Cat Communication

Mantou's Communication Style

Mantou, this cat that I've raised for eleven years, knows a vocabulary of about twenty to thirty words. "Eat," "canned food," "go out," "get down," "no," "sleep," "brush teeth"—she understands all of these. I'm not exaggerating; she really understands. When you say "eat," she walks toward the kitchen. When you say "canned food," she runs toward the kitchen. The speed is different.

It took me about three years to figure out her vocalization system. Mantou has six different types of vocalizations, each with a different meaning. A short "meow" is a greeting. A drawn-out "meoooow" means she wants something. A low "aow" means she's unhappy. A purring "rrrr" means she's comfortable. A sharp "hiss" is a warning. And there's a chattering sound she makes when she sees birds outside the window.

I once tried recording these sounds and analyzing the frequencies with software. It was useless. Cat communication isn't just about sound—it also involves the angle of their ears, the position of their tail, the size of their pupils, and the direction of their whiskers. If you only analyze sound, you're only seeing a quarter of the picture.

Baozi is a Chatterbox

Baozi was a stray cat. When I picked her up at three years old, she was already an adult. This cat's communication style is completely different from the other two. She meows non-stop. Morning meowing, evening meowing, meowing before meals, meowing after meals too, meowing when you look at her, meowing when you don't look at her.

Stray cats are generally more vocal. This is my observation; it may not be accurate. Perhaps it's because survival outdoors requires more vocal communication—claiming territory, finding food, avoiding danger—all require vocalization.

Baozi has even more types of vocalizations than Mantou, and I still haven't fully figured them out. Some vocalizations I know the meaning of; others I really don't. Sometimes she meows at the wall, meows at the air, meows at the ceiling. I don't know what she's meowing at. Maybe she doesn't know either.

Communication Between Cats

The communication among the three cats is an entirely different system. They rarely use vocalizations with each other; they mainly use scent and body language.

I've studied cat scent communication for a long time. When they rub their cheeks against objects, they're leaving scent markers. When they scratch things with their claws, they're also leaving scent—cat paw pads have glands. When they present their rear end to you, it's not impolite; they're letting you smell their scent, which is a sign of trust.

Mantou is the boss, and her scent markers cover the entire home. Huajuan and Baozi only mark in their own territories. My living room is a shared area; all three cats mark there. My study is Mantou's territory; the other two rarely go in. The bedroom is Huajuan's territory; she spends all day lounging on the bed. The balcony is Baozi's territory; she likes watching out the window.

The three cats occasionally fight. I've observed the communication before fights many times. First they stare at each other, neither blinking. Ears flatten back, tails puff up. Low growling begins. If neither side backs down at this point, they'll start fighting.

Mantou, as the boss, basically never needs to fight—she just glares and the other two back off. Huajuan and Baozi have fought a few times, always started by Baozi. Stray cats are just more aggressive.

Common Misconceptions About Cat Communication

After twelve years of raising cats, I've found that many people have misconceptions about cat communication.