Chatty cats

Cloball

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 October 2017
Messages
4,404
Visit site
Does anyone else have a chatty cat, he never used to make a sound at all and now he chirps and mewls and yowls at me every day. I have learnt his "feed me", "there's a bird outside" and his "come see my present" noises but most just baffle me! What is he trying to say? Why does he have so much to say now? Is it because I miaow back? Screenshot_20220630-132711-839.png
 

ycbm

Einstein would be proud of my Insanity...
Joined
30 January 2015
Messages
58,797
Visit site
Does anyone else have a chatty cat, he never used to make a sound at all and now he chirps and mewls and yowls at me every day. I have learnt his "feed me", "there's a bird outside" and his "come see my present" noises but most just baffle me! What is he trying to say? Why does he have so much to say now? Is it because I miaow back? View attachment 95143


Yes it's because we talk to them. I learnt a short time ago that apparently cats don't miaow to each other, only to humans! All mine have talked but the half Bengal would hold a complete conversation!
.
 

Burnttoast

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 March 2009
Messages
2,621
Visit site
One of ours has always been chatty and cuddly and will make her opinions known at all times. Another talks to herself (she is a bit runt of the litter and odd) - wanders around miaowing and you can hear her progress through the house, and speaks to us a lot as well. The last used to be completely silent (the most feral of them) but in the last year or two she's started miaowing at us (really loudly sometimes, always a surprise!) and if you listen really closely when she's having a real fuss she will purr, but you can hardly hear her. I'm always the most pleased about her vocalising because she was so scared and shut down when she moved in with us.

ETA and yes I do miaow back at them (and I cluck at the chooks as well, there's no helping me...)
 

smolmaus

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 December 2019
Messages
3,546
Location
Belfast
Visit site
Neither of ours started our chatty, other than the Feed Me Scream but they've both become more so.

I love the little chirps! There is "hello" and "please let me in", "there is a bug" and "I am going to jump up on you now, be prepared". My boy will sing a full song when he catches his toys and parades them round the house for applause and admiration, which I am less fond of at 5am.

There is a cute little app (Catify: Cat Translator) that we had some fun with. Accuracy is doubtful! ?
 

Sparkeyboy

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 March 2015
Messages
111
Location
North West
Visit site
Mine is also very chatty which I've never noticed before when I lived at home and we had 4 cats. She sits on the stairs to greet me when I come home from work and there's a full 5 minute conversation - she then goes upstairs back to bed. She does the same in the morning when I wake up and get ready, too.
 

pistolpete

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 July 2009
Messages
4,526
Visit site
My darling white and ginger Dave was so chatty! Always going on about something or other. Friend visited once and said when she first heard him. ‘Ooh how lovely. I’d love a talking cat!’ After she’d been with me a while she said. ‘Doesn’t it gets on your nerves a bit ?’
It never did he was awesome!
 

HashRouge

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 February 2009
Messages
9,254
Location
Manchester
Visit site
My parents' current boy has always been fairly chatty, but now that he's getting on a bit he's incredibly vocal. If he can't find anyone in the house he will wail at full volume until someone goes and collects him. Last time I was at my parents' house I could hear him wailing downstairs after we'd all gone to bed, and it turned out someone had left the living room light on and he was standing outside the door wailing to be let in. He clearly thought someone was in there and was ignoring him!
 

daydreamer

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 January 2006
Messages
1,351
Location
East Anglia
Visit site
Yes, one of ours is very noisy. He says hello every time he sees you, every time he comes in, when you call his name, when he wants anything at all. He meows but also makes weird chimp like noises. We do talk back to him a lot which I think encourages it. It is quite endearing usually but drives my OH mad when he is trying to do business calls!!
 

DirectorFury

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 February 2015
Messages
3,347
Visit site
My ginger and white boy is incredibly chatty, to the point where he quietly chunters away to himself while he’s doing important cat things around the house!

He greets you with a “mrrp” if you enter the room he’s in, or if he comes to where you are, and you generally get another “mrrp” as you leave. Or if you touch him, or talk to him, or acknowledge his existence in any way ?. He also has a special "oh no!" mrrp for if he's told off and he knows he was doing something he shouldn't have been, and a disgruntled "f you" mrrp if he's told off and he thinks he wasn't doing anything wrong.

Some days he can be quite whingy (he has a special whinge meow) and won’t shut up which gets a bit wearing.

He also does a special line in opera singing to his catnip Mousie at 3am, but only in the bath where the acoustics are the best.
 
Last edited:

Cloball

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 October 2017
Messages
4,404
Visit site
My parents' current boy has always been fairly chatty, but now that he's getting on a bit he's incredibly vocal. If he can't find anyone in the house he will wail at full volume until someone goes and collects him. Last time I was at my parents' house I could hear him wailing downstairs after we'd all gone to bed, and it turned out someone had left the living room light on and he was standing outside the door wailing to be let in. He clearly thought someone was in there and was ignoring him!
My mums cat did this she was getting old and deaf.
@pistolpete I was tempted.to shut M out after the night of the massacre but I suspect this would happen too
 

julesjoy

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 December 2013
Messages
1,426
Visit site
One of mine will shout from wherever he is in the house until someone answers, then he'll come and find you. The other have an 'oh bother it's bringing a present back quickly shut the door' noise.
 

chaps89

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 July 2009
Messages
8,520
Location
Surrey
Visit site
Frank is only vocal at feeding times, although he will sometimes talk back if you talk to him then.
Stanley growls if you do something he doesn’t like and occasionally does a little chirrupy sound if he’s having a jolly moment.
Generally they’re quite quiet and prefer to get our attention in other ways (poking with you a paw or grabbing your head to groom you)
 

Supertrooper

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2010
Messages
13,940
Visit site
Our ginge possibly had a wee bit of Siamese in him cause by god you knew everything about what he was up too ?? very loudly. He had an amazing range of chat but mostly swearing we think

Mog arrived a year ago terrified and didn’t utter a sound. He’s been abused at some point but is now 99.9% better and has got increasingly talkative over the last few months which is lovely to see ❤️❤️
 

HappyHollyDays

Slave to a house cat, 4 yard cats and 2 ponies
Joined
2 November 2013
Messages
13,796
Location
On the edge of the Cotswolds
Visit site
I have one who is deaf and can’t hear herself talking to me, another who is senile who is into howling because she is confused and then there is the fluffy blind one. We have full on conversations because he knows where I am I feel I talk out loud.
 
Last edited:

fetlock

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 August 2017
Messages
2,255
Visit site
Well, that's put me off Siamese cats for life - even though they are very beautiful.
I had a beloved Burmese cat for many years, who was very vocal, but nothing like that!

Mine is quite quiet as Siamese go, though in the carrier in the car on the way to the vets she leaves those two standing. Likewise, during her first season. Dear God, I couldn't get her to the vets quick enough to get her spayed.
 

Crazy_cat_lady

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 January 2012
Messages
7,544
Visit site
I love a chatty cat!

My parents dear little cat who's sadly no longer with us, we suspected was part Norwegian Forest cat and she was so chatty, chirping and prooking away, you could have conversations with her

My beloved Ragdoll is very vocal, she has a "sheepie snake" which is a sheepskin ball with tail filled with cat nip, and she carries it round, howling to tell you she's
Got it! She also chats and has a naughty noise if she's about to do something to annoy OH!
 

Crazy_cat_lady

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 January 2012
Messages
7,544
Visit site
Interesting about YBCM comment about talking to them as both my family and me always chat away to ours!

Like when Penny brings down her sheepie snake I ask her what she's got
 

Hackback

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 August 2019
Messages
844
Visit site
Love the Siameses! I had a half Siamese years ago and he was my favourite out of all the cats I've had. He inherited the voice and the people orientatedness, I never had a moment to myself ?
 

daffy44

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 August 2011
Messages
1,250
Location
Warwickshire
Visit site
I think chatty humans make chatty cats! All my cats have been chatty, but i do always talk to them a lot, I have always had rescue cats, so variety of breeds and all have become chatty as I talk to them. The most naturally chatty was a maine coon who arrived fully conversational and never stopped!
 

Britestar

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 March 2008
Messages
5,562
Location
upside down
Visit site
My tortie is chatty, tells you what's, she's being doing.
Currently looking after 2 bengals - one very chatty. Has to tell you he's going for a pee or poop. Then announces once he's done! Very funny. They are both gorgeous.
 

smolmaus

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 December 2019
Messages
3,546
Location
Belfast
Visit site
I am being screamed at as I type. She can chat away, vary her tone so she knows I know she's getting pissed off with me ignoring her but she cannot tell the time unfortunately. Its still 15 mins till lunch you little brat!

Shes clawing my arm now. Such great communication skills.
 

Bernster

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 August 2011
Messages
8,136
Location
London
Visit site
Omg those Siamese! ?. I feel like the smaller one is either trying to comfort the other one, or trying to shut it up! Me and my cat have whole conversations and I can make out a few of her sounds. I wonder if cats sound similar to their humans? As in pitch/tone? My cat does sound a bit like me!
 

DirectorFury

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 February 2015
Messages
3,347
Visit site
Ginger and white boy is currently rolling around on the other sofa making "mrrp" noises to himself, I'd love to know what he's trying to say.

Mine's a Siamese.

For anyone unfamiliar with the vocal ability of a Siamese cat, this will help (No, I am not Sharron)

Oh yes, the late (and much missed) elderly Siamese did a very unique line in cat noises; though she was never that bad!
The way the smaller one is sniffing the bigger one is exactly what Madge used to do when she was about to bite because she was annoyed, so I assume he's not too happy with the noise either :D.
 
Top