A few moments ago, my older cat Mollie, got up from the chair that she was sitting on and came over to me and began a long series of “Meows.” She had already eaten so I knew that she wasn’t hungry. I pet her but she still was walking around “meowing.” What was she trying to tell me? A cat’s meow is not just a simple cat sound but rather a sophisticated method of communication.  A cat’s meow is as individual as the voice of a person. Some cats are very quiet while other are very talkative. A Siamese cat is known  their shrill wail. You can always distinguish the difference from that of other cats.

The most common meow is the cry for attention. Usually when any of my cats cry, they want some kind of attention. My younger cat, Millie will sit on top of the headboard of my bed and cry for me to get up if I’m not up by a certain time. Today, I got up at 8:00am. I’m usually up at 6:00 or 7:00am so according to Millie, I was an hour late and she let me hear about it!

If the meowing occurs when you come home, your cat is probably glad to see you and wants to be pet. Funny, my cats never meow when I come home. Maybe they are not happy to see me.

A female cat in heat will cry and meow constantly to advertise her availability to prospective males.

Sometimes, a cat will make a strange chattering sound when they see prey but discover that the prey is unreachable. My younger cat Millie does this all the time. She sits at the window early in the morning and sees birds or squirrels that she can not reach.

One quick note. If you have a cat that is very quiet and all of a sudden it starts meowing, this could indicate that it is sick and should be checked out by a vet.

Don’t worry if you cat is meowing in her cat carrier. We all know that most cats do not like being in there.

Tomorrow, can your cat or dog predict an earthquake?