It goes both ways. I just leaned over and said “mrrow” to my cat, which she immediately responded to with her own “mrrrrow”.
There’s the little meows…but then there’s an entirely different “I’m hungry” meow.
I used to have a semi-outdoor cat. She could come and go from the basement through a cat door. That little shit knew where my bedroom was and every morning she would climb up on the shelf as high as possible and meow loudly as if to say, “Hey! Hey Dumbass! Are you gonna feed me or what!? Heeeeyyyy!”
yeah that’s because the little ones mean “hii” and the big ones mean “HELLO???!!”
I just yell “shut up slut” but it probably translates to “hi” as well
Hey
Hey
Wassup
NM
Cool
Cool
Yeah
Dude?
Dude
Nice
Bruh
Yeah, I’d like to see a source for this. There have been many proposed theories for why cats vocalize to humans, especially because “meowing” is not common between cats except for kittens. How do we know that it isn’t a request for food or attention?
As a cat person, I find most explanations of cat behaviour generalised and ingomplete; scientific or not. My Siamese cat yells at me when I have not met my side of our obligations.
Consistency is important for children and animals.
- We get up at sunrise, so he will nuzzle or meow to be let in if he’s locked out of my room.
- We get wet food at 7am, and if I’m late he will not be impressed and yell until we are in the kitchen. However, if I’m on time, he will sit on the counter and say a quick meow to let me know he’s ready and a good boy.
- He will bring his toys to me when it’s time to play, if I don’t notice he’ll let me know.
- When there’s something outside and I come watch he’ll look at me and do a little chirp, approving my presence and proud of what he’s found
- And when we get home he greets us with the back and forward calling and a nuzzle.
There’s much more nonverbal communication than verbal. Everyone knows when their cat is scared or excited, but with a good relationship you can tell when they’re anxious or in pain. Cat’s know human non-verbal communicotion; they know when you’re sad, it just depends on the cat if they’ll cuddle or knock you’re nick-nacks off a shelf.
It can be both. I think it really depends on the specific cat and person. My cat “barks” for needs, “whines” when he loses us, and meows for attention or to get vocalization back. I think attentive cat owners probably know their cat and because it’s adaptive behavior it’s not the same across the board.
