# Do cats actually *talk* to each other?



## siamesecat (Jul 3, 2005)

I read somewhere that cats don't meow to other cats just to humans. My cats don't meow to each other but they seem to talk to each other. It sounds like yick yick yick, cackling. Hard to describe. They are short yack yacking girgling sounds. When they see each other from down the hall they do it as they walk toward one another. Or one will do it if he sees the other one. Then they sniff each other. They aren't fighting when they do this. It seems like some kind of communication. My in-laws cats don't do this. Does anyone else's cats do this kind of thing? My cats are siamese too - not sure if that matters.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Yes, cats do communicate with each other, but vocal communication is only a minor part of it. Most of their communication is through "body language" and scent deposits called "marking". A glance, a twitch of the ears and whiskers, and position of the tail, and one cat knows exactly what the other cat is saying.  

So, don't you wish you knew what your cats were saying? Here's some good books to get started speaking cat:

The Cat's Mind by Dr. Bruce Fogle
Communicating With Your Cat by J. Anne Helgren
Think Like a Cat by Pam Johnson-Bennett

Siamese are known for being extra vocal.


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## Superkitties (Jan 30, 2004)

That is sooo cute how you described it! Wish I could see it. My cats don't vocalize to each other, but Ginza will sometimes call for me from another room. We think he's a part-Siamese mix.


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## hyper_dermic (May 19, 2004)

My one cat has a specific voice he uses to call the other cats.....

Its a very high pitched chirping sort of sound.... mixed with high pitch meows... its different than the lower raspier voice he uses to communicate with us...

He will walk around the house calling for the other cats....
when they hear his call they come and meet him.
they also seem to talk when playfighting.

[hyp]


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## badet (Oct 7, 2005)

I think they do talk to each other because when i play fake meows on my computer Tuxie doesn't budge but when I play actual meows she come looking for the cat!


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## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

Absolutely, my cats talk to each other. They have noises that they only make for each other.

Pepper trills at Snickers whenever she sees him coming. Her sounds vary based on his body language -- sometimes it's very friendly, other times it's a more apprehensive sound, as if he's annoyed and she's saying "what did I do?" :lol: 

I get an occasional trill from her as a greeting, but it's not even close to what she does for Snickers.


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