Gryff has decided to start meowing

[Siwsan]

Not a lot, but far more than in the past. It started when I was making breakfast instead of giving him scritches. At first he was doing his usual cooing, but then he let out a full fledged meow. THAT got my attention. And now when that's what he wants, he meows.

Madoc still pretty much limits his meowing to meal time.

[Walleye]

1. My Patches has quite a vocabulary. He lets me know and he swears in kitty language, kitty cussing

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. They all have different vocal styles

My Vicky has a tiny voice but is quite talkative and will carry on a "conversation" if you are outside and talk to her. Winnie, OTOH, has a very loud meow that she uses infrequently and mostly around mealtime. It suggests some distant Siamese ancestry.

Many cats who are talked to a lot will answer, particularly those who are "only cats" in a one or two-person household. We recently had a cat in the stray jail named Ketchup. Ketchup had lived with a human who died suddenly and was not discovered for several days. By the time the human was discovered, Ketchup was alone and so terrified that the landlord was unable to catch her. He had to call Animal Control for a trap and she wound up with us. At first she was scared and hissed at everyone, but gradually she came around and began to "talk". Natalie, who runs the jail, said, "She's telling us about her ordeal," and I think she was. Then she got so she would answer you when you talked to her. When she went to adoptables, she didn't last a day. She was a sweet, personable calico lady and I hope her new human enjoys her as much as we did. Now we have an older guy called Peanut, whose elderly owner had to give him up when they went into care. Peanut is another talker, who will answer you whenever you speak to him. He is a lovely boy if rather, um, chonky.

[Siwsan]

3. My Sophie Stinky Toes and Boudicca were VERY talkative

I talk (and sing) to the boys, a lot. Sometimes Madoc will sometimes surprise me, especially when he's getting his chin scritched. Gryff goes into coo mode whenever he jumps up on my lap, or when I walk into the room he's in. It's really sweet.

[niyad]

4. I talk to my guy (an only) all the time. He purrs, occasionally chirrups, and a low

growl at certain outside noises. Very seldom an actual meow.

[wnylib]

7. My only gal is like that.

Very rarely meows, but does chirrup, coo, and purr.

I talk to her and she has learned that different human voice sounds have meanings after hearing them repeatedly associated with objects, food, or activity.

The first word she learned was hungry, quickly followed by the word treat. Since then, she has learned the word tuna, the names of her toys, and the words: play, here, good girl, bad girl, it's all right, relax, don't hurt me (when she gets too rough in her play). She picks up words through repetition and context.

She is the first cat that I've known to learn words so well. I am used to dogs learning words, but not cats.

[niyad]

8. "Cats understand everything we say. They just don't care." A poster I saw

a very long time ago.

[wnylib]

9. That's why the only words she

indicates that she understands are for things that matter to her - food, toys, and play.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

5. Othello is still like silent bob

But..he trills once in a blue moon and he MEOWed yesterday when we were in the bathroom. I nearly fell off the toilet!

He has only meowed twice in 5 years.

[Siwsan]

6. Trilling is the perfect description

And Gryff trills a LOT. Every time he sees me, or jumps up on my lap, or collapses in the hallway, in front of me - he's just full of trills.