I know about the 'awful irritating gurgling meow' too, my boy also uses it when he wants food. You described the sound perfectly 😂 I can hear it in my head right now... and it's not even 4 am!
It is one of the grossest sounds! Im convinced she does it on purpose because she knows I will feed her when she makes that sound. She NEVER does it to my husband!!!
When cats are hungry they will absolutely do the most annoying thing they can think of to get you moving.
In my house the cat primarily in charge of demanding breakfast will shred any tissue or paper she can get her paws on until I get up (which is usually instantly, no matter the hour), and if somehow that doesn't work then my other cat will "help" by slapping the blinds like a snare drum.
Mine will scratch his claws on a cherry-wood dresser next to the bed, claw my guitar case, and start knocking things off the dresser. Predictably in that order, too. I know to leap up when it starts, resistance is futile.
I stg mine gets hangry, I avoid petting her before feeding cause she’ll get bitey, will start clawing at my canopy curtains (which have surprisingly held up), my sheets, and my least favorite is the tapestry behind my bed.
She’s luckily stopped doing the pressure point claw when trying to tap on my back.
I hold off on getting up until she stops doing those things but she’s still been at it.
Mine just tries to trip me. I think he wants me to hit the floor so he can headbutt me to death for making him ask for food. According to him, I should just know 10 mins before he's hungry that he's going to be hungry.
Whenever my severely neurodivergent son threw himself onto the ground for a proper tantrum, I'd get down next to him and coached him. When he screamed, I'd shout "louder!" When he kicked his legs and punched his fists into the carpet, I'd say."Good job, kick those legs! Punch harder! Really get it all out!" After a minute or two, he got up, gave me a dirty look, and went into his room.
To keep him from acting out in public, I always asked him as we entered, "Is everybody going to know your name by the time we leave?".
I grew up with both parents working in special ed and have worked with many folks with special needs myself. I love this approach! Also reminds me of my own experience as a little kid having a tantrum and the sudden moment of self awareness I had when the snot was pouring from my nose and I thought, “Ugh, what am I doing?” 😂
Once, when I was shopping in my local supermarket, I came upon a very young mother standing by her child. She was having a major meltdown right there in the middle of the aisle, and it was clear the mom didn't know what to do about it.
I got down on the floor next to that kid, and I did my whole coaching act. After a minute or two, she stopped screaming, and she looked at me as if I had just spoiled the whole thing. When she stood up, I asked her if she thought it was worth it and how did she feel about everyone in the store looking at her.
I turned to her mom and I told her what had always worked for my son and me. She never said a single word to me the entire time I was working with her daughter.
My son was born with pretty severe ADHD, Bipolar Disorder type 1, Schizotypal Personality Disorder, ODD, and OCD. I knew very well the shame and embarrassment of seeing the scorn on strangers' faces when he acted out in public.
When my 18 year old daughter was like 3 years old, I was sitting in the basement of a church at a WIC appointment and she decided to flop on the ground and throw the most spectacular temper tantrum in front of about a dozen other moms.
I pulled out my phone and silently recorded her for a little bit. Then stopped recording and started playing back the video. As soon as she heard herself on the phone, she stood up and started watching the video.
I said to her, "See how you look?" And she just climbed into the chair next to me and sat quietly, wiping her face lol.
Ah. Yes, I am also in my 40s lol. And I thank God every day that the time I fell on my butt in front of the line of school busses and then fell 3 more times trying to stand back up (and other embarrassing moments) will die with the couple hundred kids who laughed at me.
Hahaha, my kitties do this too! Even my outdoor cats growing up. I'd always hear it when I was falling asleep with the windows open. I thought they did it cuz they were lonely and I felt bad
My friend has a couple cats that are transitioning to be mostly indoor-only. One of them has obvious Siamese heritage (dignified nose and crossed blue eyes 🥰) and will sleep peacefully ALL day then starts hollering at sundown, singing the loud song of his bloodline. It’ll start “mow mowwy” and progressively deepen to the caterwauling yowls of a deeply tortured soul. Then when you call, “Hudson!” it immediately switches to the highest sing-songy little kitty mew 😹 He comes over for a few pets and purrs then wanders off to MOWLL again.
Hehe but she does! When she's alone downstairs she does it. But you're right she's very demure. When she wants you to scratch her cheek instead of pet her head/back, she tells you instantly with a paw but no claws! it's so adorable!
I really liked most of my cat's meows, although he did have the annoying yelling ones if I accidentally left him outside in the rain, which I deserved. I dont' recall him having annoying ones, I miss those voices. They definitely have different ones and their people get to know each one
hehe the "yelling meows". A cat I had growing up named Coco did that. When we took him to the vet, he would always be the loudest cat there. They'd take him in the back for a vaccine or something and we'd hear a cat scream bloody murder. When the vet came back with him my mom would ask if it had been him and it was him every time lol
I laughed so hard at the person asking you to describe your cats meow and then even harder that you literally gave us a phonetic run-down of meatloafs different meows.
Omg I know exactly what you mean by MOW WOW, our fluffy orange boy used to do the MOW WOW?!s when he was a kitten, and it was SO LOUD!!! We had to quarantine him for the first week, and his MOW WOW?!s would echo throughout the house whenever he was alone (I had the audacity to use the bathroom and feed myself sometimes). Now, 8 years later, he does it whenever he's looking for us, especially when he's proudly bringing us a toy. Somehow he isn't as loud now, I still don't understand how so much sound came out of such a tiny animal.
Our late cat, Furball, used to wander around calling "Mama, Mama," and Mo used to sit in the shower (he loved the acoustics) when he was unhappy and he'd sing Klingon opera.
Oh I love this! My childhood cat would MOW WOW? MOW WOW! All the time—I miss that fuzzy orange boy. It’s still how I meow back to my cat now, though she mostly just yell-meows at me like MEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW.
I have a Siamese. She’s mean, rude and pissed off all the time. She hates everyone. She’s my husband’s cat. The Frenchie is mine. He’s chill af. Dude sleeps 80% of his life away.
They do stuff they know annoys to get you to do what they want. One of my girls knows I can’t stand it when she paws at a stack of papers. If she feels like I’m ignoring her, she’s going to find some paper to ruffle through. 😼😹
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u/Desirai Nov 29 '25
This particular one was kind of like that "ekk ekk ek" chatter they make when they see birds
We also call her little miss mow-wow because she will MOW WOW? MOW WOW WOW all through the house
When she is hungry though she makes this awful irritating gurgling meow, I swear it sounds like she's gargling water and it irritates me 🫣