Meow
Vocalization by cats
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.[citation needed] However, differences between words emerge with time.[4]
