This post will show you why your cat meows when left alone and what you can do about it.
So, why does my cat meow when left alone? Possible reasons why your cat meows when left alone are that it has separation anxiety, it is hungry, there is an issue with the room that it stays in, or that something is causing it to be fearful.
There are a number of possible reasons why your cat meows when it is left alone and it might be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the main cause and there are some things you can do about it.
Reasons why your cat meows when left alone
Below are a number likely causes and what would make each of them more likely.
Separation anxiety
The cause could be that it has some separation anxiety. This is where your cat does not like being separated from you and being separated from you causes it to become anxious. This would be more likely if your cat becomes anxious when you are leaving by doing things such as crying and if it does not seem to want anything from you, when it sees you, other than attention. It would also be more likely if your cat tends to follow you around the house even after it has been fed.
Hunger
Another possible reason is that your cat is hungry. This would be more likely if you tend to feed it when you get home, it does not have access to food or water while you are away and if it does not meow when it has already had food.
An issue with the room it stays in
It could also be the case that there is an issue with the room it stays in that causes your cat to become anxious. This would be more likely if your cat has to stay in a certain room when it is left alone. It might be the case that the room is too loud, there are other pets in there that it does not like or that it does not have access to a litter box.
Things to consider about your cat meowing when left alone
Below are some things to consider when figuring out the main reason why your cat has been doing it.
If your cat has always meowed when left alone
If your cat has only just started meowing when left alone, it would help to consider what else changed when your cat first started doing it. Possible reasons could be that you made it stay in a certain room, you stop giving it access to food and water or you started being away at a different time.
What is different when your cat does not meow when left alone
If your cat does not always cry when left alone, it would also help to consider what is different when your cat does not meow. For example, if it does not meow when it has had access to food, the cause would be more likely to be that it is hungry.
What to do about your cat meowing when left alone
Below are some options you have when getting your cat to stop doing it.
Give it access to food and water
Since your cat might be meowing when left alone because it wants food or water, it would help to make sure that your cat has access to food and water while you are away.
Let it stay where it wants to
It could also help to let your cat stay in a different area while you are gone but to make sure that it has access to the litter box and food and water.
Limit reasons why it might be fearful
If it has to stay in a certain room, while you are away, it would also help to make sure that there are no issues with the room. Possible issues could be that the room is too loud or that there is another animal in there that your cat does not like.
Give it things to be distracted with
Another thing that could be of some use would be to give your cat something, such as a toy, to be distracted with while you are not with it.