Feline vocal language is universal. In the same way that music is referred to as the Universal Language, no matter what part of the world in which we live, the familiar sounds that cats make when expressing emotions are also considered truly “universal” by feline aficionados around the world. In fact, some of their amazingly expressive vocal communications are considered “music” to their ears.
All domestic felines vocally communicate using chirps, chatters, purrs, hisses and growls. The “meow” is the most common of all their sounds.
Kittens will meow to their mothers; however older domestic felines rarely “meow” to other cats. They do meow to humans, especially to their human companions.
Since kitty guardians who are acutely “tuned” in to their cats are aware that all their meows don’t mean the same thing, just by listening to the different types of meows their cats are uttering will reveal to them if their kitty wants attention, is hungry, angry, or is just plain content and happy.
For example, take the feline “chirping” sound. Since we live in a crowded, heavily trafficked area, our cats are strictly indoor only dwellers. I love to watch them sitting by the window perch that we recently constructed for the pleasure they derive from spending time basking in the sun while watching the huge variety of birds and other wildlife outside the window. This is the best kitty TV that can entertain them for hours on end.
If I am lucky enough, I often can catch them in the act of bird and squirrel watching as they make those fascinating little sounds that resemble a cross between a meow and a bleat while they are swiftly moving the ends of their tails, and their ears pointing forward in anticipation. However, while these pleasant chirping sounds are generally expressing excitement, it might also be from frustration since they are unable to pursue this tantalizing prey.
While kittens are more communicative than older cats, our two senior kitties, Dr. Hush Puppy and Sir Hubble Pinkerton are both extremely vocal. I must admit that sometimes it’s difficult to understand exactly what they are trying to convey when they are yammering away at me; but over the years I have learned that their incessant chatter means that they are seeking my attention, inviting me to play with them, or scolding me about my tardiness when I am late serving them their dinner.
Most people make the assumption that cats purr when they are happy and content. In reality however, felines often purr for a variety of other reasons such as feeling threatened, frightened or to sooth themselves when they are in pain, or close to death.
Depending on the situation, cats hiss for a variety of reasons. However the majority of hisses are generally made in response to fear. Hisses can be targeted at other cats or animals, and sometimes can even be directed at a human. While a cat is hissing, it’s wise to give the kitty plenty of space until the cat calms down to avoid being attacked.
The ear-splitting wailing sound of a caterwaul generally means that a cat is in heat and is looking for a mate. Caterwauling can also be symptomatic of deafness, insecurity, disorientation or senility. To check out any underlying medical conditions, if your cat is frequently prone to caterwauling, a visit to the vet is always wise.
Just by paying close attention to your cat’s meows, other sounds, and by observing your kitty’s behavior and body language, these are excellent ways that kitty guardians can interpret what their kitty is trying to tell them.
How fluent are you in kitty language? Tell us what you have observed in a comment.
Jo
Photo credit: Jo Singer Sir Hubble Pinkerton and Dr. Hush Puppy
P.S. from Michael. You can see a difference between domestic and wild cats in the vocalizations of these jaguarundi kittens. The sound track was edited a bit to bring the vocalisations closer together to avoid silent gaps but it is still noisy! It reminds me of the F2 Savannah kittens playing.
Cat language is a great language to learn but it has to be learned totally and there is more to their language than vocalizations. It is very complex.
I have been a stay at home mom all these years and now I have a husband retired and at home. During this time, while my two legged kids grew and were in school, it gave me tons of time to observe. I have learned happy, sad, fear, and other vocalizations. We currently have a cat that gets so excited that I hear the voice of, “I’m going to up chuck.” I have also experienced finding a cat that was hit in the road and purred to me as I rushed him to the vet. He survived and lived with us for 14 years. 🙂 I love their complex language Thanks so much for this article. It is super.
I agree. Cat language is really a bundle of various signals including vocalisations and it can all be learnt through observation and living closely with your cat. The closer one lives with a cat and the more one interacts with a cat the more you learn and the more one is able to communicate through an understanding of the language of the domestic cat. After a while it becomes instinctive as all learned processes do. It is not dissimilar in fact to learning a new human language. I lived in Paris, France for 2 years and worked there and had to learn French to a certain extent before I travelled to Paris and while there I spoke and studied it more and gradually it became more and more instinctive. Initially, I was living in a complete fog.
I don’t know much about cat language, but that Calico cat is GORGEOUS!
Harvey,
Don’t forget that a cat’s purr reaches the same decible as a diesel engine!! LOL
She is so insistently affectionate that sometimes I wish she would leave me alone. She also has the loudest purr ever, more like an outboard motor. I remember checking-in my LH’d Cypriot cat “Natilla” at Amsterdam Airport. The loud Wak, wak sounds were coming from the carrier, so the clerk had to come over and see what I was doing with a duck in a cat carrier. I laughed at your description of Marvin and his rrraaa…aaahhh. Never had one like that, but one of these days….. who knows?
I just couldn’t contain myself from adding this video- This is a REAL piece of music composed by Rossini- who was an avid cat lover. Enjoy FELINE music at its finest!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DinASQRRFA
Have you seen the choir boys singing that, it’s so funny.
Ruth, I sure did. It cracked me up!
Marvin was already a big tom cat when he was trapped and neutered many years ago before I knew him. That fact makes me wonder if it is the reason he is so loud and a constant talker. If he sees me coming towards him at a distance, he starts to trot towards me saying loudly “rrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh” until he reaches me and I reach down and touch him. With the trotting, his long song has a lovely staccato to each paw touching the ground. I’ve started recording his chatter on video. I’ll share it sometime.
I consider it cat opera.
I’d love to see Marvin’s cat opera on video.
I wish I’d had the camera handy on video earlier today, Walter was sitting on the catnasium in our garden playing his castanets watching a huge crow on the roof. He’s often around, we call him Jim….anyway he swooped down just over Walter, shouting ‘caw caw caw you can’t catch me’ and Walt was playing his castanets double time, it was like some very weird duet lol
I’d love to see that. He’s a very impressive cat and a character. I hope you can produce a video and e-mail it to me so we can put it on the website.
I have a song on a record (from my childhood) called “The Pussy Cat Opera” that begins: “Every night about nine o’clock out in my back yard…” It’s all about the cats caterwauling at night. “Meooow, meow, meooow, meow..” It gets stuck in your head. I suppose it would break all kinds of copyright to record it into my iPhone and then post it online. It’s from a record of nursery rhymes set to music from the early 1970’s.
It might be in public domain by now. Check it out:) It sounds really cute.