Why Do Cats Meow?

If you've ever lived with a vocal cat, you've almost certainly asked yourself this question. After all, who could resist wanting to know what your feline friend is thinking as she meows plaintively at your sleeping face early in the morning or weaves her way between your legs while crying herself hoarse?

Most of the typical in-the-wild feline sounds-like hissing, spitting, growling, and that hair-raising high-pitched screaming thing cats do when they're fighting and mating-are self-explanatory: They're angry, scared, or hoping to impress. But the plain-old "meow" can seem confusing to us humans.