Why don't cats meow much to each other?

You may have seen these two "training" kittens in many places:

Image source: Xiaohongshu@Sandwich Glass Crisp

The kitten on the left has dilated pupils, ears tilted back, and is howling sharply, showing a typical aggressive posture; while the kitten on the right only responds with a short, low meow, and with drooping eyes, it looks pitiful.

This kind of scene can easily be substituted into various human lecture situations. Whether it's a worker who is criticized by his boss, a college student on vacation who is disliked by his mother, or you who is scolded by your partner, you are all familiar with such scenes.

But strangely, cats rarely seem to communicate directly with each other by meowing . You may have noticed that the two kittens in the video were only able to appear on the same screen by editing and splicing. So, how do cats communicate in real life?

In fact, because human communication basically relies on language, we have formed a fixed mindset, subconsciously thinking that other animals should also communicate through sound, and focus on sound. However, for cats and many other animals, sound is only a small part of their communication method .

Cats live in a different environment from humans, and their sensory systems are also different. The way they communicate is more diverse than that of humans, including smell, tail, body shape, etc. Now, let's take a closer look at the way cats communicate from these aspects~~

Smell Communication

The sensitivity of a cat's sense of smell is more than ten times that of a human! The human sense of smell has gradually degenerated during the evolution process, making us more dependent on our eyes to understand the world around us. But for many animals, the nose is as important as the eyes. The highly developed sense of smell allows their nose to complete many tasks, and cats are no exception.

I seem to smell an indescribable smell... | duckduckmoose

Cats have glands on their cheeks, ears, tails and toes that secrete oil, leaving a unique smell wherever they touch.

You may find that your cat often scratches or rubs its head against an object. This is not just out of curiosity, but also to leave its own scent. These scents will remain on objects, and cats can quickly locate them by smelling them, or sense the presence of another cat, understand the other cat's territory, and indirectly understand the other cat's characteristics.

This is my place! | duckduckmoose

In addition, when cats rub against each other and groom themselves, they also leave their own scent on each other. Familiar scents create a sense of security and increase friendliness. Cats that often gather together will have each other's scent on them, so a novice cat who has just arrived can understand the "circle of friends" of the local experienced cats just by smelling it .

"What did you eat just now?" "Just smell it" | 17getfun

A diagram of the parts of a cat's body that produce odor, some of which are organs related to excretion, and some of which are glands on the surface of the skin | pictures-of-cats.org

Body language - tail

Next we are going to talk about body language. Although humans also use movements to express their emotions, they usually only play a supporting role, while cats' body language plays a much larger role in communication. Since cats usually have all four paws on the ground, they prefer to use their flexible tails as a tool for "gesturing" .

"Hey, your tail is so funny" "I'm annoyed" | 4gifs.com

A cat's tail sometimes stands up, sometimes hangs down, and sometimes swings from side to side. These movements correspond to different meanings.

The picture below describes the common tail movements of cats (you can refer to this picture to see how your cat is feeling now). Pay attention to the small picture in the lower left corner. Whether the hair on the cat's tail is erected or flat has different meanings. Researchers believe that when cats are alert or in a state of confrontation, they will erect the hair on their tails to appear stronger, hoping to scare the enemy. Therefore, when the cat's tail in front of you looks thicker, be careful, you may already be its imaginary enemy!

Different postures of cat tails have different meanings | messybeast.com

Body language - ears

Just as flexible as the tail are the cat's ears. A cat's ears are controlled by 20-30 muscles, so they can use their ears in a variety of postures .

When a cat is relaxed or enjoying itself, its ears are pointed forward. When it is alert or interested in a sound, its ears are erected. If it is irritated, its ears will rotate backward and the tips will be raised. If it is frightened, it will lay its ears flat against its head. The movements of the ears of two cats may not be consistent, which makes it difficult to interpret.

The difference in the position of a cat's ears in different states | mustlovecats.com

Body language – posture

Cats also use different postures to communicate . The picture below shows the changes in cats' postures when they are afraid or aggressive. The rule is simple: the more aggressive a cat is, the straighter it stands, making it look taller (if you want to fight me, you'd better think about it); the more scared it is, the lower it lowers its body, or even lies completely on the ground (I am small and obedient, not a threat, don't bully me).

In fact, as part of body language, a cat's eyes and mouth can also convey information to a certain extent, but the diversity is far less than the above types, so I will not introduce them one by one here.

Cats use body language to express themselves and communicate | messybeast.com

The sound made by cats

Finally, let's talk about the sounds cats make. The most common one is the "purr," which is a sound made by the cat's throat without opening its mouth. Kittens usually make this sound to express satisfaction after being cared for by their mother, while adult cats generally use this sound to greet or attract the attention of other cats.

When a mother cat calls her kittens home, or when a cat greets another cat in a friendly manner, a "chirp" sound is often made. People generally classify it as the same as purring because neither requires opening the mouth.

Sometimes, cats will make sounds like "squeak" or "click". Hey, why does it sound like a bird? That's right, when prey (mainly birds) appears, cats imitate the sounds of their prey in order to get closer to it. Next time there are birds singing around you, pay attention to whether the cat next to you will also prick up its ears and make similar sounds.

When cats express dissatisfaction or vigilance, they usually open their mouths and growl or sigh in a low voice, or whine or scream loudly, which all indicate that they are in a negative state and in a bad mood. There is also a special case that female cats in estrus will make regular and loud calls with their mouths closed to attract males (this sound will occasionally appear during fights between males).

7 cat calls: purring - yowling - growling - chattering - trilling - hissing - meow | youtube.com

Then why don't cats meow at each other?

Now let's go back to the beginning of the article and talk about the "meow" sound that we are most familiar with. People have found that adult cats only "meow" when they are with people. This sound may represent welcome and greeting, or complain and desire for care.

Adult cats rarely make this sound with their own kind, but kittens will make a similar "meow meow" sound when they need the care of their mother. Researchers speculate that cats did not meow in the early days, but after living with humans for a long time, in order to attract human attention, they remembered the sound they used to attract their mothers when they were young, and thus formed the unique "meow meow" sound.

Therefore, cats rarely meow when they are with their own kind. They tend to use their noses to smell, express themselves with body language , or communicate with the non-meowing sounds mentioned above.

Studies have shown that different cats have different meows, and it seems that each cat has its own unique meow language for humans. If you are walking outside one day and suddenly hear a "meow", it is likely that a cat has spotted you and is saying hello to you!

Author: Stonemason

Editor: Oujiang, July

References

[1]Schötz, S. (2013). "A phonetic pilot study of chirp, chatter, tweet and tweedle in three domestic cats". Fonetik. Linköping University: 65–68

[2]http://messybeast.com/cat_talk2.htm

[3]http://www.mustlovecats.net/Cat-Communication.html

[4]http://pictures-of-cats.org/the-basics/cat-anatomy-facts-for-kids/cat-skin-gland-facts-for-kids.html

[5]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_communication

[6]http://www.acfun.cn/v/ac3035441_3

[7]https://icatcare.org/advice/cat-communication

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)

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