Cat body language

Cats need to communicate with each other for bonding, and relating with each other; they need to collaborate, play, and share resources. When they communicate with people, they do so to get what they need or want, such as food, affection, or play.

Cats use a range of communication methods such as vocal, visual, tactile and olfactory. Cats mostly meow to communicate with people, rarely with other animals. As such, the cats' communication methods have been significantly affected by domestication. Up to 21 different cat vocalizations have been studied. It is now evident that domestic cats meow more than feral cats.

Vocal communication

Cat vocalizations have been categorized according to a range of characteristics. Originally suggested by Mildred Moelk, cat sounds are often divided into three main classes:
# sounds produced with the mouth closed (murmurs – purring, trilling)
# sounds produced when the mouth is first opened and then gradually closed (meowing, howling, yowling)
# sounds produced with the mouth held tensely open in the same position (growls, snarls, hisses, spits, chattering, and chirping).

In 1944, Moelk published the first phonetic study of cat sounds. She listened very carefully to her own cats and organized their sounds into 16 phonetic patterns divided into three main categories. She also used a phonetic alphabet to transcribe or write down the different sounds. She claimed that cats had six different forms of meows to represent friendliness, confidence, dissatisfaction, anger, fear and pain. Moelk classified eight other sounds involved in mating and fighting by listening to the animals in her yard and on the street.

Brown et al. categorized vocal responses of cats according to the behavioral context: during separation of kittens from mother cats, during food deprivation, during pain, prior to or during threat or attack behavior, as in disputes over territory or food, during a painful or acutely stressful experience, as in routine prophylactic injections and during kitten deprivation. Less commonly recorded calls from mature cats included purring, conspecific greeting calls or murmurs, extended vocal dialogues between cats in separate cages, "frustration" calls during training or extinction of conditioned responses.

Miller classified vocalizations into five categories according to the sound produced: the purr, chirr, call, meow and growl/snarl/hiss.

Owens et al. categorized cat vocalizations based on their acoustic structures. There are three categories: tonal sounds, pulse sounds, and broadband sounds. Tonal sounds are further categorized into groups of harmonically structured sounds or regular tonal sounds. Pulse vocalizations are separated into pulse bursts and hybrid pulse bursts with tonal endings. Broadband sounds are separated into four groups: non-tonal broadband sounds, broadband sounds with tonal beginnings, broadband sounds with short tonal elements, and broadband sounds with long tonal endings.

Purr

The purr is a continuous, soft, vibrating sound made in the throat by most species of felines. Domestic kittens can purr as early as two days of age. This tonal rumbling can characterize different personalities in domestic cats. Purring is often believed to indicate a positive emotional state, but cats sometimes purr when they are ill, tense, or experiencing traumatic or painful moments such as giving birth. A more expansive definition is "purring signals a friendly social mood, and it can be given as a signal to, say, a vet from an injured cat indicating the need for friendship, or as a signal to an owner, saying thank you for friendship given." The mechanism behind purring is not fully understood, but it is thought to be produced by the vibration of the animal’s vocal cords. When an animal purrs, its vocal cords vibrate at a low frequency, which creates a distinctive rumbling sound.

The mechanism of how cats purr is elusive. This is partly because cats do not have a unique anatomical feature that is clearly responsible for this vocalization. One hypothesis, supported by electromyographic studies, is that cats produce the purring noise by using the vocal folds and/or the muscles of the larynx to alternately dilate and constrict the glottis rapidly, causing air vibrations during inhalation and exhalation. Combined with the steady inhalation and exhalation as the cat breathes, a purring noise is produced with strong harmonics. Purring is sometimes accompanied by other sounds, though this varies between individuals. Some may only purr, while others emit low-level outbursts, sometimes called "lurps" or "yowps".

It was once believed that only the cats of the genus '' Felis'' could purr. However, cats of the genus ''Panthera'' (tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards) also produce sounds similar to purring, but only when exhaling. Cats may purr for a variety of reasons, including when they are hungry, happy, or anxious.

Meow

The most familiar sounds of adult cats are "meow" or "miaow" (pronounced ). The meow can be assertive, plaintive, friendly, bold, welcoming, attention-soliciting, demanding, or complaining. It can even be silent, where the cat opens its mouth but does not produce any sound.

A mew is a high-pitched meow that is often produced by domestic kittens. It is apparently used to solicit attention from their mother, but they are also used by adult cats. By around three to four weeks of age, kittens do not mew when at least one littermate is present, and at four to five months of age, kittens stop mewing altogether. Adult cats rarely meow to each other, and so adult meowing to human beings is likely to be a post-domestication extension of mewing by kittens.

Although videos which seemingly show cats speaking in human language are frequently shared on the internet, differences in cats' vocal tract prevent them from vocalising human language exactly. Instead, animal behaviour experts explain they are modifying the "meow" vocalisation to mimic certain human words. For example, a cat which frequently hears its owner say "no" may learn to use "mow" in a low tone.

Chirr

The chirr or chirrup sounds like a meow rolled on the tongue. It is commonly used by mother cats to call their kittens inside the nest. As such, kittens recognize their own mother's chirp, but they do not respond to the chirps of other mothers. It is also used by friendly cats when they realize that another cat or a human is approaching. Therefore, people can mimic the sound to reassure and greet pet cats.

Chirping and chattering

Cats sometimes make excited chirping or chattering noises when observing or stalking prey. These sounds range from quiet clicking sounds, to loud but sustained chirping mixed with an occasional meow.

Some researchers believe this chattering may also be an involuntary instinctual imitation of the moment a killing bite on the neck occurs. This is because it activates a vibration of the feline's jaws to allow the precision to slide between a prey's spine.

Call

The call is a loud, rhythmic sound, that is made with the mouth closed. It is primarily associated with female cats soliciting males, and sometimes occurs in males when fighting with each other. A ''caterwaul'' is the cry of a cat in heat (estrus).

Growl, snarl, hiss, and spit

The growl, snarl, and hiss are all sounds associated with either offensive or defensive aggression. They are usually accompanied by a postural display intended to have a visual effect on the perceived threat. The communication may be directed at cats as well as other species: the puffed-up hissing and spitting display of a cat toward an approaching dog is a well-known behavior. As such, cats hiss when they are startled, scared, angry, or in pain; also to scare off intruders into their territory. If the hiss and growl warning does not remove the threat, an attack may follow. Interestingly enough, kittens as young as two to three weeks will hiss and spit when first picked up by a human. Spitting is a shorter but louder and more emphatic version of hissing.

Howl, yowl, moan, and wail

These sounds are commonly used during threatening situations. Howls are more tonal, while moans are long and slowly modulated. On the other hand, anger wails are combined with growls, while yowls are similar to howls but longer.

Panting

Unlike dogs, panting is a rare occurrence in cats, except in warm weather environments, or after delivery. Some cats may pant in response to anxiety, fear or excitement. It can also be caused by play, exercise, or stress from stimuli, such as car rides. However, if panting is excessive or the cat appears in distress, it may be a symptom of a more serious condition, such as a nasal blockage, heartworm disease, head trauma, or drug poisoning. In many cases, feline panting, especially if accompanied by other symptoms, such as coughing or shallow breathing (dyspnea), is considered to be abnormal and is treated as a medical emergency. More so, panting in cat-moms after delivery is normal and not related to temperature, female cats may pant for several days up to weeks postpartum.

Ultrasonic

Very high frequency ("ultrasonic") response components have been observed in kitten vocalizations.

Visual communication

Cats use postures and movement to communicate a wide range of information. There are various responses such as when cats arch their backs, erect their hairs and adopt a sideward posture to communicate fear or aggression. Other visual communication can be a single behavioral change (as perceived by humans) such as slowly blinking to signal relaxation and comfort in their environment. As such, domestic cats frequently use visual communication with their eyes, ears, mouths, tails, coats and body postures. An interesting fact is that a cat's facial features change the most and are probably the best indicator of their communication.

Posture

A cat's posture communicates its emotions. As such, it is best to observe their natural behavior when they are alone, with humans, or with other animals. Their postures can be friendly or aggressive, depending on the situation. Some of the most basic and familiar cat postures include the following:

*Relaxed posture – The cat is seen lying on the side or sitting. Its breathing is slow to normal, with legs bent, or hind legs laid out or extended. The tail is loosely wrapped, extended, or held up. It also hangs down loosely when it is standing. When they are calm, they tend to stand relaxed with a still tail.
*Stretching posture – another posture that indicates that the cat is relaxed. When cats lie on their back with their bellies exposed, they are in a position of vulnerability. Therefore, this position may communicate a feeling of trust or comfort; however, they may also roll onto their backs to defend themselves with their claws, or to bask in areas of bright sunlight.
*Yawning posture – either by alone, or combined with a stretch: another posture of a relaxed cat. Having the mouth open and no teeth exposed indicates playfulness.
*Alert posture – The cat is lying on its belly, or it may be sitting; Its back is almost horizontal when standing and moving; Its breathing normal, with its legs bent or extended (when standing); Its tail is curved back or straight upwards, and there may be twitching while the tail is positioned downwards.
*Tense posture – The cat is lying on its belly, with the back of its body lower than its upper body (slinking) when standing or moving back; Its hind legs are bent and front legs are extended when standing. And the tail is close to the body, tensed or curled downwards; there can be twitching when the cat is standing up.
*Anxious/ovulating posture – The cat is lying on its belly, while the back of the body is more visibly lower than the front part when the cat is standing or moving. Its breathing may be fast, and its legs are tucked under its body. The tail is close to the body and maybe curled forward (or close to the body when standing), with the tip of the tail moving up and down (or side to side).
*Fearful posture – The cat is lying on its belly or crouching directly on top of its paws. Its entire body may be shaking and very near the ground when standing up; Breathing is also fast, with its legs bent near the surface, and its tail curled and very close to its body when standing on all fours. As such, a fearful and a defensive cat makes itself smaller, lowers itself toward the ground, arches its back and leans its body away from the threat rather than forward. Fighting usually occurs only when escape is impossible.
*Confident posture – The cat may walk around in a more comfortable manner with its tail up to the sky. Cats often walk through houses with their tails standing up high above them, making them look grander and more elegant.
*Terrified posture – The cat is crouched directly on top of its paws, with visible shaking seen in some parts of the body. Its tail is close to the body, and might be propped up, together with its hair on the back. The legs are very stiff or bent to increase their size. Typically, cats avoid contact when they feel threatened, although they can resort to varying degrees of aggression when they feel cornered, or when escape is impossible.
*Aggressive posture – The hind legs stiffen, the rump elevated, but the back stays flat; while tail hairs are erected. The nose is pushed forward and the ears are pulled back slightly. And because cats have both claws and teeth, they can easily cause injury if they become involved in a fight, so this posture is an attempt to elicit deference from a competitor without fighting. The aggressor may atte