Are cats sexist? An intriguing study led by Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas from Ankara University in Turkiye last December discovered that cats are chattier with men than women.
When men come home after being out, cats gave 4.3 meows, chirps, or loud purrs in the first 100 seconds compared to just 1.8 sounds when greeting women.
The authors suggested that men may talk to cats less than women do. This might make cats meow more to get men's attention.
Fascinated by this, we examined how Target, Tic Tac, and Inkie talk to us.
When Tom goes out, he does interesting things like gardening or shopping. So when he returns, the cats rush to the door meowing with excitement.
If he’s been working in the garden, there are exciting smells that elicited breathy purrs and wide eyes. If he finds a feather, the cats declare a red-letter day, chirping thanks and squealing with glee as they play.
Shopping is equally exciting. Inkie chirps and jumps up on the counter. Tic Tac circles his feet, meowing loudly to say, “let me see!” They’re not after snacks, not even the raw meat. They’re simply excited by anything new.
In fact, Inkie doesn’t like human food and the other two reserve their begging at dinner. Target insists on checking plates, and will meow loudly if there’s meat or chicken. It’s an imperious order to paw it over.
Tic Tac doesn’t meow. Our princess sits next to Target, knowing she’ll share. They come to me first, and then hit Tom up for seconds. Yes, our furries are spoiled!
Supportive company
When it comes to emotional support, the cats have their own styles too.
I’ve been housebound since last September with a bad back. When I was in pain and stuck upstairs, the cats rallied round and nursed me. They softened their voices, purring instead of meowing and nudged me very gently.
Coming back from a hospital visit three weeks ago, the cats dashed downstairs to greet me – only to rush off again and peek through the banisters at the ambulance crew.
The boys stayed covert, but Tic Tac decided to return. We want her to be social, so we ask visitors to give her a treat. In anticipation, Tic Tac danced in, enjoying their obvious admiration of her pretty looks with loud purrs.
But when she meowed a cheerful hello at me and came to nudge, her nose twitched. Suddenly, her tail went down. When she sniffed again, her blue eyes narrowed, and her tail bushed slightly. I smelled disturbingly of medicines. Our princess knows what that means: vets.
The cheerful meows and chirps vanished. Tic Tac eyed the crew suspiciously. Being on the job, they left promptly. Tic Tac’s disapproval deepened. No treats and a suspicious smell. Definitely vets.
Deeply concerned, the cats gathered round me, purring in comfort and rubbing their cheeks against me. There were no meows and no loud voices – until I stood up.Seeing me upright and moving, all three declared a miraculous recovery and demanded celebration treats.
They got it too. Creamy treats for Tic Tac and Target, and tuna with shrimp for Inkie.
But Tic Tac has not forgotten. She is polite and greets visitors, but the welcome meow has been suspended. Guests have to prove their intention before they get the friendly princess treatment.
Target used to be social too. Today he only greets super special friends. And when he wants something, he doesn’t come to tell us; he just yells.Yesterday, he sat in front of his bowl and squalled for tuna. He’d already had breakfast but wanted seconds.And two nights ago, when Target went to bed early, my bedtime was moved too because he sat on my pillow and caterwauled.
Adaptive communication
In contrast, Inkie sticks to nudges and purrs. We’re fine with that, except that sometimes it would be useful if he’d speak up.
We accidentally locked him in the glass extension last month. He slid in there quietly when Tom went out, and rather than meow at the window, he just sat and waited in the dark.
The one time Inkie meows is when he’s about to jump into my lap in the office. A sensible cat would walk up to my side. Inkie walks behind my chair and sails up to my shoulder.
Our Mission Impossible wannabe used to do it silently, but having me start up in shock and squealing as it hurts my back, Inkie has taken the proactive decision to announce his presence with a chirp first so I can brace myself.
I’d say our cats adapt their communication to the situation. They’re emotionally aware and not sexist.
Except, Tic Tac does have a special trick. When she wants something, our princess tucks her paws together, turns huge blue eyes on us, and squeaks like a kitten.
I know feminine wiles when I see them but Tom is a complete pushover. One meow and a 1.87m of manliness crumbles like the Walls of Jericho.
I wonder if Turkish cats do that?
