cat cats logo
Celebrating Felines
Save Up To 50% Everyday!
 
home   Home
Crazy for Kitties (Cats and Kittens!)
your cats   Your Cats
All our previous Kitty Stars of the Week. Contact us to have your cat be the star!
t-shirts   Cat T-Shirts
T-Shirts and Sweatshirts for you or your favorite cat-ophile.
names   Cat Names
Need a suggestion? Vote for your favorite name!
contact   Contact Us
Drop us an email
stories   Crazy Cat Stories
Because every cat has a story... Whitney
tales   Cat Tails
Share a cute story about your kitty. (Moderated)
articles   Features
Our feature articles...
books   Books and Music
Informative books,books of photos, books for kids. Plus music for your kitty.
facts   Kitty Facts
Do you know your kitties? Check out these cat facts.
quotations   Quotations
Celebrating cats through words.
gallery   Photo Gallery
Some great cat photographs to enjoy.
friends   Cat Friends
Gus, Kitty Baby Gram, plus kittens... and the Crazy for Kitties Mailbox
glossary   Meow!
Glossary of cat-related terms
links   Cat Links
Search our directory -- suggest a site! (Will open in new window.)
ricki   Ricki at 17
A little slideshow in memory of the Rick cat.

Copyright 1999-2018 by crazyforKITTIES (SM) Privacy



 
I want attention!:

The meow says many different things based upon its context, but essentially it has one basic message: "I want your immediate attention."

The meow begins as a mewing sound made by little kittens that lets their mothers know if they need some kind of help. In wild kittens, mewing mostly disappears as they grow into adult cats. But the domesticated cat retains some kitten-like qualities even after adulthood is reached. One such quality is how cats talk to their humans -- they communicate to their people much like a kitten does to its mother.

In addition, domestic cats learn to refine their meows to express different needs. They have soft meows, pitiful meows, expectant meows (when the cat food can is being opened). Although cats can develop a wide repetoire of meows, they will not be the same for all cats. A cat will develop a particular set of meows that it uses with its human. A different cat with a different person will use slightly different meows.

Therefore, we can't produce a recording with translations and call it a definitive guide to cat meows. But each person can, if alert, learn to distinguish the meaning of their own cat's (or cats') meows.

Source: Catlore, by Desmond Morris, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1987, pp. 20-22.