Research overview: the meow as a human-directed signal

Adult cats rarely meow at one another but meow frequently at people, leading to the hypothesis that the meow is largely a product of life with humans. This overview surveys evidence that domestic cats use meows mainly to communicate with humans and that feral or less socialized cats meow less, as well as comparisons suggesting domestic cats' meows are acoustically more pleasant or solicitous than those of their wildcat relatives. It examines how individual cats and owners may develop shared meow conventions through learning, and how the meow functions as a flexible attention-getting and request signal. The survey frames the meow as a communicative tool shaped by domestication and by the close, food-and-care-mediated relationship between cats and the people who respond to their calls.