• Lemminary
    link
    English
    1136 months ago

    I’ve noticed that sometimes my cat will meow from the other room so I’ll answer asking what’s up, making sure to say his name, and he’s usually content with that unless he approaches me. 🤷‍♂️

      • @ChillPenguin
        link
        English
        526 months ago

        human responds “darn, can’t eat him yet”

      • @Chev
        link
        English
        16 months ago

        And if not, they will eat your face

    • @Chetzemoka
      link
      English
      576 months ago

      Yeah object permanence is not strong with mine either. She’ll go into another room, forget I exist, scream, I respond, she’s like, “Oh hey, you’re right where I left you!”

      Tiny fuzzy airhead.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        276 months ago

        my cat loses it if she wakes up and can’t see me. I live in a studio. there aren’t a lot of “out of sight” options. at one point, there was just a screen between me, in my computer chair, and her, on the bed. we still did the whole call and response.

        she doesn’t look for me, she just starts yelling until I respond.

    • @samus12345
      link
      English
      276 months ago

      “I’m alive, are you?”

      “Yes.”

    • kamenLady.
      link
      English
      126 months ago

      Then you’re all like:

      “You are approaching meee?”

      Cue to the Stands appearing behind you two.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      16 months ago

      That cat is actually an assassin, when he lays out his plan, he has to check if it worked or not. Beware!

  • GingaNinga
    link
    English
    736 months ago

    I have conversations with my cats, they have really impressive inflection/tone

    • flicker
      link
      English
      206 months ago

      I had to explain to my boyfriend that my cat absolutely has a “name” for him. My cat has specific meows for all his favorite humans.

      • GingaNinga
        link
        English
        126 months ago

        aww. ya I have complete conversations with my ragdoll, I’ll say you have a nice nap?! and he’ll go YA!!! and he’ll sit by his treat box and do a really hi pitched beg like PLEASE!!! they’re really entertaining animals

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    536 months ago

    I love it. My cat routinely walks through the room I’m in every 20-30mins giving me little chips along the way.

  • @LANIK2000
    link
    English
    536 months ago

    Why does this keep appearing? Cats most definitely do communicate by meowing too. I’d really love it if our village cats didn’t chose the street out my widow a midnight as their debate grounds, shit’s loud af and I always have to climb out the window to break up the fight.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        106 months ago

        We always joke, wondering, “Is it cats or kids” when hearing screaming (like kids playing, or cats fighting). Sometimes, it really is hard to discern

        • @LANIK2000
          link
          English
          36 months ago

          The why do they immediately run away upon realizing a human is near by? Like I’m talking about strays here, they only gather outside my widow when there’s no one around and I’m quite in my room.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      146 months ago

      Yeah, you’re gonna wanna eat some catfood, chug a beer and huff some glue. It’ll make you feel really sick and then put you right out.

      • @LANIK2000
        link
        English
        3
        edit-2
        6 months ago

        I have my doubts about that killing me. I’ll need something stronger.

  • @Vinny_93
    link
    English
    506 months ago

    Don’t think so. When my cat says meow she means “bring on the food pronto”

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      226 months ago

      Yeah… My oldest cat makes different noises for different requests. Yowling near door to go outside, chirping near bowls for dinner, and little mews while following you around to be picked up. And I’m not really sure it’s an outlier case as the other two younger cats are starting to learn to do the same.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    456 months ago

    Yeah, I’d like to see a source for this. There have been many proposed theories for why cats vocalize to humans, especially because “meowing” is not common between cats except for kittens. How do we know that it isn’t a request for food or attention?

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      336 months ago

      As a cat person, I find most explanations of cat behaviour generalised and ingomplete; scientific or not. My Siamese cat yells at me when I have not met my side of our obligations.

      Consistency is important for children and animals.

      • We get up at sunrise, so he will nuzzle or meow to be let in if he’s locked out of my room.
      • We get wet food at 7am, and if I’m late he will not be impressed and yell until we are in the kitchen. However, if I’m on time, he will sit on the counter and say a quick meow to let me know he’s ready and a good boy.
      • He will bring his toys to me when it’s time to play, if I don’t notice he’ll let me know.
      • When there’s something outside and I come watch he’ll look at me and do a little chirp, approving my presence and proud of what he’s found
      • And when we get home he greets us with the back and forward calling and a nuzzle.

      There’s much more nonverbal communication than verbal. Everyone knows when their cat is scared or excited, but with a good relationship you can tell when they’re anxious or in pain. Cat’s know human non-verbal communicotion; they know when you’re sad, it just depends on the cat if they’ll cuddle or knock you’re nick-nacks off a shelf.

    • @radicalautonomy
      link
      English
      116 months ago

      Meowing is very common among cats. Go look up videos on YouTube where people attach GoPros to their outdoor cats and see them interact with other cats in the neighborhood.

    • @Maggoty
      link
      English
      6
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      It can be both. I think it really depends on the specific cat and person. My cat “barks” for needs, “whines” when he loses us, and meows for attention or to get vocalization back. I think attentive cat owners probably know their cat and because it’s adaptive behavior it’s not the same across the board.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    406 months ago

    It goes both ways. I just leaned over and said “mrrow” to my cat, which she immediately responded to with her own “mrrrrow”.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    336 months ago

    Iirc, interpersonal communication between cats is done at a frequency that humans can’t hear, which is part of why they yell at us.

    We have one cat with likely brain damage (he got super sick as a kitten) who tries to communicate with us on that frequency, so it looks like he’s silently meowing.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    246 months ago

    There’s the little meows…but then there’s an entirely different “I’m hungry” meow.

    • pancakes
      link
      fedilink
      English
      106 months ago

      And the “i need pets so bad out of nowhere that I’m in a crisis” meow.

    • @pyre
      link
      English
      86 months ago

      yeah that’s because the little ones mean “hii” and the big ones mean “HELLO???!!”

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      76 months ago

      I used to have a semi-outdoor cat. She could come and go from the basement through a cat door. That little shit knew where my bedroom was and every morning she would climb up on the shelf as high as possible and meow loudly as if to say, “Hey! Hey Dumbass! Are you gonna feed me or what!? Heeeeyyyy!”

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      56 months ago

      And the “I don’t like being in a car and I don’t want to be put in the MRI machine” meow.

      Heard a lot of those yesterday =/

  • sheepishly
    link
    fedilink
    20
    edit-2
    6 months ago

    Whenever my cats meow at me it usually means “I love you I love you!! (Please give tummy rubs (but not too many tummy rubs because then I will kill you))”

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    136 months ago

    My cat is very nonvocal, i hear her meow maybe once a week and that is usually a fallback way to get my attention when nonverbal ways dont work.