Table 1. Ethogram of the adult cat vocalization.
Vocalization | Definition | Context | Mouth | Spectrogram | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Caterwaul or mowl | Loud, drawn out whine, variable pitch. May be like the yowl | Male: reproductive female: warning | [3,5] | ||
Chatter | Cat rhythmically clashes the jaws, creating a low-amplitude, smacking sound. Mostly voiceless | When desiring prey which is out of reach: displacement | + | [3,5,8] | |
Chirp | A short, high-pitched call described as similar to a bird chirping. Sequence of chirps are labeled chirrups | Contact call: used to locate conspecifics; when something is desired | + | [3,5,8,53] | |
Female: produced in or in approach to the nest | |||||
Copulatory cry | Cry emitted by female cat during successful intromission. Low, barely audible growl | Reproductive (female) | + | [3,43] | |
Growl | A graded, low-pitched, throaty, rumbling noise | Aggressive: agonistic. Mainly used to signal danger or to warn or scare off an opponent | Slightly open or closed | [3,5,9,11,12,15] | |
Gurgle | Short, coherent, pulsed sound described as similar to a person gargling their throat. Largely atonal sounds of low intensity | Affiliative: friendly; females with kittens | [3,14] | ||
Hiss | A drawn-out, low-intensity hissing sound produced by rapid expulsion of air from the cat's mouth, usually during exhalation | Agonistic; involuntary reaction to when a cat is surprised by an apparent enemy | + | [3,5,15,29,35] | |
Howl | Tonal sounds, distinguished from yowls in that howls are typically shorter in duration | Agonistic threatening or defensive responses | + | [5,9] | |
Mew (meow, miaow) | The distinctive “meow” call that is typical of cat | Many (social, reproduction, contact call) | Open and closed gradually | [5,7,12,15,29,30,31,36,41,49] | |
Moan | Long, often slowly frequency-modulated vowel sounds or “o” or “u” | Aggressive: agonistic. Mainly used to signal danger or to warn or scare off an opponent | Open and closed gradually | [5,29] | |
Murmur | Short, soft-voiced trill or purr, sounding like [mhrn] or a creak | Friendly approach and play | − | [5,29] | |
Pain shriek | Short intense cries of tense vowels that are characterized by great strain at mouth and throat and the force of breath | Active fighting | + | [9] | |
Purr | Low, continuous rhythmical tone produced during respiration. Creates a murmuring sound. | Friendly: contentment. Signal: “I am not a threat” | − | [2,3,5,11,16,29,31,39,42,53] | |
Solicitation: human-cat interaction | |||||
Trills | Garnishments, produced with a soft voice like the purr | Greeting call | − | [44] | |
Tweedle | Prolonged chirp or tweet often with some voice modulation | When something is desired | + | [8] | |
Tweet | Soft weak chirps, often without any clear initial [Ɂ] and with varying vowel qualities, e.g. [wi] or [ɦɛu] | When something is desired | + | [8] | |
Snarl | Cat bares teeth while emitting a sound similar to a growl, but the sound is usually louder, shorter and higher in pitch than a growl. | Aggressive: agonistic | + | [3,9,29] | |
Squeak | Raspy nasal high-pitched mew-like call | Play and anticipation of feeding | + | [5,13] | |
Spit | Cat makes a sudden, short, explosive exhalation resulting in a burst of noise that is often accompanied by a violent movement | Aggressive | + | [3,5,9,11,29] | |
Yowl | A long, drawn-out vocalization of variable pitch, intensity, duration and tonality | Reproductive; mild threat | + | [2,3,5,9,29,31] |
CHA, chatter; CHI, chirps; TWD, tweedle; TWE, tweet.