• Question: how do cat communicate with the other?

    Asked by jenniferlo to Scottish Wildcat on 21 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Scottish Wildcat

      Scottish Wildcat answered on 21 Nov 2017:


      Cats can communicate directly with each other by making sounds or by using body language and they can also communicate indirectly by scent-marking their territory. Cats make different sounds to communicate with other cats: Purring, for example, tells other cats they are happy but it can also tell other cats they are feeling ill. Snarling and hissing tells other cats to beware! Meow is a way of telling other cats that they are there and, sometimes, who is the boss. Cats also ‘chirp’ and ‘chatter when they see prey because they are excited. Scent is a very important way of communicating too. Cats mark their territory by rubbing scent glands against trees or rocks so that other cats passing by will know who is around even if they don’t see them. Although it might seem disgusting to us, cats go to the toilet on the boundary of their territory so that other cats know to keep away, unless they want to fight over the territory. Finally, when a female cat is ready to have kittens she gives off a scent that attracts the male cats from miles around and, usually, has kittens with the fittest male.

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