Cats and doors. We’ve talked about this habit before. If you’re wondering why your cat keeps meowing at the door, you’ve come to the right place. Our cat Naz is famous for this, and we’re going to discuss all the common issues and quick solutions to at least calm this habit down.
First, Why Do Cats Meow?
To understand why a cat keeps meowing at the door, we first need to understand why cats meow. And they aren’t meowing to communicate with other cats, cats will primarily meow to communicate with humans.
When cats talk to other cats, they can effectively do so with non-verbal cues such as scent and body language. So your cat is not singing to the neighborhood when they meow at the door, they are looking for your attention.
And if a cat needs your attention with a door, there’s a few potential reasons for it.
Why Do Cats Meow At Doors?
So, let’s start with the assumption you are new to cat ownership, as this is an issue more common in new cats.
Your Cat Is In Heat
Most common reason to see a cat scratching and meowing at your front door: they are in heat. That’s right, they are looking to go outside and meet someone. That meowing is going to sound more like a howl in these cases. And your cat is not going to stop doing it until the situation is handled.
If you believe your cat may be in heat, it means it’s time to pay a visit to the vet to get them fixed. It’s a cheap and safe procedure. Get it done.
Their Litter Needs To Be Cleaned
We learned this one with Naz. Whenever the litter box gets too dirty, she asks to be let out. Simply because she wants to do her business and there’s no longer an available space in the apartment. It's a common reason cats try to leave, and a big reason why we advocate to clean the litter box every day.
But really, cats may try to leave, or ask to leave if they don’t have their basic needs met. They instinctively know they can meet them outdoors. So if your cat is hungry, thirsty, or needs a litter box and they aren’t available or in good condition in your home, you should start with fixing these.
Your Cat Wants To Be Let Out
If your cat has been fixed and they are still meowing at the front door, they are telling you they want to get out. This could be due to thousands of reasons, but lets boil it down to one or two.
Assuming your cat has all the necessities (food, litter, etc), they may be looking for some entertainment. Lack of toys is a big reason cats get bored, so make sure they have something to play with.
More often than not, cats will find their own toys - a ball, piece of string, etc. The real issue they seem to have though, is lack of visibility into the outside world that can cause them to jet out. And if you're worried about your cat coming back, check out our article on it here.
Cats like to perch somewhere that they can see the room. Ask yourself, does your cat have a good perch? If not, this is a key reason they try to go outside.
If you can get your cat a perch or a seat by the window, chances are you can stop this behavior immediately. Once they get their Cat TV, all gets better. You can see our top choices for cat shelves and perches here.
Your Cat Wants To Be Let In
This usually happens more with interior doors than your exterior doors. Cats generally feel like they own the household, and they do not tolerate closed doors.
You'd be interested to see how little they actually care about what’s in the closed off room, they simply want the door to be open and for them to have access to it.
We’ve written previously about cats scratching doors, and this is again common for interior doors.
After much struggle, we’ve never found a solid solution for this issue. Really, you need to open the door and let them in. Or else, you’re going to just have to deal with it.
Cats And Doors
Overall, cats have something really weird with doors. They seem to hate them. But they also don’t mind them at all as long as their needs are met. We’ve seen that cats longing to be outside can sit at a window all day and feel just fine - no urge to rush the door when it’s open. But without that “view” it’s hard for them to sit still when there’s an open door.
And for closed doors, well it’s really only a matter of time before you give in and keep it open.