Do you know chirping is not just for birds?
Yes, Cats can use Cat Chirping to communicate with cat parents.
Many cat parents would find it surprising that besides hissing and meowing, cats can also chirp or trill!
If you are here, firstly, a chirping or twittering sound is a very normal noise a cat can make at any stage or time of its life. So there is nothing to be worried about if you are hearing it for the first time!
So, after you are clear about the fact that the chirping sound is completely normal for cats to make, let’s find the surprising reasons why cats chirp!
What Is Cat Chirping?
Cat chirp is also known as chirrup and is voiced short calls said to be mimicking a bird or rodent. “It sounds similar to a high-pitched phone ring, the tone often rises near the end or is reiterated” according to Dr. Susanne Schötz, a Cat behaviorist.
Cats might not be big fans of chatting with each other, but ever since they have were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago, they have understood that “chirping” is the best way they can talk to their cat parents.
And since humans and cats both depend on visual and vocal messages, they get along easily. While cat chirping can also be a way for your cat to let you know that she is happy, it can also have some other meaning.
What Do Cat Chirps Sound Like?
A soft series of chirps also called chattering is quite unlike your cat’s typical meowing. So, when a cat chirps, it sounds almost as if she is mimicking a bird. The sound seems to come from the back of their throat.
As reported by International Cat Care, there are mainly three types of cat communication: murmuring, meowing, and aggressive sounds. Chirping falls under the category of murmuring sounds. Later, ICC elaborates that such sounds are mostly formed with the mouth closed and are usually used for “greeting, attention, acknowledgment, and approval.”
Why Do Cats Chirp? 5 Reasons
Here are the 5 reasons why cats chirp, to quench your curiosity about, when and how will you get the chance to listen to this chirping of your cat which will be music to your ears!
1. When Cats Are Looking at Birds or Squirrels
These are the most accurate reasons why cats chirp when our little cute tigers are in the mode of hunting a bird, squirrel, or mouse they are very much likely to chirp!
Many cats will sit in the window most of the time and spy on birds mimicking them, but in reality, they are just planing to prey and hunt the bird down, you can see sudden alertness in their body language.
A cat will not only chirp when she sees birds or squirrels, but you can see the same behavior while she’s playing with cat interactive play toys that look exactly like prey!
2. When a Cat Is Excited and Happy
One of the reasons why cats chirp is due to excitement and happiness. You might witness this when you got a new cat toy, catnip mice toy, cat toy that enacts like prey, etc. all these events make any home cat super excited and happy, so she might just chirp to express it.
When the friendly cat starts chattering, notice how your cat reflects their chipper mood.
The moment you are about to give a treat to your cat. In the fraction of seconds in which you get up and go towards the kitchen, her excitement level would be on cloud 9. And she will chirp, purr, stand on her back legs just to make sure you give her the treat ASAP!
3. Wants Your Attention
Cats are mysterious in nature, and this is a fact that even people who don’t own cats must be knowing! They won’t get tired of surprising you with new discoveries, in the same way, one of the major reasons why cats chirp is also because they want you to pay attention to them!
Weird, right? A cat asking for attention? Yes, they are very much capable of doing so!
4. Your Cat Is Greeting You
One of the major reasons why cats engage in such kind of vocalization is, that they are using chirping behavior to transfer some kind of message!
We know that animals can’t communicate, but they excel in showing how they feel in various ways! In the same way, one of the reasons why cats chirp, is they are greeting you in their language.
When you enter the room in which they are already present, you might hear the chirping or trilling sound of your adorable pet, also the cat’s body language will tell that she wants to address you.
5. She’s Excited
When your cats tend to get super excited, she chirps like a bird, we know that sounds so hilarious, and it’s indeed is to even see that with your own eyes!
If your cat is excited, the reason could be anything. For example, if your cat watches kids playing around or cats toys around, seeing this can make your cat very excited, and that’s why she might just start making this unique type of cat sounds of chirping.
What to Do If You Want Your Cat to Chirp?
Readers, I know what got you to the bottom of our article, once you know the reasons why cats chirp it might just make you curious to experience this cat sound if you were not yet lucky to do so!
You can use three effective ways to hear the cat chirps, they are following:
- Cat toy or cat electronic toy: you can use such cat toys to raise the excitement level in the play sessions of your bored cat.
- Cat treats: no matter how many times a day you give your cat treats, the excitement of her is always going to stay the same, you can also use dry cat food/kitten food.
- Tease her: if you don’t want to go for options one and two, you can use a feather or any soft thing from which you can treat the feather as prey, it will automatically boost the excitement level of cats.
Conclusion
I hope after reading our article, you won’t get a mini heart attack if one day your cat decides to surprise you with its ability to chirp like birds! Or if you have already been there, you must be knowing all the possible reasons why cats chirp.
Don’t worry, your cat doesn’t have any medical issues due to which she is engaging in making cat chirping sounds. so next time your cat does it, let her do it, and you can always enjoy the view.
References
- Why do cats make those ‘chirping’ sounds? — The Dodo
- The cat’s meow: Understanding feline language — Humane Society
- CAT SOUNDS: CAT VOCALISATION TYPES — by Susanne Schötz