Why do cats meow?

Kittens meow to get their mother’s attention, but adult cats rarely meow at each other; they rely on scent, body language, hisses and purrs instead. Domestic cats kept the meow into adulthood because it works on people. Studies of feral versus pet cats suggest house cats develop individual meows tuned to their owners, who learn to read them. Research by Nicholas Nicastro found that meows judged most pleasant tended to be shorter and higher-pitched. Some cats also produce a “solicitation purr” with a cry embedded in it at a frequency similar to a human baby’s cry, which people find hard to ignore.