This is a cute video which has gone somewhat viral on TikTok which is illustrative of the kitten-mother relationship. Personally, I don’t particularly like it but it is quite good nonetheless and informational. Kittens will cry when they are first weaned because their mother isn’t around to help with feeding. This kitten looks as if she/he is approaching the age of weaning which normally concludes around 12 weeks of age when adopting out kittens. Kittens normally stay with their mothers until the age of eight weeks but you shouldn’t wean kittens until 10-12 weeks. In the video we see a kitten crying for their mother. The kitten is being held up by the person who made the video and who uploaded it to TikTok. The mother’s name is Priscilla. She is clearly an indoor/outdoor. As soon as she hears her kitten’s voice, she comes running from quite a distance.
The video has been staged which I find a little distasteful if I am entirely honest. My argument is that in staging this the cat’s owner has placed these two cats under unnecessary stress albeit in a minor way. It is known, however, that in 30% of the funny cat videos that we see on YouTube, the cat is stressed.
Also, I don’t like the soundtrack and the music on this video. It’s too crude for me. It is somewhat aggressive. However, this is a matter of taste and therefore I can’t be critical.
In terms of cat sounds, the video is a little interesting because, in the wild, the wild cat species have different sounds for different situations. They have close-calling sounds and long-range sounds. For instance, the roar is a long-range down while the prusten or grunt are close-range sounds for the tiger. But in this instance the meow is a long-range sound but it can also be, and normally is, used for close-range communication.
In fact, the meow is very much a multipurpose sound. It varies, too, in the way it is delivered and is often modified substantially by the individual cat. This kitten can deliver a loud, piercing meow which can travel, it appears from the video, around 200 meters or more. I suspect that the domestic cat meow is the most flexible localisation of all those that are made by the various wild cat species. I know of no other sound which is as varied depending upon the individual making the sound and the circumstances under which it is made.
Below are some more articles on cat vocalisations.
