New findings demonstrate that while the sounds cats produce when meowing differ according to their emotional state or needs, their purring retains a striking consistency and may operate as a marker for distinguishing individual animals. The outcomes of this work were published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.
Within this fresh project, researchers from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (Germany) and the University of Naples Federico II (Italy) analyzed recordings of feline vocalizations, attempting to grasp the mechanisms of interspecies communication.
They established that cats’ purring is far more stable compared to meowing and is capable of functioning as an “acoustic identifier,” facilitating the recognition of a specific cat.
To conduct their analysis, the specialists employed computer algorithms similar to those used for analyzing human speech. Their objective was to determine if a machine could match a recording to an animal, relying solely on acoustic characteristics.
The answer proved unambiguous: purring yielded more precise results than meowing.
“Human attention is primarily fixed on meowing because cats predominantly direct these sounds toward us,” explained Professor Danilo Russo from the University of Naples, one of the study’s authors. “However, when we closely examined the acoustic structure, it turned out that the steady, rhythmic purr is a more dependable feature for the unique identification of cats.”
The researchers discovered that every cat possesses its own unique manner of purring, which remains almost unchanged regardless of context. Purring most often sounds during moments of contentment—for example, when the animal is being petted or when it is calmly near a familiar person. This sound is also employed for communication between mother cats and their kittens in the early stages of life.
Meowing, conversely, displays an entirely different pattern. Cats utilized it for various purposes: to request food, gain attention, or express displeasure, and the sound itself significantly shifted depending on the circumstances.
This variability was confirmed during experimental observations. The same individual animal produced markedly different sounds when meowing at different points in time.
“For every cat in our investigation, we recorded a unique trait in its purr,” noted co-author Anja Schild from the Berlin Museum of Natural History. “Purring frequently accompanies placid states, such as caressing or close contact with someone the animal knows. It also serves for connection between mothers and their kittens soon after birth. Meowing, on the other hand, is recognized for its application flexibility.”
The scientists conducted a comparative assessment between domestic cats and five species of wild felines: the African wildcat, the European wildcat, the jungle cat, the cheetah, and the puma.
It was domestic cats that exhibited the greatest diversity in their meowing vocalizations.
“Coexistence with humans, whose daily routines, expectations, and reactions vary greatly, likely encouraged the development in cats of the ability to flexibly adjust their meows,” commented lead author Miviam Knörnschild from the Berlin Museum of Natural History. “The data we gathered supports the premise that meowing evolved into a highly effective survival tool in a human-dominated world.”
The study’s findings clearly illustrate how the domestication process transformed the modern cat into a skillful communicator.
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