Meow. This Is Your Cat Speaking
By: Oliver Thomas Spedding
Tags: Cats, Wild Animals, Language, Animals

Cats have a truly imposing vocabulary.

By

Oliver T. Spedding

A blind human being once stated that he could detect a hundred different sounds that we cats make and using recordings, human scientists claim that our repertoire is second only to that of the human being.

This may seem strange as our ancestors were not very sociable animals.

In nature, only the highly sociable animals require complicated communication systems and we cats most definitely aren’t a very sociable species.

So what makes us so odd?

Domestic cats have two vocabularies; a vocabulary that we use in the wild and a vocabulary that we use in our relationship with human beings.

In the wild we are the adults and behave as such, but when we are domesticated we are the children and our behavior reflects this.

However, even when we are domesticated we still retain our wild adult behaviour.

This makes for a truly imposing vocabulary.

What makes our glossary so complex is the degree of variation that we can apply to each sound that we make.

When alarmed, birds will make a certain sound and when they become agitated they can only repeat that sound more often and sometimes faster.

When we cats are upset we can produce a wide variety of sounds that are different enough to be classified as specific sounds.

To simplify the range of sounds we make, it is necessary to rather list the signals or messages that we are trying to convey.

I WANT ATTENTION

Our owners are familiar with this sound as it says many things in many ways but always contains the same message; we want attention immediately.

In the wild this mewing begins when we are kittens and tells our mothers that we are in trouble and need help but it disappears as we grow older

In the domestic environment though, this mewing remains throughout our lives as we talk to our owners like kittens talking to their mothers.

What we have also done is we have refined this mewing to specify particular needs such as begging, demanding, complaining and the need for comfort.

When we need to be let out of the house we create a pitiful drawn-out meow which we also use when it begins to rain and we need to come into the house.

We can also create expectant meows when we hear tin-opener noises and when we have been neglected.

Our owners soon come to know what we are saying and why we are saying it.

I AM ANGRY

We are almost always angry when we are confronted with another cat outside the house and where no humans are involved.

When we fight we make a great deal of noise that humans call caterwauling and think it has something to do with sex.

This is not so.

It has more to do with the disputing of territories.

Caterwauling is our message to an intruder to “Go away or I will attack you” and its vocalization increases and decreases in volume and length.

Humans also describe our belligerent sound production as growling, gurgling, snarling, wailing and howling but they are the same basic sound at varying intensities.

I AM IN PAIN

When we are seriously injured or terrorized, us cats can scream with the best of them.

Many human beings describe it as a “screech” while the scream of a kitten is a “squeal”.

When we older cats scream in pain we don’t expect our fellow cats to respond but we do expect our pseudo-parents to come rushing to our rescue and make soothing and sometimes apologetic sounds.

I AM FRIGHTENED

When us cats are frightened we usually run away silently and hide as there is no point in making a noise.

If we are cornered and can’t run away, we make a strange yowling sound that indicates that we are fearful but can still fight back if necessary.

If you continue to push us we will lash out at you and spit and hiss.

These may appear to be unusual sounds for us cats to make but they stem from most animal’s inborn fear of poisonous snakes that spit and hiss when trapped.

So, what we are doing is attempting to elicit the deep-seated fear of a venomous bite in our adversaries.

I WANT TO BITE YOU

Although we seldom make this clicking sound it is very noticeable when we see a prey such as a bird.

Some human beings mistakenly believe that we make this sound to alert other cats to the presence of the prey but this is incorrect as us cats are solitary hunters and definitely don’t want other cats stalking and sharing our prey.

What we are actually doing is imitating our action of sinking our teeth into the neck of the prey which is the specialized bite that we use to kill our prey.

COME WITH ME

When female cats want their kittens to follow them they emit a soft chirruping sound.

They also use this sound as a greeting when they return to their brood after a lengthy absence.

Us adult cats also us a lengthier and rising version of chirruping when we greet our human owners.

Some humans believe that when we use this sound we are reversing our usual relationship with them and treating them as kittens rather than as mothers.

We also use this sound when we bring a gift to our owners such as a bird that we have caught.

We mostly use this greeting trill when we enter the house or when we are about to move to where we expect food to be waiting. In this case our chirruping means “come with me” and is probably directed at any kittens that we may have.

I AM INOFFENSIVE

This is our famous purring sound which tells others that we are inoffensive.

Most of our owners mistakenly believe that it means that we are content.

Essentially our purring tells others that we are in a non-hostile frame of mind; friendly, submissive, appeasing and sometimes contented.

Purring is especially noticeable when mothers are lying with their kittens, as a signal that there is nothing to fear from her when she approaches their nest, when we approach other adult cats to play, when we approach younger cats with non-hostile intentions and when an inferior cat approaches a more dominant enemy and wants to imply non-hostility.

Basically, all purrs are a message of friendliness.

The above are the seven most important sound messages that we domestic cats make.

Human beings have made many attempts to put in writing what we cats are saying but the human alphabet is simply not capable of this.

The only time the sounds we make jar on our owner’s nerves is when we overdo our demands for food.

But then, most animals do that.

OUR TAILS

As you probably know, we cats also do a great deal of talking with our tails. As our moods change we exhibit them by movement or posture. Here are some examples:

We are relaxed and at peace with the world when our tails curve gently down and then up again at the tip.

We are becoming interested in something when our tails are raised slightly and gently curved.

We are very interested in something and in a friendly mood when our tails are erect with the tip tilted.

We are showing an intense need to greet when our tails are fully upright including the tip.

We feel defeated and are completely submissive when our tails are fully lowered and even tucked between our hind legs.

When our tails are fully lowered and fluffed out we are actively fearful.

When our tails are swishing from side to side we are very angry.

When our tails are held still with the tip twitching we are only mildly irritated.

After we have greeted our human owners our tails will stand upright with the whole length quivering.

When our tails are arched and bristled we are in a defensive mode but if provoked we might still attack.

Beware. When our tails are held straight and fully bristled we are feeling very aggressive.

We bristle our fur to make ourselves appear to be bigger and so deter our enemies.

OUR EYES

On top of all this we also send out mood-changing signals with our eyes.

Although it is well known that the pupils of our eyes change according to variations in light intensity, our pupils also dilate noticeably at the prospect of food, when we see something pleasant and when we are confronted by a large aggressive rival whose pupils will become narrow vertical slits.

Our eyes are fully opened when we are in the presence of strange humans that we do not trust but if our eyes become half-closed it means that we are trusting in the friendship of our owners and the strangers.

Finally, when we stare for a long time with our eyes wide open it signals aggression, so if you stare at us for a long time we are very likely to feel threatened.

If you must stare at us, try to do it while we are not staring back at you.

This will avoid intimidating us and make us feel comfortable and relaxed in your presence.

So, there you have it. Don’t say you haven’t been warned. Ignore our messages at your peril.

Photographs

Photo 1 — Photo by Lloyd Henneman on Unsplash

Line illustrations — Oliver T. Spedding

Source of information — CATLORE by Desmond Morris ISBN 0–224–02520–1 Published by Jonathan Cape Ltd, London.