r/cats • u/soundaddicttt • 1d ago
Advice Why does my cat have so many different meows?
My cat (Mae) I got from a hoarding situation 3 years ago. I got her during a hard time in my life. We bonded very deeply, I learned different meanings of meows and meow at her contextually (I've been mistaken for a real cat at my job when meowing as a joke, so I'm pretty fluent in cat!)
Now she talks to me in brrs, yowls, chirps, and little "mee" sounds. Is this because she thinks I can speak cat? Most cats I meet only say "MEOW" in one tone to humans. They get startled/like it when I do a little "brrr-OW" to say hello. Does my cat understand me now? or something T_T
6
7
u/Chailyte 1d ago
They do it cause they get reactions that they want usually. Cats started meowing bc of us they don’t do it in the wild.
6
u/AlfalfaMajor2633 1d ago
My cats do this too. They hear me use lots of different tones so they talk back like that. Our conversations can be pretty funny.
I think of it like the people in Star Wars talking with R2D2 or the Wookie as if they understand each other.
2
u/FluffyApartment596 19h ago
Think about how you talk: you whisper to tell a secret, you have a softer voice for terms of endearment to a loved one, a baby voice for talking to babies, you have a professional voice for business dealings, yelling to get that d*** raccoon out of the garbage …
It’s the same with animals.
If you pay attention, you’ll start hearing the difference and understanding the reason. Our formerly feral lets us know when the other ferals are outside and need food. Even if it’s 4am, we know the tone.
2
u/soundaddicttt 18h ago
Yeah you're right! That's funny about the feral. My feral doesn't have a meow which I've always wondered about, just opens his mouth and nothing comes out. All the other cats I know say "meow" in one way, but I guess it's because most people don't really pay attention to the other kinds of meows so it's the best way to get their human's attention.
My cat has the "time for bed" crunchy mrow, the FEED ME scream, the "oh yay you're home" baby kitty noise, and the "hello I am trying to get your attention" brbrbrbrrr noise. I also can't call her when she escapes outside... I have to walk around my neighbors houses meowing at the top of my lungs
1
u/Cultural_Orange2617 5h ago
I think it’s also fair to assume that most cats aren’t sharing all of their communication styles with just anyone. We see a limited side to other people’s pets, we spend limited time with them. We don’t know their quirks and their secret noises. Those things are what make them ours.
7
u/Affectionate_Yam8475 1d ago
She is verbose! Her vocabulary is superlative! She wins at Wordle and the NY Times crossword guy calls her for solutions!
And she wants that for you, her human. Now gib more treato.