Vocal expressions of cats

After bird sound communication, cat vocal communication is the best-studied vocalization in animals. It has been reported that about 10 vocalizations are known in dogs, while more than 100 are known in cats.

Meowing - is one of the most common vocalizations and is capable of being meowed by tiny kittens. Meowing is how mothers communicate with their kittens. Cats sometimes persist in meowing when communicating with humans.

Purring - it is still a mystery why cats purr. Cats purr not only when they are happy and content, but also when they are sick, when they are giving birth, or when they are dying. Cats' purring is attributed with healing and healing powers.

The trilling, chirping and purring sounds are used by mothers to communicate with their kittens. They use it to call the kittens to eat or to follow the cat.

Brebenting - this sound is made by cats when they observe prey that is out of their reach, such as a bird outside the window.

Love song - this sound is familiar to all owners of unneutered cats and kittens. It is the loudest sound cats make and carries over a long distance. It is also reported to be combined with infrasonic signals, but these are not detectable to the human ear.

Hissing - hissing already belongs to the manifestations of defensive aggression and serves to drive away and frighten the opponent, it can be said that a frightened cat tries to drive away the intruder with it, it is the so-called front line behaviour, i.e. behaviour that serves to push the enemy.

Growling - growling is usually preceded by hissing. Cats use this to tell us that they do not like the situation. It could be translated as "Get away from me." A shorter form of growling is spitting and spitting.

- Cats may use these vocal expressions to convey short or long term stress, often encountered in territorial disputes between cats or when cats feel put on the defensive with no way to escape to a safe place.

All vocal expressions need to be considered in the context of the situation.