that sometimes cats have bad dreams.

And like kids, when they have bad dreams, they want their parents.

I have two cats that do this. When Phoebe has a bad dream, she will meow at me and come over for me to comfort her and make her feel safe.

Zoe also does this.

However, for a different reason. If my alarm goes off, and Zoe is cuddling with me, she will almost whine to keep me in bed. She is meowing to communicate to me that she wants me to get back in bed.

For these two reasons, you really just want to listen to your cat and the context behind it.

They may just need a few minutes of your time to know you are there for them. I love to do the analogy of children.

Sometimes kids cry in the morning after bad dreams or not wanting to get up.

Recognizing it will help you comfort them and hopefully stop their meow.

4. They want you to get up

Notice your cat meowing excessively every morning?

Do they stop when you get up and get your day started? Chances are in this case that they just want you to get up.

Some cats have a normal routine that they like to stick to. And you getting up is one of the important parts of this routine.

Wobbles is notorious for this.

Which is a good thing, and a bad thing. I can never sleep through an alarm.

If 6:15 comes and goes and my alarm does not go off, she let’s me know. She many a times has woken me up five minutes late because I forgot to set my alarm.

Sometimes if you notice your cat does this in the mornings, the best advice I recommend is, get up!

Help them keep their routine in place. If they continue to meow after you are up and moving, chances are it is one of the reasons above.

5. There is danger!

This one is rare, which is why it is a bonus reason.

But in all honestly, this does happen. Sometimes cats will meow to alarm you of something.

The example I use is Wobbles.

We were awakens early in the morning to her meowing like crazy! And I knew it was a not a normal meow!

I went out in the living room to see what was going on. She kept meowing. When I sat down she stopped, and that’s when I heard it.

Another meowing!

Phoebe had gotten outside at night and was stuck outside all night! Wobbles was alarming us that her sister was outside!

Had it not been for her meowing, we could have lost Phoebe forever.

How Do I Get My Cat To Stop Meowing in the Morning

Once you figure out which of the reasons your cat is meowing in the morning, you can figure out what you need to do to stop the meowing in the morning.

If you cat is meowing because they are hungry, you can adapt to an automatic cat feeder.

This will allow your cat to be fed at the same time every day.

You get to sleep in on the weekend, and your kitty will not go hungry. This also means, a lower chance of them waking you up meowing in the morning.

You can also do the same thing with an automatic laser pointer. This will allow them to be stimulated even when you are not there, or sleeping.

Training Your Cat To Stop Waking You Up In The Morning

If your cat is not meowing in the morning because they are hungry, they will need to be trained on proper behavior.

Now, if your cat is just having a bad dream or is feeling cuddly, you may be out of luck. You don’t want to train your cat that they cannot come to you when they need comforted.

Especially if they only meow every once in a while.

A great example I use happened just the other night. It was VERY early in the morning and I was awoken to a cat yowling.

When I walk out to the living room, I see my kitten having a bad dream. She is twitching and just seems in distress.

When I gently wake her up, her meowing continues until she is comforted back to sleep.

Those are not moments you can train a cat with. But they should be rare.

You can train a cat that you do not get up when they meow solely for attention.

Cats thrive on a reward-type training. Rewarding them when they don’t meow and not giving them what they want when they are bad teaches them the best behavior to have.

This is something that will need to be done on a consistent basis!

You do not want to give into your meowing cat one morning, and ignore them the next. They will think they if they meow ENOUGH you will eventually get up.

They need to learn that they get more attention when they allow you to sleep without waking you up.

Final Verdict: What Does It Mean When Cats Yowl In The Morning?

There are many reasons why cats meow, especially in the morning.

The greatest advice I have is, to use these four, or five, as a starting point for you to start to understand your cat. Don’t get too frustrated with them when they are meowing at you in the morning.

Chances are they just want to talk to you.

Listen to them and you will both be happy!