[T]here’s not exactly a universal cat language when it comes to meows. Rather, as Bradshaw writes in his book, “a secret code of meows … develops between each cat and its owner, unique to that cat alone and meaning little to outsiders.” This was demonstrated in a 2003 study by Cornell researchers, documented in Bradshaw’s book, in which they recorded meows from 12 cats in five everyday scenarios. They then played those recordings to pet owners, and found that only the owners could correctly decipher the scenario in which the meow was recorded. So cat owners can tell with some accuracy what message their cat is trying to get across via its meows, whether it’s feed me or I’m bored or whatever else, but “each meow is an arbitrary, learned, attention-seeking sound rather than some universal cat-human ‘language,’” Bradshaw writes.
YOUR CAT LITERALLY INVENTED A LANGUAGE FROM SCRATCH TO TALK TO YOU
It’s true. Aster has a complex series of meows for different things. Most commonly used are “gimme a treat,” “play with me,” and “I want to go on the deck.”
He has another one for when I’m gone unexpectedly and he’s happy I’m back, and another that means “wake up!”
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