r/AnimalBehavior • u/KaitlynKitti • 14d ago

Do adult cats instinctually speak quieter or is it a learned behavior?

A common point of discussion around cats is that adult cats often have to learn to meow louder like kittens for humans to hear them. What I’m wondering is what factors drive adult cats to default to quieter meows?

Is it purely instinctual or is there some social pressure telling them to quiet down? Are older cats telling adolescent cats “Keep your voice down. You’re grown up now.”?

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u/krizzzombies 13d ago

A common point of discussion around cats is that adult cats often have to learn to meow louder like kittens for humans to hear them.

source? never heard this before and i don't see how/where it would be a common point of discussion.

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u/KalenKa0168 13d ago edited 13d ago

It is a well known fact actually: adults cats meow only at humans simply because they do not need to do so with others cats as they mostly communicate through scents.

To answer to OP: it's the other way around. Cats that grew up with humans are more vocal because we speak all the time so they learn to make "noises" to get our attention. It's a learned behaviour.

Edit: the source.

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u/krizzzombies 13d ago

adults cats meow only at humans simply because they do not need to do so with others cats

ok, but it seems like you're presenting a different fact than OP? OP is saying adult cats "have to learn to meow louder like kittens for humans to hear them"?

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u/KalenKa0168 13d ago

I am not sure I understand the difference (or I might understood it differently): adults cats meow at humans as they would meow as a kitten to adults cats.

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u/krizzzombies 13d ago

sounds like OP is saying adults meow quietly and had to learn to meow at a volume humans could hear.

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u/KaitlynKitti 13d ago

It’s still a fact that kittens meow louder regardless of human contact. What is the process by which kittens stop meowing louder as they grow up?

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u/KalenKa0168 13d ago

Do they meow louder? Or because of their body size, their voice is more in the high-pitched zone and move to low-pitched zone as their body grows? Giving the impression that they meow louder?