The sounds of cats are one of the great mysteries of these animals. Next, we will explain to you, lover of these felines, how you can recognize them. Pay attention.
Cats, in a similar way to the other most common pet in our country, dogs, have very rich forms of communication.
What happens is that these codes, which they use both to transmit feelings to other animals and to do it to people, are not easy to unravel.
The meow: the meow of every day
It is, without a doubt, the most common sound that cats make. So much so that even the ancient Egyptians knew cats from this onomatopoeia.
On the other hand, you are interested to know that meowing is an action that cats perform especially to communicate with humans, since it is not so common in their relationships with other animals.
If you want to distinguish what a cat wants to convey with its meow, pay attention to its intensity or frequency and where it is or what it seems to suggest.
The feline purr and its meanings
It is a sound of low volume and with a certain rhythm, although their frequencies can change.
It generally has a positive meaning, such as expressing tranquillity or satisfaction. Not for nothing has it come to be considered a kind of smile for cats.
Cat sounds: chirp or trill
This sound is also known as threshing. It consists of a short and ascending vocalization, which lasts less than a second and is carried out with the mouth closed.
Basically it is usually a common mode of communication between nursing cats and their puppies. It is also common throughout the weaning stage.
The snort: what does it mean?
When cats snort, they open their mouth wide and blow air through it in a very abrupt way. With these actions they try to show that they are the owners of a piece of land or their zeal over some food or some object that they feel threatened. It is, therefore, a very territorial self-defence mechanism, which is one of the main characteristics of these animals. When the snort is shortened in time, it will sound like the cat is spitting.
The meow of heat
They are sounds that, depending on the context, cats interpret perfectly and which are emitted as sexual calls between males and females, since both sexes manifest them as a way to stimulate in the mating season.
When only males do it in heat, it can also serve to suggest to another animal of this genus that it disperse from the vicinity of the female to mate.
The growl
With growls, cats express anger or annoyance, so when you hear them, it is best to leave them alone. These, on the other hand, can be longer or shorter. If you have noticed that your cat growls when nothing is happening that may disturb them, it would be best to take them to your trusted veterinarian, since this behaviour could be due to the pain caused by an illness.
The cry of a cat in pain
If you have never heard this sound, the first time you do it you will not forget it. It reaches a very high intensity and its high vocalization will surprise you.
It occurs when one of these animals suffers an accident and emits this sound in a natural and strident way.
The call of baby kittens
It is a type of distress call that only puppies make throughout their first weeks of existence. It resembles a normal meow, but is notable for its high volume and sharpening. They make these emergency calls when they need something their mother can offer them, such as protection, food, or shelter.
Cat howls and howls in fights
If the growling cats try to express prevention to those who are disturbing them, these howls occur in the heat of a battle that is already in progress.
Consequently, with these strident sounds, cats no longer try to warn the people or animals that disturbed them. They are challenged to confront each other directly.
These behaviors are more typical among adult male cats that have not been spayed.
The cackle
It is a sharp vibration that they create by shaking their jaws. When this sound occurs, expectation and frustration are mixed. For example, when you want to catch a prey, but there is a glass in the middle that prevents its capture.
The murmur
Finally, this pleasant sound stands out, which combines the characteristics of purrs, meows and growls.
If your cat is whispering, it is because it wants to be grateful for the pleasure that the attention you give them or the appetizing meals that you prepare them are giving it.
In short, being able to interpret the sounds of cats will greatly contribute to improving your relationship with these animals, so we advise you to learn what they mean, in order to understand your pet.
On the one hand, ethologists have come to recognize up to a hundred vocalizations that cats can make, which allows a great combination of sounds that will take communicative formats.
On the other hand, the realization of these sounds must always be put in context with other circumstances, such as the situation the animal is going through at that precise moment, its state of health or the posture it is adopting.
Therefore, you have to interpret the sounds of cats from a global perspective, which takes into account all the above factors as a whole.
In fact, the communication of each domestic cat is unique, since it itself, depending on the avatars of its home, will shape a set of codes that will only be decodable in the specific area that it shares with its owners.
