GabyCats are known for their wide range of sounds used to communicate with both humans and other animals. The familiar meow, primarily directed at people, serves as a call for attention or a request for food. In contrast, hissing or growling at other animals indicates stress and hostility. But what about the soft chirping sounds that cats sometimes make when they’re stalking prey? “It’s quite difficult to say exactly what’s happening, but it doesn’t seem to be communication with us or other animals,” noted Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado from the American Association of Cat Behavior Consultants in an interview with Live Science. The independence of cats makes them particularly challenging to study in laboratory settings. However, pet owners and researchers have some theories that might explain this adorable chatter.
What are the possible explanations? According to Ms. Delgado, one hypothesis suggests that this behavior is linked to frustration. A cat sees its prey but is separated by a barrier. Just as humans might grunt or huff when annoyed, cats may express certain emotions through these peculiar vocalizations. And these emotions aren’t necessarily negative; it could simply be excitement, the expert believes. However, there’s no scientific evidence to support this theory, and designing an experiment to test it is quite complex. First, researchers need to determine the circumstances under which cats chatter. But demonstrating a cat’s emotional response is even trickier. Therefore, it may be necessary to consider some physiological indicators of stress, such as stress hormones.
Another idea is that cats open their mouths to enhance their sense of smell. “By opening and closing their mouths, they might be trying to draw air into the area where their so-called vomeronasal organ, or Jacobson’s organ, is located,” suggested Jonathan Losos, an evolutionary biologist at Washington University. This sensory organ in the mouth (on the roof) acts like a second nose, allowing cats to detect scents that their regular noses might miss. By directing airflow to this organ, chirping may help cats gather more sensory information about their surroundings. However, creating a study to effectively test this hypothesis is also challenging.
The next possible explanation for cat chirping has a somewhat stronger scientific basis: mimicry. “Some researchers have observed that the margay (Leopardus wiedii), a small spotted wild cat from South and Central America, chirped while trying to hunt a group of small monkeys,” Mr. Losos explained. Scientists then claimed that the cat’s chirping resembled the sounds made by these monkeys.
Additionally, it bears some resemblance to the chirping of small birds—traditional prey for domestic cats, which may use these sounds while hunting. “Most cats are under-researched, and we don’t know much about them, just as we don’t know much about their ancestor, the North African wildcat,” noted Jonathan Losos. According to him, the key to understanding domestic cats lies in a deeper understanding of wild cats. We need to learn what traits domestic cats have inherited from their ancestors.
As Dr. Delgado pointed out, the mystery of cat chirping remains unsolved for now. Perhaps pet owners could provide animal psychologists with valuable insights that might help unravel this enigma.
