Most cat owners can attest to hearing their cats meow on a (seemingly) endless basis— but it’s rare to hear a cat meow in the wild. Interestingly enough, according to scientists and researchers, cats have developed two unique languages: one to communicate with other cats, and one to communicate with their devoted servants (i.e. us).
In a BBC documentary series called Cats Uncovered, scientists explain the ins and out of cat communication. As mentioned, they note that it’s very rare for cats to meow at each other in the wild. In fact, they say, meowing is specifically reserved for humans.
Before we continue, it needs to be clarified: although cats don’t meow in wild, kittens do. In Cats Uncovered, John Bradshaw, author of Cat Sense, explains that kittens naturally use meowing to get attention from their mother.
“The meow starts off as a kitten vocalization. It’s something they use to call their mothers over and […] its very effective in doing that,” he says. “The mother is very attentive to those meows.”
As the kitten grows up, however, this starts to change. “As the kitten grows up, it gradually stops meowing,” Bradshaw says. “Presumably because the meow stops working. The mother wants to wean the kitten and stops responding.”
So why do domesticated cats meow at us then?
Well, like baby kittens, they basically do it to get something they want.
Bradshaw says domestic cats that are constantly meowing at their owners are looking for attention. He explains, “[Humans] are not very vigilant creatures. We spend a lot of our time with our noses buried in books, or computer screens or TVs.”
“Each cat learns independently, we think, that using this piece of kitten behavior is a good way of getting our attention. So meowing is a good way of getting us to look and find out what they want from us.”
And unlike mother cats that eventually stop responding to their kittens’ meows, human parents tend to indulge kitty vocalizations— ultimately showing them it’s a good way to get what they want.
To be fair though, Vet Street says this indulgence is out of our control. Psychologically, the meowing reminds us of a baby crying and results in the uncontrollable urge to give our whiny kitties every single thing they want.
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