
Chattering, chittering or twittering are the noises your cat makes when they're sitting in the window watching birds or squirrels.If your cat is elderly, they may howl because they're disoriented, especially if suffering from a cognitive disorder, such as dementia. However, in unaltered cats, these sounds are part of mating behavior. Find your cat if they're making this noise. A yowl or howl (they sound like loud, drawn-out meows) tells you your cat is in some kind of distress-stuck in a closet, looking for you or in pain.Growling, hissing or spitting indicates a cat who is annoyed, frightened, angry or aggressive.Sometimes, however, a cat may purr when they're anxious or sick, using their purr to comfort themselves, like a child sucking their thumb. Cats purr whenever they're happy, even while they're eating. Purring is usually a sign of contentment.If you have more than one cat, you'll often hear them converse with each other this way. Aimed at you, it probably means your cat wants you to follow them, usually to their food bowl. Chirps and trills are how a mother cat tells their kittens to follow them.

Some people have observed their cats walking around the house meowing to themselves.

Kittens who are handled often and well socialized may turn into more vocal adults and certain breeds, like Siameses and Abyssinians, are loquacious by nature.Ĭats can also become increasingly vocal as they age. While some cats rarely make a peep, others won’t let you get a word in edgewise. They'll tell you when they're hungry, when they're feeling affectionate and if they're feeling threatened or in pain. You'll learn a lot when you can interpret your cat's wide vocabulary of chirps and meows. In time, you may become so attuned to your kitty’s personality and habits that you’re able to detect subtle changes in their mood and even recognize health problems before physical signs of illness appear. You can better understand your furry friend by paying attention to their vocalizations, body postures and daily routines. Cats lack the facial expressiveness of dogs, they’re generally quieter and their behaviors can be harder to interpret-but this doesn’t mean that the feline mystique is impenetrable.
