BG

This is a picture of one of our cats, Betelgeuse. We call him Beetle or BG. About 4 or 5 years ago, BG began, periodically, meowing for no apparent reason for extended periods of time. He would do this for several minutes while walking around. He didn’t seem to need or want anything so I thought he might be having periodic pain. I took him to the vet, a place he does not enjoy. The vets could find nothing wrong with him and said he had the bloodwork of a cat half his age. Okay, so he was in perfect health. Yea! I did take him back the next year when the meowing started again since it had been almost a year since he’d been meowing. Again, nothing found. So, I quit thinking there was a problem.
One day a couple years ago, Jeff & I heard him meowing in the garage. Our kitties can come and go from the house to the outside at will by going through the kitty doors in the house and garage. I went to see if there was something bothering BG out in the garage; nothing. After a bit of meowing in the garage, and hearing several different sounds, BG came inside, walked to our guest bathroom, and repeated the sounds we’d heard coming from the garage. Then he walked into the Hallway, repeated the series of sounds, and finally into the DR and repeated the series of sounds. I decided he was singing and looking for the best acoustics. He followed this routine over a few weeks and things went quiet again.
This year BG has taken up opera. He sings every morning for about 1/2 hour and sometimes in the evening. He has also added a new dimension by running in/out of the house and tearing around on the wood floor throughout the house. He is playing. He will sometimes stand at the kitty door to the garage and pat at the plastic kitty door so it flaps and makes noise. I’m waiting for him to start meowing with the patting; I won’t be surprised when he adds the percusion to his singing. I’ve watched him sing and he just stands there, not looking at anything, and does his repertoire. He has added several variations to his sound this year and I find it amazing and, sometimes, amusing.
When this all first began, I was not very tolerant. I really don’t want to hear my animals yowl incessantly for a long period of time. I felt like I should DO something and I felt like I was failing BG in some way. I found it very frustrating and anxiety producing. Once I figured out he was singing, it relieved the stress. I am now able to laugh through it and even enjoy it. I still pay attention in case the meowing should become something other than singing.
I’m writing about this today because BG has begun singing for much longer periods of time. He sings more when Jeff is home than when Jeff is at work. He has started singing earlier in the mornings; try 6AM and Jeff doesn’t get up until 7:30AM. I’m almost to the point where I can sleep through it but not Jeff. Today the singing has lasted from 6:30 AM – Noon; Jeff is working from home. I’m laughing as I write today. I’m glad I have moved past being irritated and realized BG is just enjoying himself. Yes, I do believe he is trying to communicate with us. When I get upset, the meowing will start which, of course, irritates me more. Since I’ve realized this, I stop and work on finding more calm. BG has become my reminder to pay attention to the energy I’m sending out. Now, I wonder if he is reacting to Jeff’s energy.