New Kitten - Settling In Question

Sounds like she's lonely. You're going to hate my answer - get another kitten. Depending on where you got her from, she's possibly been with other cats most of her life. Sorry I can't suggest other solutions. We've always adopted our cats at around 8-10 weeks old, so I'm not sure what to do with an older newly-adopted cat.

Your spouse is going to flip…but it may be that she needs a kitten sibling. Our local rescue only adopts kittens out in pairs like this. If you can talk with one about possibly doing a foster-to-adopt, you might be able to try it out before committing.

Good luck.

Is she fixed? At that age she may be approaching her first heat cycle. And that would definitely make her yowl.

If that's not the issue, I agree with a vet checkup and it may be that another cat would help. But it could also be that another cat would become a lifelong enemy. Cats are weird like that.

Ditto to spaying!! NOW!

I agree. It is great she gets along with the dog, but another kitten will give her something people and canine siblings can't

I assume she's spayed? If not, that's probably the problem. If she is spayed, she might be lonely for another cat to get up to nighttime hijinks with.

I had a cat who was fine at night unless I was gone. He was very attached to me. He liked to prowl around howling at night when I was at work (charming for the rest of the family!).

We had another cat that liked to howl at night while carrying around his favorite stuffed animal, so it was a muffled sort of howl. Both of those cats had other feline friends, so that might not cure her.

Hopefully she will grow out of it but I'd get her a friend (hehe, any excuse for a new kitten).

Is it weird that when I saw her picture my first thought was that she was a designer cat because she matches your house so well! She's beautiful. 

I belong to a dog, so I have no cat experience to add anything else. Sorry.

Training people is hard work.

I laughed. But yeah, cats spend a lot of time training their humans.

I can't add anything the other people haven't said - get a medical check up and she probably needs a buddy. 

I adopted a cat that was supposed to be 1 year old but I suspect might have been a month or two younger than that. He was absolutely nuts for the first 6 months. Not howling, but so many other behaviors. He eventually settled down and now, at almost 2.5 years, he is much calmer. He just had to settle in and mature a bit.

He isn't a howler, but man, is he vocal. He doesn't have a pretty voice, either. My previous cats had much prettier meows. 

Ha! My Whippet's name is Vinny!

I have 3 cats. None of them are friends. The youngest two spat often. The older cat has put the baby in his place, so he leaves her alone. The baby is best friends with the Lab puppy.

Cat 1 (house panther)likes to sing the song of her people between 11 and 12 at night. She usually carries her toy in her mouth. It has never been a problem.

Cat 2 (Calico) squeaks. She’s been nicknamed Squeaky. She’s shy and stays away from the puppy. After Griffon died, she latched on to me.

Cat 3 (polydactyl orange and white boy) is a screamer. OMG! He will look you in the face and scream. This under 2 pound kitten. So tiny because he came from a bad situation. He had to find food as best he could on his own. He’s 10 months old. Still small. Still screams. DH did something to him (took away a Kleenex or something). The kitten had come to me, followed by DH, and he screamed at DH. He is quite vocal and an utter nuisance.

Cat 3 likes to play fetch. I threw his toy for about 2 hours last night. He helps with chores. 🤣 Cat loves water! We often find he has been in the big water dish in the kitchen due to stepping in a lake. He is also a jumper. Literally will jump as high up a wall as possible. He is a menace! If he were my first cat, he would have been my last cat.

So, yeah, a friend may not work. Cashew may just be vocal and need a number of months to settle. Though, I would get her checked to be on the safe side.

As for allergies, be careful of how soon you introduce another cat. All 3 of us have an adjustment period with allergies. DH will usually take 2 months to no longer have a reaction. Jay and I can take 2-4 weeks.

Having a cat in the home may help with your SD’s allergies. We will never be without pets, because it has desensitized DH’s allergies. (He had had allergy shots when younger.) The adjustment period is expected. We were without a pet for 16 months between my first girl and the Wild Child. DH struggled terribly for a few months after we brought the WC home. Just use caution in the timing of a new cat.

Congrats on the new family member. Cashew is a beautiful girl!