10 Noises Your Cat Makes—And What They All Mean

By Rose Gould

When we think about noises that cats make, three different sounds generally come to mind: meows, purrs, and hisses. However, felines actually have a robust vocabulary of sounds they can make in order to communicate with each other and their humans—and each means something different.

“Some extra-chatty cats yowl as part of their everyday communication, but if your cat is yowling without precedent then [it could mean] they’re in distress,” notes Gary Richter, DVM, a veterinary health expert with Rover. “A low, drawn-out yowl can be a complaint. In older cats, [excessive] yowling is often a sign of cognitive disorder or dementia.” If your cat is a non-spayed or non-neutered cat, loud, long yowls can be part of mating behavior, he notes. If the vocalizing goes on for 24 to 36 hours, this could be one of the signs your “healthy” cat is actually sick…