Many are sure that cats learned to meow specifically for communication with a person. With meowing, they only give signals to the owners, and interact with each other differently. We checked if there is evidence for this.
Cats do not meow among themselves, but learned This sound is exclusively for the sake of communicating with the owner, when they became pets, they write on the network. They are meowed Talking Only with people, and not with each other, Approved In many texts on the Internet.
We’ll make a reservation right away: the classic “meow” is far from the only sound that cats are capable of. Scientists Select About 20 different sounds made by cats: this is a hiss, and purring, and a creak, and howl, and even a tweet. Each of the sounds means something, its use depends on the situation and the emotional state of the animal. They communicate with kittens or friendly cats. As a greeting, they publish trill. Threatening or defending, screaming, hissing, or growling low. Experts even highlighted a special sound expressing frustration from the fact that prey outside the reach zone: in English it is called CHIRP, “Scheme”. Cats make such short quiet sounds when, for example, they observe birds through window glass.
But the sound “meow” initially children: so the kittens are informed by mothers that they are hungry or lost. Adult cats rarely They use meowing, interacting with each other. Presumably this cat sound "Adapted" To communicate with people, when they became home, that is, from 10,000 to 5000 years ago. A loud "meow" a person hears better than other cat sounds. It was likely that meowing cats were easier to get food and attention from a person, Report About poor well -being, loneliness or desire to mate. So this sound began to use not only kittens, but also adult cats.
Pets generally tend to have children's features of appearance and behavior even in adulthood. This is neocketed - apparently, the "side effect" of domestication. Soviet academician Dmitry Belyaev in the 1950s Started A long -term experiment on domestication of foxes, and after several generations of selection and crossing the most friendly animals to people, the foxes began to change both appearance and behavior. The muzzle shortened, like a fox, preserved children's behavior, playfulness, and a wagging tail appeared.
Meowing is not the only children's line that domestic cats transferred to adulthood. Когда расслабленная кошка «месит» лапами одеяло или колено хозяина, это, по одной из versions, also a gesture from childhood-so the kittens during feeding massage the mammary glands of the cat-mother.
The connection between meow and life with people is confirmed by the fact that modern wild cats almost Do not publish such a sound. Studying the behavior of stray cats, scientists found that, even living in colonies (that is, in close contact with relatives), they are much quiet their home brothers. Fumbled cats do not meow even at the sight of a familiar person who feeds them. At the same time, the study showed that “meow” can “cut through” them in just a few weeks of close contact with a person.
That the socialization and experience of each specific cat is strong influences On her behavior in contact with a person and even the ability to meow, other scientists speak. They conducted an experiment with domestic and fucked cats, putting them in different situations: a familiar friendly person turned out to be nearby, then a threatening stranger, a large doll, a man with a dog, a man with a cat. Firstly, homeless cats behaved more aggressively than households when they felt a threat. But even at the sight of a friendly person, they did not meow, unlike cats who have a house and owners.
So, the "mov" of domestic cats is indeed addressed primarily to a person. In male wild cats, the sound of a kitten with a mother, growing up, the cats, cats are listened to meow. And domestic cats “adapted” this sound for communication with the owners.
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