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The section on meowing makes a bold statement that adult cats don't meow to each other. Since Wikipedia stresses that content be verifiable, I can't simply delete an obviously wrong statement since there's a link to a supposedly reliable source. But the fact that adult cats do sometimes meow to each other should be taken into account. I can mention that my cats sometimes meow to each other, and even as I was writing this, one of my cats went up to the other and meowed (they are both about 13 years old) but I'd run the risk of being accused of conducting original research if I did that. Nevertheless, somebody should find a way to correct this.
Also, the amount that cats meow varies by species, with some such as Maine coon and Japanese bobtails having a reputation for being very loquacious. There's plenty of material out there that people can cite, and perhaps the misconception that adult cats never meow to each other is based on experience with certain breeds or to the exclusion of certain less common breeds.
I'll leave it to a more ambitious cat lover to do the research, but the fact that at least some adult cats meow to each other makes the contrary statement false on its face. Hagrinas ( talk) 05:51, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
Thank you. Someone told me that cats only meow when speaking with humans and it didn't ring true. I've been trying to observe this amongst the neighborhood cats, but it's nice to see someone else reporting research on this. 205.232.191.21 ( talk) 15:14, 4 September 2014 (UTC)
There is nothing about the bite and lick. I have heard the bite after or during being licked is a "kiss" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.153.5.237 ( talk) 21:08, 1 July 2006
I have removed the following paragraph:
While this sounds like an important addition to the main article Cat, I can't see the relvance to the article Cat communication, especially not in in the section "Other noises". User:Angr 00:49, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
My cat often times, while purring, bites my hand, then licks it. Is that considered aggressive beahaviour? Or just a way of showing love? -- 69.67.226.87 06:24, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
Cats never bite in anger. -- WikiCats 11:36, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Although communication from cats in the form of audible noses and body language is well documented here and other places, my curiosity involves how cats respond to human communication to cats. It's often noted that when cat owners who regularly talk to their cats it can better "socialize" the cat.
My question is how do cats respond to audibles of higher pitch. I've read a few less than credible places (chat, boards, blogs, etc.) that cats are more responsive to names ending in a long E sound as in "Poofy" or "Blackie." I know that cats can hear higher pitched sounds sounds than humans. It would seem plausible but not necessarily solid. Myth, truth, or maybe? Is there a known reference to this behavior? - Jim 05:47, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
Cats are more sensitive to high pitched sound than we are. They can hear the sounds made by mice that we can't. One of my cats responds readily to me when I whistle. Cats only respond to what we want if there's something in it for them. If you want a pet that doesn't ignore you get a dog. -- WikiCats 10:56, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
I know it would fit under paranormal-style communication, but they say that cats are fairly psychic animals, and I've had major success telepathically talking to my two cats. Plus, it gives me some insight into what they like and they usually respond better to commands, though they still do things on their terms. Think this is just something with my bonding with cats, or do you think that animals such as cats do well with being able to actually voice an opinion, instead of an ambiguous response? 70.104.230.236 02:22, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
Cats will naturally use meows to talk with us, it doesn't take long before they realize we aren't paying any heed to their chemical and scent signals seeing as we can't smell them. Either way, my cats only meow for three things. To be fed, to be watered, and to go outside. Then they have a growl for angry, a hiss for really angry, and a high-pitched cry/moan/meow thing for when they're getting bathed or going to the vet. Sabar 11:34, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
Just removed the "may also have a medical significance" from the purring section in line with main article - no evidence has been presented for any such significance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.1.176.254 ( talk) 18:07, 25 May 2007
Some of these cat noises are vaguely defined, they could use some sound clips.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.73.182.107 ( talk) 07:30, 19 June 2007
The reference to "rehearsal behavior" is rubbish. Cats do not anticipate or practice the killing of prey, nor do they "talk" when killing their prey! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 ( talk) 05:05, 21 May 2011 (UTC)
Trilling
I am rather surprised that there is no mention of the 'trilling' noise that cats make when they are playing and in a mood of delight. It seems to me as important as the purr and meow, and should get a mini-paragraph at least. To me this noise is as important as the human laugh.
--
66.217.173.131 (
talk)
14:24, 22 October 2011 (UTC)
I didn't read anything in the article about this, but what about talking cats? There is a lot of evidence on youtube that cats can say a few basic words. I'm not sure if this is from their memories in previous lives, if they are mimicing their owners, or if they are evolving (they say cats are smarter than dogs and it would make sense for them to learn how to speak). I don't know much on the subject, but maybe a vet can add something. Here are the videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV71mpbvl-g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSXPfsRr-A4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV6DQuEh4UQ. Itler005 19:42, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
It is apparent that those who have written this page love their cats. This is, of course, a good thing. Developing a better understanding of our pets is important--many pet and human tragedies might be prevented by a more careful understanding of what is a very complicated relationship.
The fact that you can find pamphlets and even entire books written on "how to better understand your cat" shows how relevant cats are to the lives of so many of us. These books draw from the authors' careful examinations of the way in which these specific cats behave, and are often compared to the similar observations fo other authors writing similar books. As a "How to take better care of your cat" article, these checked-against-one-another books serve a valuable role. Unfortunately, many of these "guides" or "handbooks" are more a collection of "things I've heard others say (or read/write) and which seem interesting to me."
The lack of cited references of known and well respected writers makes it impossible to know how accurate and generalizable is all the information in this article. The question answered in the book "How my favorite cat communicates" may be different than the answer to the question "how do all cats communicate--whether a kitten who is the constant companion and love of Peter, a boy whose family are nomadic Reindeer herders in Finland or a so-called "killer cougar" in the forests of Central Oregon in the United States?"
Therefore, this article would be even much more useful to an encyclopedia if it placed itself in reference to more systematic studies--a good encyclopedia article is "connected" into/with the rest of the articles in the encyclopedia. The references showing how it does connect, whether in agreement or not, are valuable to help someone reading the article go right to the supporting (or contrasting) articles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rgathercoal ( talk • contribs) 06:47, 18 August 2007
The title of the article, "Cat Communication" would seem to place this article in the realm of the other "fill-in-the-blank" communication articles, but it really does not address the questions or issues surrounding animal communication or of communication in general.
In this article we don't learn why cats react these ways, how much of this sort of interaction the cats are and are not capable of, or whether these behaviors exist in all pet cats (Felis silvestris catus), all cats including those born in the wild (or at least not with a providing pet owner/provider), or even in "cousins" such as the Java Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), bobcats (Lynx rufus), the endangered wild cat of Northern Scotland (Felis silvestris grampia), or Siberian Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica)?
Is all interaction with one's environment communication? This is a deceptively difficult question to answer. Yet here, in the case of a domesticated allo-animal (an animal other than the "human animal") it is central. Do I need to be aware of my actions, the others to whom I am allegedly communicating, and the larger context/relationships that exist in order for my behavior to be communicative? Orcan we talk about a rock communicating with the hillside, plants and other rocks it causes to join with it in a massive landslide?
I'm not certain whether this article's content would usefully be considered to be "communication," or at least, would be situation-specific communication (as between a particular cat and human in a pet/owner relationship). Do cats purr when no one is around? If so, the purr is probably closer to being considered a sign. Signs are often used to describe something that indicates the likely presence (or state) of something else, like smoke in the forest signals a forest fire near. Others would contrast the sign with a symbol--an intentional act performed (or artifact created) with the intent of altering some other's behavior.
Some of the difficulties of this sort of question pop out as you start to stick things in either the "sign"or the "symbol"; the affected or communicated with categories! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rgathercoal ( talk • contribs) 06:47, 18 August 2007
There is no mention here at all about non-domesticated cats, nor of feral cats, not even of the wild cats from which, it is believed, all domestic cats decended.
:meow —Preceding
unsigned comment added by
2007 121.241.96.5 (
talk) 10:31, 10 September
My guppies erupt into a "guppie feeding frenzy" when anyone comes near the tank. While amusing, I would have to say it is probably not communication, or at least that "learning" or "conditioning would be better categories.
Asking these sorts of questions is particularly relevant given the ongoing experimentation with dolphins, whales, many birds, all sorts of simians, and pigs, to name a few. Many of these carefully--many would consider them to be formal scientific experiments--are ongoing to help answer many of the questions that are relevant to thinking about how and why our cats behave in certain ways in certain times, places and circumstances; often way too consistently to believe the behaviors are random.
I would expect that any article on "animal communication" ought to be aware of these ongoing studies, where "hints on understanding your cat" would stand on its own.
Likewise, ties to work in anthropological linguistics, (maybe semantics) and learning and memory (from experimental psychology) would be a "must." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rgathercoal ( talk • contribs) 06:47, 18 August 2007
lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala cats r cool dogs r cool we r cool mm i like pie
—Preceding
unsigned comment added by
24.184.118.52 (
talk) 06:22, 19 July 2008
I hope those who find the interactions of domesticated cats and humans so compelling will think of this expansion as a fascinating journey into new depths of understanding as we increase the encyclopedic value of this article. I do realize that my perspective and advice might not be entirely welcome. That is a common and expected reaction to someone who says "nice, but needs more work!" Nevertheless, I do hope that this article, as well as the others surrounding cats, will mature, deepen and broaden their focus.
Vagabundus
06:47, 18 August 2007 (UTC)This user is also the above
User:Rgathercoal
you know i m realy sorry about this — Preceding unsigned comment added by 175.39.14.43 ( talk) 10:58, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
I think that cats can purr when they are not happy, but can they not purr when they are happy? -- 118.92.27.198 ( talk) 05:38, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
The so-called 'happy cat' in the last picture has a very pointy, mean looking face and he's not so much smiling, but has a strangly evil smirk. I suggest we change it to a nicer looking cat: my cat is very pretty. 86.45.98.43 ( talk) 15:27, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
Surely drooling is a method of communication? BOTH my cats drool when they are very happy, it seems combined with purring, kneading and singing behaviour. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.7.48.9 ( talk) 01:11, 8 May 2008 (UTC)
10% of cats drool when they purr. They are incapable of swallowing and purring at the same time 99.199.125.63 ( talk) 17:55, 18 August 2010 (UTC)
I don't think the yawning cat is the best opening picture for the article. Could we use a better one, or perhaps move one up? Trance Blossom ( talk) 01:12, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
In the
Other noises section's image, is there not also
piloerection involved, as is typical in mammals' combat stances?
--
Jerzy•
t 05:41 &
08:20, 14 February 2009 (UTC)
Sometimes in the cat breeds such as Tuxcedo,black, mask and mantle and so on . They will purr in destress to try to trick you if you pick them up. Usally if they have effection tord the person picking up .If you don't put them down it well follow by flailing of the paws and hind legs.
March ,12 ,2009 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.70.43.47 ( talk) 22:56, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
I note that there have been frequent deliberately false edits made to this entry by unsigned authors with university related IP addresses. These "authors" should study for tomorrow's classes rather than killing time screwing around with the Wikipedia "Cat Communication" entry. Else they are likely to find themselves in a low-paying and stupefyingly boring bureaucratic job in 10 years, or even more likely, broke and on the street. However, as a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse, I'm probably wasting bandwidth here. Ah, well. Rarkm ( talk) 02:30, 18 September 2009 (UTC)
Ok, but there is nothing wrong with messing around in your free time. It's not like anyone takes this page seriously anyways. Life is a balance of work and play. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Msarancibia ( talk • contribs) 03:09, 8 August 2017 (UTC)
Besides noting that this article is disturbingly unreferenced and seems to contain a lot of unfounded information which may in fact be completely inaccurate, I wanted to mention that I've read that the two syllables of a cat's meow mean two different things. The "Mee" (or sometimes just "Ee" part means something, and the "ow" (or sometimes "Mow") means something different. Can't remember where I read or heard it, as it was many years ago, but I've heard it from reputable sources more than once, if someone wants to follow through on that and find a source. Softlavender ( talk) 10:51, 16 November 2009 (UTC)
I've heard that too. Whether I can find a reference isn't very important because it's pure nonsense. Supposedly the "me" part is the friendly part, the "ow" is the aggressive part, and the two together give the message that the cat is friendly but not fully subservient. But given that many people have cats, it's easy to tell by observation that it's not true. Cats can be quite friendly and use the "ow" part alone. I have a cat that uses it to ask to go out, but will use it only when near the door. What's more relevant might be to cite sources related to the multitude of variations that domestic cats come up with that are very situation specific. Hagrinas ( talk) 05:37, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
" There is a tendency to think that the cats control humans with subtle forms of communication.[1] " —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.8.59.59 ( talk) 15:04, 25 January 2010 (UTC)
This whole page is written as though cats owned humans (like the phrase, "You don't own cats, cats own you.") However, I have spotted several flaws with this article such as the section about cats meowing, one part makes it seem as if cats registered complaints to the complaint department! Seriously, though, this page needs fixing big time. -- Codyrox ( talk) 05:42, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
Cats do own humans, you don't really think this page was only started at the free will of a Wikipedian, do you? This was actually created due to the mind control techniques that many house-cats possess, they are very subtle and sly with their psychological control and unfortunately, many, if not all Humans are blind to this activity. So while this page exists, the Felids have won not just the battle, but the war, taking with them the spoils of battle, us. 58.160.154.162 ( talk) 09:50, 24 May 2011 (UTC)
When a cat puts it's ears back, this indicates fear or anger only WHEN THE CAT IS FACING the thing it fears or is angry at. A cat with ears back is listening behind itself. In tense situations, this keeps anything from sneaking up on it. Sometimes putting back ears just means the cat is "focusing" it's hearing on something behind it. When this occurs, the “ears back” doesn’t necessarily mean that the cat is angry. In fact, a cat with its’ back turned to you is indicating it trusts you, since a cat will only turn its’ back on something it fears if it is also running away at the same time. To prove this, just try to get behind a fearful or hostile cat. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.133.62.41 ( talk) 11:00, 5 August 2011 (UTC)
Having just spent a wasted few minutes trying to find this entry I would suggest it be altered to include the English spelling Miaow as well as the American spelling of Meow. -- DickyP ( talk) 11:55, 26 August 2011 (UTC)
Accidentally hit enter before completing the comment. It was: "Removed incorrect picture from meowing sound clip" The pictured cat was yawning, not meowing. -- Abbey 24.84.215.226 ( talk) 19:34, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
Why is nyan redirected to this article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by SimonDeDanser ( talk • contribs) 10:47, 26 July 2012 (UTC)
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Please add: Why do cats sharpen their claws? (this is the only thing I can see that was missed on this very good, complete entry) Cats sharpen their claws to remove the dead cuticle, and reveal the razor sharp claw underneath; also to 'mark' their territory with the scent glands on their feet. Cats who have been declawed do this instinctively, for the same reasons.
SavACat ( talk) 20:22, 10 July 2012 (UTC)
Remove duplicate, under Purring section:
There is no unique anatomical feature that is clearly responsible for the sound.[10]
The mechanism by which cats purr is elusive. This is partly because the cat has no unique anatomical feature that is clearly responsible for the sound.[10]
Under purring, there's a couple of sentences on the "audio samples that accompany this article". I've tried looking for these but have only found the meowing one. Is this a remnant of copy-pasting from the article on purring? Silvermael ( talk) 16:25, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
Urea (H2N(CO)NH2) cannot possibly generate mercaptans (ie thiols) as there are no sulfur atoms in the molecule. I feel that this error could have arisen by honest mistake in the phrasing, however as it stands now it is not sound. I recommend that the degradation of urea in this environment and the presence of thiols in the urine (if they are bona fide components as opposed to the products of urea) be sourced. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jgwest91 ( talk • contribs) 02:24, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
Why has the word 'mew' been reverted to 'meow'. This is a matter of correct English. This sound that the cat makes is vocalised by humans as 'meow' just as the sound a dog makes is vocalised as 'woof', or another sound a cat makes as vocalised as 'prrrr'.
The names for these sounds are 'mew', 'bark', and 'purr' respectively. Martin Hogbin ( talk) 11:01, 14 January 2014 (UTC)
The German article mentions scratchmarks on trees and furniture. Is there an English-language source suggesting that scratching may be more than just claw-sharpening? -- 77.234.44.155 ( talk) 13:02, 24 January 2016 (UTC)
Please fix this reference's url:
Schötz, Susanne (May 30 – June 1, 2012). A phonetic pilot study of vocalizations in three cats
Thanks. - Joxemai ( talk) 08:18, 26 February 2016 (UTC)
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I removed the following from the Eyes subsection. I'm not sure whether the claim is really falsifiable, because who knows what behavior might be seen in individual cats. It's a pretty extraordinary claim, so it would need a strong source cited (rather than no source at all). Personally, I think it matches the tone and content of the documented vandalism that this page has gone through.
For context, the missing object of the next sentence is a direct stare from a cat.
Ninjalectual ( talk) 08:36, 27 May 2018 (UTC)
When not used for such functions, a cat will blink or look away periodically to avoid provoking the same defensive response that a direct stare would elicit. citation needed This periodic blinking or looking away is expressed when pet cats look at humans. Ninjalectual ( talk) 08:36, 27 May 2018 (UTC)
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 17 January 2024 and 7 May 2024. Further details are available
on the course page. Student editor(s):
Virgocat444 (
article contribs).
— Assignment last updated by Eaturvegeez ( talk) 21:24, 10 February 2024 (UTC)
Hi there! I am planning on adding subsections to the already existing headings regarding communication and emotion. I will also be adding and re-organizing content to highlight the human impact on communication and the difference between feral and domesticated cats. Virgocat444 ( talk) 18:07, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
I’m not a pro, but need to point out the danger of giving such a specific example as this. While it is a solid example, cat fights can and do go farther and serious injuries can occur. The one losing may not bow out before being gravely hurt, or sometimes runs away blindly, possibly straight into traffic, endangering both if the winning cat gives chase. I’ve witnessed a cat fight go on for 20 minutes, NOTHING would stop them with both getting terribly injured & in need of immediately vet care. 166.181.251.206 ( talk) 20:57, 15 July 2024 (UTC)
Freakin auto-correct! :-( 1: should have been “immediate,” not “immediately.” 2: I meant that there are many ways a cat fight can go, and the article presented one way as the Standard, “this is how cats fight.” 166.181.251.206 ( talk) 21:07, 15 July 2024 (UTC)