When the domestic cat meows it is at us not other cats. I’d be interested to know if someone has observed their cat meowing at another cat. I feel it should be happening but personally, I haven’t seen it.
Whenever my cat meets another cat (a stranger), he will usually hiss or growl or yowl but never meow. When I watch two sibling cats, who are semi-stray, together, they never make a sound towards each other. When I turn up, one meows at me and the other hisses at me. My late lady cat, Binnie, never meowed at Charlie and vice versa. The point I am making is that adult cats make a range of meow sounds towards us but not to each other. However, kittens communicate by meowing to their mother and between themselves by “screaming” when play-fighting.
This seems to support Dr Morris’s theory that people keep cats in a permanent state of kittenhood in respect of the human-cat relationship because we act as a surrogate and permanent mother. This seems to kick-in the kitten’s inherent vocalisations towards her mother.
ASPCA say that cats meow at people to request something. What else?! We are aware of this and we respond. But why don’t cats meow at other cats to request something from another cat? You would think that they should as a form of communication that goes beyond scent exchange (allorubbing) and body language, such as the tail up greeting.
I have not found an answer but the answer could be that cats don’t want anything from another cat because the domestic cat is a domesticated wildcat and the African/Asian wildcat is self-sufficient and a solitary cat. The only time the wildcat wants something from another wildcat is when they want to mate and procreate at which time they yowl at each other.
In the human-cat relationship the cat has learned to use different types of meow to get his way. This appears to be a refinement brought about by the 9,500 years of domestication.
You may remember a recent article describing how some adult domestic cats have learned to meow like babies to push the maternal instinct button of the female, caretaking human. Cats probably learned that trick by watching how babies get attention when crying. They wanted a bit of the action and learned how to get it. That is my guess.
An interesting point worth making is that we don’t know how much our cat meows or yowls when we are out of the house and at work unless we have set up a video recording system of some sort (Marc has, for example). It might surprise people to find out that their cat yowls a lot when they are away particularly if they are miss their human companion. I think it is wise to set something up to check what is going on when you are away. It might be enlightening and good for your cat’s welfare.
Molly sounds like Monty– expecting us to follow him to where he flops down for attention. Instead of cuddles he wants to be stroked with your bare foot. But other than my cat being completely strange (and my husband too– he started the whole foot petting thing) it is the same. Monty doesn’t meow for foot petting, he just flops down in the desired place for it.
What you don’t know Michael you go to a lot of trouble to learn!
I don’t think we will ever know everything there is to know about cats and to me their air of mystery is a wonderful thing 🙂
I am pleased you agree! Sometimes I am not completely sure of what I am saying 😉
I’ve never known cats meow to each other either.
Even in a cattery, take Kays Hill for example, it’s all quiet as you go in but once the cats know someone is about they all start meowing for attention.
I suppose they learn it as kittens when they meow competing against each other for the mother cat’s attention. It seems that’s the only time a cat meows to another cat, as a kitten, to their mother.
They recognise your voice. You have a very close, communicative relationship with Gigi. If I were you, I would feel as if she were a daughter and I am not anthropomorphising a cat it is just an emotion that comes from a relationship.
Mine are quiet when I am away but they always run to the laptop if I talk to them through skype. I did this yesterday and got home to find they had peeled some keys off the keyboard. Hmm.
Gigi gives me a hard time when I am about to leave. She cuts me off and meows at me because she clearly doesn’t want me to leave. It’s funny because she is very un-cuddly yet very vocal. She’s a very special cat. They all are. Gigi also gives me a hard time if I don’t deliver her biscuits by 8pm, bedtime, so I have no problem keeping to a schedule with her around. She also makes sure I get up at the required time. She clearly likes me alot and wants me around and communicates in a purely vocal way. Lilly is less vocal and jumps on my lap or makes little noises and Molly doesn’t make a sound but insists on cuddles in the kitchen at certain times – I am supposed to follow her in there and then she flops over for full cuddles.
Gigi does not meow at the others, only me, and Molly if Molly is a bit rough when they wrestle but that’s it. I’m glad Gigi talks to me because I like it. She’s very sweet. Very expressive. But most of all, we understand eachother very well it seems.