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cats absolutely meow to other cats
From wikipedia
Adult cats rarely meow to each other. Thus, an adult cat meowing to human beings is generally considered a post-domestication extension of meowing by kittens: a call for attention.
Cats are not domesticated though or not fully domesticated. They are tame.
this is a stupid take especially considering that “tame” usually literally just means domesticated
- Not or no longer wild; domesticated
adjective: 1. (of an animal) not dangerous or frightened of people; domesticated.
verb: domesticate (an animal).
reduced from a state of native wildness especially so as to be tractable and useful to humans : DOMESTICATED
in fact the first definition for “tame” in every dictionary i’ve looked up just has the word “domesticated” as the meaning for tame. “domesticate” and “tame” are also indirectly cognates, they both ultimately derive from PIE *dem(h₂), just “domesticate” is Latinate and “tame” is Germanic, but that’s more of a fun fact than a relevant indicator of meaning.
we selectively bred cats to fit our wants/needs, they live in our house and pester us to support their lifestyle, what about that isn’t domestication
My cats meow at each other sometimes, especially when surprised or trying to pick a fight, but it’s very different than how they meow at me. And they seem to favor non verbal cues with each other as well.
Domesticated cats meow much more than wild ones do, since they’ve learned to do it for us. Cat mothers chirp to their kittens. So while yes, they do, the tweet is right; cats meow to get our attention, and they meow at about the same frequency as babies.
The incorrect part about the tweet is that they do it to mimic human infants. They do not. They learned that humans love a little meow meow and it gets them attention, it’s confidential that it’s similar to babies
My friend had a cat whose meow sounded like an elderly pack-a-day smoker.
Yeah, this implies that every single cat has heard a baby crying. Clearly this is not the case.
Convergent evolution. Their cries naturally mimic the frequencies of human babies. It’s not deliberate, but rather there happened to be a creature that lived around humans that worked this way, and now it’s a survival trait.
I believed the tweet for a second, but then I remembered all the times I have woken in middle of the night with the gangs of cats outside my street just meowing to each other
Edit: I am wrong, I looked up Yowling and that’s definitely what I heard, not meowing.
Those cats on the street are not meowing, they are yowling. That’s a holler to intimidate or to fight, over a territory or hot ladies. That’s not a meow for a human to fill the food bowl or give scritches or something else tame and domestic.
it’s honestly ever so slightly worrying that people would think yowling and meowing are the same thing, they can be sorta similar sure but yowls literally sound like a human voice and are slightly unnerving because of it.
It’s like a parent thinking a baby’s laughter and screaming are the same thing, that’s… not a good sign…
Maybe “meow” is cat language for “filthy peasant”, so they’re using it to insult each other and to address us.
This is the only explanation that makes sense.
/glass of water falls off the table
They don’t, they chatter and chirp. But not full meows.
Do they though?
Not generally in the wild. Domesticated cats are much more vocal.
Cats meow to each other all the time. This is some grade A misinformation right here.
Watch “Mr. Kitters the Cat”, the guy that straps the camera to his cat and you get to see kitty adventures around the neighborhood. The cats talk to each other all the time.
You’ve made my day!
They’re so cute, huh? I love this video.
Ridiculously cute! Sent it to my mum as well haha
Do a search on YouTube for “two cats having a conversation” and you’ll find a bunch of cute ones like that.
Maybe it’s intentional. I see this quite often as a way to drive engagement. If you post misinformation, a lot of people will rush to correct you. If you post something true and easily agreeable, people might just hit the “Like” button (or do nothing at all) and move on.
Lies drive engagement. So true. It’s also exactly what’s gotten us into this social media clusterfuck.
I keep seeing this “factoid” and I’m pretty sure it’s just bullshit.
Cats meow to each other all the time. They can meow in frequencies humans can’t hear but they didn’t start meowing just to “manipulate” humans.
Cats did however develop a specific type of meow that does in fact mimic the frequencies of a baby crying but it’s not the cats normal meow.
This is the first time I’ve seen the word factoid used for its actual original definition… but why you put it in quotes?
Maybe he wasnt 100% sure about the definition of “factoid” so he just kinda factoided the word “factoid” into existence :D
That’s actually exactly what happened.
I thought a factoid was simply the term for those quick fun facts.
Like how magenta doesn’t actually exist and it’s a glitch in your brain because it can’t process a lack of green so it creates magenta.
So yeah I thought factoids were true but now I know better.
That’s the fun part! Factoid kind of became a factoid (I know there’s an actual etymological term for this but I can’t remember it) I believe its original definition was an assumption thats circulated enough its assumed as fact. ie many “wives tales” But now the definition you gave has been assumed so much it has become fact! See? Fun!
Language is weird and dumb sometimes
It was originally something that seemed like a fact, but wasn’t, similar to you would describe something that looks like a human, but isn’t, as humanoid.
I guess people thought factoids they read were true, and assumed it just was a weird true fact.
Combining sound and food stimuli is classic pavlov conditioning. Cats learn very quickly if they make any sound that a human will react in a way, ie scratching a door for territory or meowing for food.
or talking like a baby?
Urban myth. How often are we gonna keep reposting this bullshit.
Well it’s based on a fact, iirc the real thing is domesticated cats learn to keep their kitten mew because humans respond to it, nothing to do with imitating human babies. But that does mean that only cats raised by people meow.
But it also means that it is a complete lie that “cat’s don’t meow to each other”.
never heard a tiger meow, so you might be onto something
Feral cats definitely meow
Fair, tigers dont make sound i’d classify as a meow. But other big cat species do :
https://youtu.be/XDvZclY-5q8?si=vklhZBCMev4VQrnH
https://youtu.be/BXhfZRE08ko?si=RKbFDYGwbu53TA-sI always believed , though im not a biologist, that they kept doing it because they got something nice as a reward. Pets, food, water, door that is being opened,… The meowing is linked to getting something good so they keep doing it.
It’s not, wild adult cats still meow
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I once read that cats fully understand that we want their attention when we call them. They just choose to ignore it.
I can independently confirm. My cats definitely know their names, and their ears will perk up when called. But most of the time they can’t be bothered to turn their heads towards the sound, there’s no chance they’ll get up to engage unless they hear a treat bag crinkle with it lol
Cats, like demons, have many names only one of which is their true name to which they obbey without question.
Curiously cat’s true names usually sound a lot like a treat bag cringle or the sound of a cat food can being opened.
Here’s the study on that, it was specifically the name calling that was studied. Where they concluded that the cats brain reacted to their name, but actively decided to ignore it. Always stuck with me as well!
My cats don’t ignore it, and will come running when they hear their name.
Same with my cats I guess I’ve always been really lucky with cats but my cats only ever mew to get in or out the door and come when I call them I’ve also found that doing a silent snap for some reason also works as a way to get their attention and get them to come to me idk why but I suspect I might be making some sound that only they can hear since this trick works when it’s dark out or in a different room they always know im trying to get their attention no matter where I am
I’ve heard cats have low-light vision, which might explain at least a little bit of it.
I’ve never bothered to fact-check if it’s actually true though, so take that with a grain of salt.
Cats are reasonably smart and can be trained. Cats are also quite strong-willed and so are difficult to train. Our cats know they aren’t allowed on the table, so they don’t go on the table (when we’re around). We’ve also taught them some calls to stop fighting and to come. They’re moderately effective.
The big trick is to start young, start with things they’re interested in, and always follow through. If you tell your cat to get off the table and you don’t make sure they do, they decide you’re asking them to get off the table and they might choose not to.
Also, cats like treats and food. Not many things catch their interest more, certainly not trifles like their own name.
When my cat is laid down, and I call him, his ear move on my direction for a second and them come back. Consecutive calls don’t even gain an ear movement.
if you think cats are fake wait till you find out about humans
nah, that’s birds that aren’t real
Meanwhile dogs wag their tails at other dogs all the time
Dogs are also guilty of adapting their natural behaviors to communicate with humans too, and it’s really interesting. Things like eye-contact or being extra expressive with their “eyebrows”
My understanding is that wolves don’t have “eyebrows” at all. The fact that many dogs have them is either an evolved or selected trait specifically to communicate with humans.
I think one theory is that they were sort of accidentally selected for because they made dogs appear more friendly or attentive, making them seem like a better fit for companionship.
Or how dogs react to the same side of the face as humans do. Think it’s the right side but can’t remember now.
I heard once that dogs can’t really hide their emotions because they are telegraphed by pheromones from anal glands, so the only thing they can do is adjust how widely the pheromones are spread, by wagging their tail to spread positive feelings and tucking their tail between their legs to hide negative emotions.
Incredible if true! Thanks! I’ll try to remember to read up when I get time
True, although one of my dogs often wags her tail just before she decides that it’s time to attack the other dog for no reason.
Hmm. I’ve heard that before, but I’ll pretty much stop whatever I’m doing if I hear a meow! Whereas a baby crying just makes me think “please shut the fuck up”…
Dogs think we’re the gods. Cats think they’re the gods.
Cats know they’re the gods 🤣
Much like how Yaweh can be defeated by iron chariots, the cat gods can be defeated with a spray bottle.
This is incorrect
How’d you know?
Are you a cat?
