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For other uses, see Meow (disambiguation).
“Miaow” redirects here. For other uses, see Miaow (disambiguation).

Meow!
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A cat meowing.
A cat meowing

A meow or miaow is a cat vocalization. Meows may have a large range of sounds.[1] Adult cats rarely meow to each other, and so adult meowing to human beings is generally considered a post-domestication extension of meowing by kittens: a call for attention.[2]

Pre-domesticated felines are believed to have communicated with each other mainly via their sense of smell and marking behaviors which provide a superior means of communication with other cats, but as they were domesticated they learned to vocalize to humans. Their vocalizations can signal hunger, desire to go outside, or simple greetings.[3]

A mew is a high-pitched meow often produced by kittens. It is apparently used to solicit attention from the kitten’s mother, and adult cats may use it during periods of distress or sadness, or to signal submission.[1]

Background and biological details

Meowing fundamentally evolves as a learned behavior. Feral cats meow much less often than cats with owners. Over time, cats may learn to meow in response to human vocalizations, so that a back and forth resembling a conversation in all but content may take place.[3][2]

Etymology

The words used to represent meow globally are similar because cats meow the same way globally. However, differences between words emerge with time.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Schötz, Susanne; van de Weijer, Joost; Eklund, Robert (25 August 2017). Phonetic Characteristics of Domestic Cat Vocalisations (PDF). 1st International Workshop on Vocal Interactivity in-and-between Humans, Animals and Robots (PDF). pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-2-9562029-0-5.
  2. ^ a b Bradshaw, John W.S. (January 2016). “Sociality in cats: A comparative review”. Journal of Veterinary Behavior. 11: 113–124. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2015.09.004.
  3. ^ a b Whitcomb, Isobel (15 September 2022). “Why do cats meow?”. Live Science. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  4. ^ Flaksman, Maria; Kilpatrick, Alexander (2025). “Against the tide: How language-specificity of imitative words increases with time (as evidenced by Surprisal)”. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics. 22 (2): 78–93.
  • Wiktionary logo The dictionary definition of meow at Wiktionary
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