'My wallet hurts': Cat starts yowling nonstop for weeks, the vets find nothing, it turns out there was a rat in the house, but instead of hunting it, screaming was her method of dealing

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Aug 21, 2026 2:15 PM EDT

Outdoor cats are fierce hunters. Indoor cats… try their best. 

The difference between indoor and outdoor cats is so stark. My husband's cat, who lives in a rural community, has always been indoor-outdoor, and although she is scared of almost everything and will stay away from every cat and human and car in the area, when it comes to small animals, she is the fiercest huntress. Countless times, screams around the house erupted when she came in running with a small bird or a mouse in her teeth. She is truly fierce. And then, there is my cat. My purrfect chonky senior house-cat, who doesn't can't even manage to catch those chunky large flies who bump into everything. 

I'll give my cat credit, she does try. When she sees those flies or a bird on the windowsill, she… makes noises. She chirps. She lets me know that there is a thing in the house that does not belong there. But she doesn't hurt. She's never had to, so she doesn't know how. And the cat in today's story is exactly the same. 

When a mouse ran into this cat's house, it didn't understand that one of the things that he is supposed to do, as a cat, is catch the thing. How would he know? But he did know that this thing does not belong in this house. And so, he did the one thing he knows always gets his human's attention. He screamed. He screamed his little heart out for weeks, trying to let the human know that there is a rat running around the house, hiding in corners unseen and unknown. The human didn't understand. The human thought something was wrong, so they took the cat to the vet, over and over, to no avail. The realization was relieving when it happened, of course, but boy, was it an expensive one. 

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  • 01

    "Literally I'm laughing my [butt] off but my wallet hurts"

    "Instead of doing the normal thing and hunting it, he decided to yell about it for WEEKS"
    via Unsplash / Jfficrhn Joker - jfficrhn

    Image of a black cat with bright eyes meowing. 

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    My oldest cat has been frking the hlout randomly for WEEKS and just staring off at seemingly nothing and yowling his head off.
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 03
    I've been to the vet so many times thinking something was wrong. He had blood work done. He had a urine test done because he randomly peed on himself while screaming due to how stressed he got.
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 04
    He's been on SO MANY different calming supplements due to trying to avoid meds while not knowing exactly what was wrong. I found out yesterday night EXACTLY why he kept screaming.
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 05
    I was dog sitting my sister's little toy fox terrier(he's ALOT smaller than the cat for reference) at my house and both were just laying on the bed chilling.
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 06
    My cat suddenly sat up and started screaming again. I reached to pick him up to pet him and get him to calm down and the next thing I knew a white blur went past me and under my shelf.
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 07
    Next thing I know I got a de d rat and a FINALLY calm cat. He hasn't screamed once since and before it was every few hours.
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 08
    Turns out the rat apparently I guess kept getting in places he couldn't go and instead of doing the normal thing and hunting it so I'd know it was there he decided to yell about it for WEEKS.
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 09
    Edit: the DOG was the blur. Toy fox terriers are mostly white
    via HellHoundsandpurrs

  • He did the best that he could to warn you against the danger. It's not his fault that you didn't understand his warning. He really did try.

  • 10
    27WillowRoad Keep an eye out in case the rat wasn't visiting alone. My dog found some rats in our garage. I put out traps and assumed it was all taken care of. Unfortunately, I later discovered they had also been hanging out in the attic. Even though they were gone, it was an unsanitary mess. It cost me $5000 to have the attic insulation removed, the area cleaned and sanitized and new insulation put in.
    via 27WillowRoad
  • 11
    HellHoundsandpurrs OP I'm pretty sure it probably came from my bag of pine pellets. The house is new and just renovated recently (I did them mostly myself). There was a hole in the bag when I got it but I needed cat litter and thought someone had just ripped it open at the store and brought it in. I probably should have inspected better. It all started right after I brought the bag home
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 12
    dehydratedrain , man, what part of MEOW did you not comprehend? I told you 18 different ways, and you'd rather pay a bill than listen. You will be hearing from my lawyer if you don't agree to my terms, which include extra churu.
    via dehydratedrain
  • 13
    HellHoundsandpurrs OP ③in my defense. His name is Lucifer. He got an extra purr pop for dinner
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 14
    Cheezburger Image 10656640768
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 15
    AdventurousEmu1644 cats be like that, no mouse no peace. mine once stared at wall for 3 days straight and turned out was just a shadow from curtain. paid vet 200 for nothing at least yours caught the rat eventually lol
    via AdventurousEmu1644
  • 16
    HellHoundsandpurrs OP The dog caught it
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 17
    Cheezburger Image 10656642304
    via Unsplash / Asim Z Kodappana - asimcmr

    Picture of a black cat with green eyes meowing. 

    Scene is illustrative and does not depict actual individuals or events.

  • 18
    JayTheJaunty Tbf if it was a hunting yowl it's a very distinct sound. I didn't know my basement apartment had mice, or that cats make a specific hunting noise, until I brought home my 5-month-old kittens and I found out REAL quick about both things.
    via JayTheJaunty
  • 19
    HellHoundsandpurrs OP He's a little hard to tell. He focuses on VOLUME only when he decides to yell about things. Normally they are easy to figure out this one wasn't and had me worried
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 20
    Cheezburger Image 10656642560
    via Unsplash / Daniel Jericó

    Picture of a cat next to a toy mouse. 

    Individual pictured is a model used for illustrative purposes.

  • 21
    AlyceEnchanted Poor cat! Did the cat even try to catch the rat? Or, was simply demanding you take care of the interloper? Though, thinking a rat's size would be daunting.
    via AlyceEnchanted
  • 22
    HellHoundsandpurrs OP Never even tried existed if he did I would have known it
    via HellHoundsandpurrs
  • 23
    Cheezburger Image 10656642816
    via Unsplash / Syita Shafa

    Image of a funny black cat making a silly face. 

    Models pictured are not representative.

  • 24
    ofidia I can't stop laughing at the fact that he got so stressed out, that he PEED himself
    via ofidia
  • 25
    HellHoundsandpurrs OP I called the vet and apparently that's a territory claim because he was trying to intimidate it he had to do it ON MY BED THO.
    via HellHoundsandpurrs

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hilarious cat dogs rat doggo lol funny cats ridiculous silly Cats funny
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