New Delhi: Cats may be deliberately meowing to get their owners’ attention when they need help, according to a new study that found they vocalised more than four times as often when a human was present.
The study, published online in Animal Behaviour on 5 November, examined how 38 domestic cats reacted when presented with food they could smell but could not access.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil found that the cats were considerably more likely to meow when someone was available to help them, suggesting that their vocalisations serve a communicative purpose.
“These results are consistent with meowing playing a communicative role in cat-human interactions,” the researchers wrote in the paper.
How cats communicate with humans
Cats use several forms of communication, including body movements, facial expressions and vocalisations.
Although domestic cats frequently meow around humans, they do so much less often when interacting with other cats. Feral cats also tend to meow less frequently than their domesticated counterparts.
Researchers have long suspected that meowing helps cats communicate their needs to humans, including requesting food, attention or access to enclosed spaces.
To investigate this, Naila Fukimoto and her colleagues recruited 38 pet cats whose owners reported that they frequently meowed when food was involved.
Each cat was presented with a favourite treat inside a small plastic container. The animals could see and smell the food through openings in the box but could not retrieve it.
The researchers then observed each cat for one minute under two conditions: with an attentive human present and with nobody in the room.
Also read: 6 researchers win Infosys Prize 2026. From climate change economist to quantum physicist
Cats meow more when humans are present
The cats produced a total of 86 meows when a human was present, compared with just 20 when they were alone.
Statistical analysis indicated that the odds of meowing were more than 16 times higher when a person was in the room.
The researchers also observed that the cats frequently looked towards the human while meowing, sometimes alternating their gaze between the person and the food container.
When left alone, they spent more time standing still and looking towards the door.
The researchers said these behaviours suggested that cats adjusted their vocalisations depending on whether someone was available to respond.
They interpreted the findings as evidence of “recipient-specific signaling”, where an animal directs its communication towards a particular individual.
Does this mean cats deliberately ask for help?
The researchers cautioned that their findings did not establish whether cats consciously understood that humans could solve their problems.
The study also involved a relatively small sample of cats already known to be vocal around food, meaning the results might differ among less vocal cats.
Further research could examine whether cats produce different types of meows depending on what they want.
Nevertheless, the findings suggest that meowing serves a social function in interactions between cats and humans, rather than simply expressing frustration or discomfort. Which is an important progression in human-animal communication.
(Edited by Janaki Pande)