The two cats pictured above are my daughter Claire’s cats (Christopher & Hunny). They are siblings and seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s company, but they don’t meow at each other. They only meow at people. It turns out that this is totally normal: Cornell University researchers have found that adult cats rarely meow at each other. While kittens meow to communicate with their mothers, grown cats save their vocal performances almost exclusively for humans. They’ve developed a specialized form of communication just for us.

Cats are remarkably adept at tailoring their vocalizations to achieve specific goals. That urgent morning meow? It’s carefully crafted to get you out of bed and heading toward the food bowl. The gentle greeting when you return home? A calculated gesture to earn some quality petting time.

Just like humans develop different speaking patterns, each cat creates its own unique “dialect” with its owner. Your cat’s distinctive vocalizations are part of a personalized communication system developed through years of interaction with you; through trial and error, they figure out which vocalizations work to get you to do what they want. That’s why some cats mimic what human baby crying sounds like. Researchers have found cats sometimes combine a purr with a high-pitched cry that mimics the frequency of a human infant’s cry. This specialized vocalization taps into our innate nurturing instincts, making their requests harder to ignore. It’s a sophisticated strategy that proves cats are far cleverer than they let on.

While most meows are requests for food, attention, or access to the wrong side of a closed door, sometimes cats vocalize for other reasons. Changes in meowing patterns can indicate stress, health issues, or environmental concerns. It’s worth paying attention to significant changes in your cat’s vocal habits.

Understanding why cats meow reveals the remarkable complexity of human-pet relationships. These sophisticated communicators have spent thousands of years perfecting their ability to connect with us. So the next time your cat meows, remember – you’re experiencing one of nature’s most refined interspecies communication systems in action.