El meow It is one of the forms of communication characteristics of cats. This sound so typical of them has multiple variants, which will depend on what our cat wants to “tell us”. There will be more or less “talkative” cats and, among those most inclined to communicate in this way, we will have the opportunity to observe a wide repertoire of sounds.

It will be our job to learn to interpret them and, therefore, to communicate with our partner. In this article we will explain the meaning of some of the most common meows. Why does my cat mew when I pet it? Discover it below!

The meows of cats and their meaning

As we have said, the meow will be a form of communication very important for cats with more desire to relate to us, because this sound is more used in relationships with humans than with other cats. To answer the question of why a cat meows when it is caressed, we must first know the meanings of the meows most common

These are the following:

• Wave: It is the typical meow that our cat emits when we arrive at home or when he meets us. It will have a cheerful tone.
• Petition: it is an insistent and very clear meow. Especially if the cat wants to get something in a very intense way, for which he will use a raised tone and will not stop until he gets it or desists (which is usually rare!).
• Surprise: it is a brief meow, similar to a “scream”, that our cat will produce at the sight of something that interests and pleases, as it can be when we approach with your favorite food.
• Zeal: if we have a whole cat, that is, without sterilizing, when it enters heat, what can happen at any time of the year, it will emit meows in a very high tone, insistent and almost like a scream. With sterilization this behavior ends.
• Conversation: there are cats that especially like to interact with humans and are able to establish a “dialogue” with us, so that they howl in “response” to our comments, being able to follow the “conversation” for minutes.
• Call for attention: when our cat is bored or needs our contact, it can emit a soft meow, which perhaps evokes the one with which the cat communicates with its young.
• Location: also remembering the relationship of the mother with her offspring, our cat can meow, in a high tone, when it is locked up somewhere or even if it has lost sight of us.
• HelpSometimes a sick or wounded cat can request our attention with a meow meaning, which will vary depending on their condition, being able to acquire a more or less serious and deep tone.
• Dislike: when our cat is in a situation that bothers him, he will emit a meow of protest. It is the one we can hear when, for example, we lock it in the carrier to go to the veterinarian or, in some cases, when we leave it alone.

Stroking our cat

Seen the meanings of some of the most usual meows, let’s see what happens when we touch our cat to be able to know why it meows when we caress it. Some cats are reluctant to these contacts and therefore we must respect them and never force them. The pattern we can follow to pet a cat is as follows:

• Head: the cats accept, and the most affectionate ones ask, caresses on the head, towards the sides, between and behind the ears and the neck.
• Back: it is also an area that pleases them, especially towards its end, before the beginning of the queue. Some even react by moving the front legs as if they “amassed”, behavior that is reminiscent of their baby days, when they performed this action when suckling to stimulate milk output.
• Pins: Cats do not usually like to touch their feet or feet, they are very sensitive, so it’s better to avoid them.
• Belly: red alert zone, most cats do not admit to touching their bellies, as it is a very vulnerable part of their body. They can react by escaping or even grabbing the hand with their legs or mouth.

Taking into account the feline language and the aspects that we have explained, we will see the reasons why a cat meows when we caress it.

Meows and caresses

Keep in mind that the first and most important thing is meet our cat to understand the meaning of their meows, since each cat will develop its own language with us. So, why does my cat mew when I pet it, it’s usually due to what we can consider a “feedback“

The cat is comfortable with our caresses and reacts with meows of request to request that we continue. Sometimes they even emit a kind of beep, a sign of taste and happiness, in addition to the purr that will be typical in this situation. If we stop caressing it, it is likely to meow with more intensity to ask us to continue, while rubbing us with the head and the back against our hands or legs. In any case, although this is the most common behavior, cats they are not an exact science and for that reason we must observe our partner to determine the keys of his communication with us.

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