When we found Vimsan, her leg was badly injured. We took her to the vet and treated her wound before she was introduced to our resident three cats. Back then, Vimsan often mewed in this sad way. We still don't know for sure if it was because she was in pain or because she wanted to get rid of her uncomfortable elizabethan collar and be allowed to go outside again.
Sometimes a few long and demanding squeaks are all you need to get your human to come with you to open the door to the garden. :-)
The domestic cat Donna squeaks and trills and also produces combinations of trills and squeaks whenever she wants something urgently; in this case to be let outside into the garden. It is always as if she was saying "Come, follow me to the door!"
The domestic cat Donna often combines or merges soft squeaks or trills with purring – is it a soft squeak embedded within a purr? – when she wants to cuddle (and after that she purrs and trills in various combinations).
Donna, Rocky and Turbo are sitting in their cat carriers in the waiting room at the vet moaning. These sounds were used in one of our listening experiments. Can you hear how the melody of these moaning sounds often falls towards the end?
Kompis has just been to see the vet, and on his way home he moans, meows, howls and growls because he so dislikes being locked up in his cat carrier. The message is clear: "Get me out of here!".
Turbo often uses these hoarse meows when he wants the attention of his human caretakers. In this video clip I think he just wants (or should I say demands :-) to be lifted up and be cuddled. When he gets what he wants he stops meowing and starts to trill and purr instead.
These six food soliciting meow sounds by Donna and Turbo were used in one of our listening experiments. Can you hear how the melody often rises towards the end?
Zoran, who lives with our friends Peter and Marie, often sits by the cellar door and meows until they open the door for him.
The domestic cat Donna often combines trills with meows or squeaks in complex vocalisations with rising melody when she wants my attention and doesn't get it right away. In this video clip she probably wants me to play with her.
• All cats have their own personalities and some cats typically meow more than others. However, if your cat begins to meow more frequently, especically when you are not nearby, this may be a sign that something is not quite right. These meows are often longer, louder and a bit harsher (more guttural) than other types of meowing, and they therefore sound a bit like howling (yowling). Sometimes cats meow excessively because they are worried and confused and because they want to contact their owners. These are signs of cognitive dysfunction (dementia), which has been described in cats aged 10 and older. There are books and also many articles (in magazines and online) about how to care for an ageing cat and how to deal with dementia and excessive vocalising. Search online for "excessive meowing".
This video was sent to me by Eva Örtenberg and she has kindly agreed to let me show it here (Thank you, Eva!). The video clip shows her female 18.5 year old and otherwise healthy cat meowing in this long, loud and guttural way. It usually begins when Eva is not nearby (which is why there is no cat in the beginning of the video). If you listen closely you may notice that the very last meow sounds quite different, and more like a normal/typical meow. I believe that this is because she has discovered that Eva is nearby filming her.
