Is it true that cats only meow for humans?

Many believe that cats have learned to meow specifically to communicate with humans. By meowing, they only give signals to their owners, and interact with each other differently. We checked to see if there is evidence for this.

Cats don't meow among themselves, but... learned this sound solely for the sake of communicating with the owner, when they became pets, they write on the Internet. They meow communicate only with people, not with each other, approved in many texts on the Internet.

Let’s make a reservation right away: the classic “meow” is far from the only sound that cats are capable of. Scientists allocate There are about 20 different sounds made by cats: this includes hissing, purring, creaking, howling, and even chirping. Each sound means something, its use depends on the situation and the emotional state of the animal. They communicate with kittens or friendly cats by gurgling. They make a trill as a greeting. When threatening or defending, they scream, hiss or growl low. Experts have even identified a special sound that expresses frustration that prey is out of reach: in English it is called chirp, “chirp.” Cats make these short, quiet sounds when, for example, they watch birds through a window glass. 

But the sound “meow” is initially childish: this is how kittens tell their mother that they are hungry or lost. Adult cats rarely use meowing when interacting with each other. Supposedly this is the sound of a cat "adapted" to communicate with people when they became domesticated, that is, from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. A person hears a loud “meow” better than other cat sounds. It was probably easier for meowing cats to get food and attention from humans, report about feeling unwell, lonely or wanting to mate. So not only kittens, but also adult cats began to use this sound.

Pets in general tend to have childlike characteristics in appearance and behavior even into adulthood. This is neoteny - apparently a “side effect” of domestication. Soviet academician Dmitry Belyaev in the 1950s started a long-term experiment on the domestication of foxes, and after several generations of selection and crossing of the most human-friendly animals, the foxes began to change both their appearance and behavior. The muzzle was shortened, like that of fox cubs, childish behavior and playfulness were preserved, and tail wagging appeared.

Meowing isn't the only childhood trait that domestic cats carry over into adulthood. When a relaxed cat “kneads” the blanket or the owner’s knee with its paws, this is, according to one of the versions, also a gesture from childhood - this is how kittens massage the mammary glands of the mother cat while feeding.

The connection between meowing and living with people is confirmed by the fact that modern feral cats are almost don't publish such a sound. Studying the behavior of stray cats, scientists discovered that even living in colonies (that is, in close contact with relatives), they are much more quiet their domestic brothers. Feral cats do not meow even when they see a familiar person feeding them. At the same time, the study showed that “meow” can “erupt” in them in just a few weeks of close contact with a person.

The fact that the socialization and experience of each individual cat is strongly influences Other scientists also say that her behavior when in contact with a person and even her ability to meow. They conducted an experiment with domestic and feral cats, putting them in different situations: a familiar, friendly person was nearby, then a threatening stranger, a large doll, a man with a dog, a man with a cat. First, stray cats were more aggressive than domestic cats when they felt threatened. But even when they saw a friendly person, they did not meow, unlike cats who have a home and owners.

So, the “meow” of domestic cats is, indeed, addressed primarily to humans. In wild cats, “meow” is the sound of communication between a kitten and its mother; as cats grow up, they forget how to meow. And domestic cats have “adapted” this sound to communicate with their owners.

Is it true

What do our verdicts mean?

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