Why does your cat meow?

[jokasta]

My newly adopted kitten is very vocal. She will meow, and meow, and meow some more. We can have entire conversations, just the two of us. And honestly, I really love it when she talks back.

Now, some of her 'chit-chat' I can understand - like "I want that chicken wing" or "Lift me up so I can see what you're watching through the window", but other times she will just look up at me and meow, even though she's just been fed, her litter is clean, she is well rested, I've given her enough attention, etc, etc. And at times this is getting a bit frustrating, because I want to meet her needs, but have no clue which  are.

So I was wondering, more experienced owners than me, what have you noticed over the years? Why do your cats meow at you and what does it usually mean?

Thank you.

 

[aeevr]

She's saying:

Hi.

OR

You're cute.

OR

Thanks for the food and clean litter and stuff.

OR

Run away so I can chase you.

OR

Sit down - I'm ready for my lap time.

 

[emilymaywilcha]

Patricia was always a quiet cat when she had furry friends, but after settling into her new home (we moved from Ohio to Florida in December) with just me and my mom, she started meowing frequently when nobody was in the room with her. I am sure if I was allowed to have another cat with the lease Mom signed, which only allows one cat, she would only meow for treats.

 

[glenman12]

I have two male cats..the oldest one, 5 only meows when put in the car carrier to go to the vet..never hear a peep out of him otherwise..the younger one is 2 and he meows all the time..of course when he's hungry but most of the time for no apparent reason..I call him my Chatty Catty..

 

[stephanietx]

Mine meow when greeting me, when they want attention, when they can't find me or my husband, when they want food.  Sometimes we have conversations.  Sometimes they want me to come see something they've found or see out the window.  All of mine are vocal, but 2 are much more so than my oldest.  My male cat is the most vocal of the 3.
 

 

[speakhandsforme]

Here is a short list of Kramer's reasons for meowing:

1. "Hi!"
2. "I'm hungry."
3. "Where are you?"
4. "Where's Boots?"
5. "Where am I?"
6. "I'm in the bathroom!! It echoes in here!!"
7. "I'm on top of the washing machine! Wow! How do I jump down?!!? Never mind, I did it!!!!"
8. "There's a thing outside!! Look at that thing!!"
9. "There needs to be more kibble in my bowl." (that's a big one)
10. "I'm in the carrier!"
11. "I'm in the car!!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!"
12. "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"
13. "I love you!"
14. "I'm on top of the cabinets!"
15. "Boots, come here!"
16. "Treats!!!"

Here's Boots' two reasons for meowing:

1. "I'm in the car and I'm absolutely terrified!"
2. "This is the one meow per month you will hear. We're just testing the system. There is no emergency."

As you can see... it all depends on the cat. :lol3:

 

[princessesme]

Here is a short list of Kramer's reasons for meowing:
1. "Hi!"
2. "I'm hungry."
3. "Where are you?"
4. "Where's Boots?"
5. "Where am I?"
6. "I'm in the bathroom!! It echoes in here!!"
7. "I'm on top of the washing machine! Wow! How do I jump down?!!? Never mind, I did it!!!!"
8. "There's a thing outside!! Look at that thing!!"
9. "There needs to be more kibble in my bowl." (that's a big one)
10. "I'm in the carrier!"
11. "I'm in the car!!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!"
12. "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"
13. "I love you!"
14. "I'm on top of the cabinets!"
15. "Boots, come here!"
16. "Treats!!!"
Here's Boots' two reasons for meowing:
1. "I'm in the car and I'm absolutely terrified!"
2. "This is the one meow per month you will hear. We're just testing the system. There is no emergency."
As you can see... it all depends on the cat.

 

[emilymaywilcha]

Looks to me like Kramer is a purebred Siamese LOL.

I don't know what Patricia is saying when she meows, but she shuts up when I respond. That silly girl never makes sense.

 

[emilymaywilcha]

After reading somewhere cats only meow to humans, I wondered why they are capable of meowing if their existence preceded domestication by thousands of years.

 

[luvmyparker]

Parkers meows mean....

-I want treats (this is the biggest reason)
-I'm hungry.
-Don't close the door when I am not in the room.

-Pay attention to me, not the computer.

-Hello...which is literally him saying "hello", when he can't find anyone. This is my favorite, although it can be creepy sometimes.

Occasionally he will let out a random one at a random time as he's strolling by. Don't always know what those mean but they are cute.
 

 

[jokasta]

Here is a short list of Kramer's reasons for meowing:
1. "Hi!"
2. "I'm hungry."
3. "Where are you?"
4. "Where's Boots?"
5. "Where am I?"
6. "I'm in the bathroom!! It echoes in here!!"
7. "I'm on top of the washing machine! Wow! How do I jump down?!!? Never mind, I did it!!!!"
8. "There's a thing outside!! Look at that thing!!"
9. "There needs to be more kibble in my bowl." (that's a big one)
10. "I'm in the carrier!"
11. "I'm in the car!!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!"
12. "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"
13. "I love you!"
14. "I'm on top of the cabinets!"
15. "Boots, come here!"
16. "Treats!!!"
Here's Boots' two reasons for meowing:
1. "I'm in the car and I'm absolutely terrified!"
2. "This is the one meow per month you will hear. We're just testing the system. There is no emergency."
As you can see... it all depends on the cat.

 

Brilliant!!

Thank you to everyone for your awesome posts. It's good to see she's not always needing  something whenever she is meowing. I was under that assumption for some reason. 

 

[andrya]

About the cats only meowing to humans, that's not true. My adult cats "talk" to each other daily.

One is Siamese and talks to and about everything. The Cornish Rex was almost silent until recently.

He finally realized that he gets a reaction when he meows, so now he meows and chirps in response

to both humans talking to him, and to Tanner (cat) talking to him. And to get what he wants. He likes

to be lifted up to the "toy" shelf so he can choose something to play with, and knowing that l'm a mere

human and don't understand cat, he stands upright on the filing cabinet while pawing around the corner

toward the shelf and meowing at me.

The kitten so far only meows for food, chirps when he's coming for a lap session, and chirps at the other

cats when he can't find them.

 

[catspaw66]

I have been observing mine more closely and have noticed that:

Sugar will trill and meow (actually sounds more like mggrgg) when she is running around with a furry mouse in her mouth.

Julie trills at just about anything

Tillly will sometimes walk around mrrring to herself

Spice doesn't vocalize all that much, unless she and Sugar are playing rough

Sheba will meow when she wants extra attention

All will tell me to hurry up when it is feeding time

 

[wolcar]

My two boys don't meow much.  I'm pretty grateful for that. My mother has a cat that just doesn't stop meowing. My cats will do that chirping thing to each other or when they see a bug on the screen door or something.  Ulysses rarely makes a peep at all.  Today, though, he let out this powerful meow which I thought was strange.  I went over to pet him and he rolled over and exposed his belly, so I'm assuming that means "pet me."

 

[catlover888]

Princess Meows Likerrow but when i hurt her (i do not mean to) she meows like:mow

 

[ritz]

EmilyLeeWitcha, strange that you mention that and the move.

Ritz and I moved into a new place Thursday.  So Thursday night was her first night.  While she stayed under the bed most of the day and started to explore cautiously before bedtime, around 2:30 a.m. she started meowing loudly and prolonged (usually she meows only when she is hungry).  I could not figure out why she was meowing--did the figs on the fig tree look like mice?  Was she bothered by the birds chirping (they get up early here too).  She continued meowing in the bedroom and then the living room.  By around 8 a.m. she was quieter, and under the bed.

Repeat Friday night:  beginning around 2:38 am, she started meowing. She meowed longer this time, though not as continuously. No birds; it was raining.  While her focus was somewhat on the windows (ground floor) and insects outside, she also looked around like she saw or heard something.  Interestingly, the woman who lived her spent the last six months of her life in an Assisted Living Facility.  And the layout of this house is identical in ALL respects to the house my mother lived (and died --hospice) in.  Same community too. 

 

[jazzymiles]

Cats has only one sound or has only one own language yet it has different meaning. Only same cat can understand if what they mean.

 

[lovemycats2]

The boy cats meow because they are hungry and want to ask for something.  One of them asks to play with his meow.  The girl cat will meow alot because she seems to want to tell me about her day when I get home from work. Or she'll meow when being brushed.  She seems to have a larger vocabulary of vocalizations and tones than the others.  That's the way it seems.