There are claims that “cats only meow with humans. With all other creatures, including other cats, they use other forms of communication.” In other words, do cats only meow at humans? The easiest way to validate this is by asking cat lovers or cat owners because they are most aware of the behaviors of their pet. Surprisingly, most of the answers I have received and read assert no truth to this claim. Cat owners have observed kittens meowing at their cat parents. This observation supports theories on cat communication.
According to Wikipedia.com, cats communicate with humans and other animals through various communication methods like postures, auditory signals, and body language, which are all influenced by the domestication process. The site also mentioned the vocalization methods also called the auditory signals of cats such as the meowing, purring, growling, and hissing.
However, meowing is a signal of communication of cats which is frequently observed by humans. Postures and body language suggest a cat’s normal behaviors, as well as the growling and hissing signals which denote aggression or defense mechanisms. But humans seem to be confused with why do cats meow and purr, and what is the difference between the two. Purring, according to Cornell University Animal Behavior Clinic Director Katharine Houpt, is “a vibration of the larynx that resonates down to the windpipe and into the diaphragm,” which signifies happiness or sometimes pain and trauma. On the other hand, meowing is a more versatile communication method that usually signifies demand and comfort.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or ASPCA, a New York-based pet care organization, believes that cats meow to greet people, to solicit attention, to ask for food, to ask to be let in or out, and to find a mate. Based on their research and observation, kittens normally meow at their parents to demand food and so this habit is an extension of their intuitive behavior.
Adult cats no longer exhibit this habit often to other feline members due to their learned dependability on humans, but they still manifest such behavior due to individual human-cat relationships. Dr. Dennis Turner, president of the International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations and director of the Institute for Applied Ethology and Animal Psychology in Switzerland, has revealed based on his studies and research on feline-human bonds that the behaviors of cats fundamentally depend on how they are treated and in return cats perceive us humans as true social partners. If we show them affection, they return the affection as well.
Felines are smart animals. Their meowing behavior to humans suggest their learned adaptation to dramatically exaggerate their meowing when they have proven it to be effective in catching attention from humans. So, to conclude, cats meow at fellow animals but limit this behavior as they age. However, they meow at humans regardless of age because of their demands and needs and relationship with us.