| The dominance of male cats is decided by the | | | | create a range of sounds by passing air over |
| following; the bigger, stronger and younger | | | | their vocal chords, varying the extent to |
| cat wins his place in the hierarchy. He does | | | | which the mouth is open, and altering the |
| not always have to fight to work his way up | | | | muscle tension in the throat and lips. |
| the ladder, because older or weaker cats may | | | | |
| submit peacefully; nor does any one cat have | | | | Every owner will be able to distinguish |
| to fight every other cat in a group where the | | | | between, and to understand, various miaows, |
| hierarchy has been well established. | | | | which will be indistinguishable to another |
| | | | person. House-cats converse much more than |
| As he matures, a strong young cat may become | | | | feral cats because they have discovered that |
| dominant to one who was dominant to him | | | | language is important to us. For instance, |
| previously, therefore working his way up the | | | | most of us talk to our cats as we prepare |
| ladder. At the same time, an aging cat will | | | | their food, telling them not to be impatient |
| likewise work his way down. In any group of | | | | or greedy; if we open a door to let them into |
| feral cats, the most dominant will be a male. | | | | the house, we say hi, or when we complain |
| Dominance in wild-living female cats is | | | | about their wet feet on the carpet. |
| usually, though not always, linked to the | | | | |
| number of litters she has produced; the more | | | | In this way, cats associate language with |
| litters, the higher she stands in the | | | | action, and will then train us to understand |
| hierarchy. | | | | their language. A cat will miaow in a certain |
| | | | way and run to the door, which obviously |
| In the average group of house-cats, the | | | | means 'let me out'. When we go into the |
| balance of power may well be different. | | | | kitchen, a cat will give a quite different |
| Sometimes neutering can alter the hierarchy, | | | | miaow sound which means 'I am hungry'. The |
| or in any household the most dominant cat may | | | | owner is not the only one who can understand; |
| be a neutered male or female. Where there is | | | | if there are other cats in the home which |
| a mixture of neutered and entire cats, the | | | | hears the 'I am hungry' meow, they will rush |
| most dominant may still be the neuter cat; it | | | | to the kitchen also in the hope of being fed. |
| may be the one which has lived there the | | | | Their own 'I am hungry' meow may sound quite |
| longest, or perhaps a more assertive young | | | | different to the one they have responded to, |
| cat. | | | | but they understand it nevertheless, just as |
| | | | we do. We soon learn to distinguish between |
| Cats can make over a hundred different | | | | the different calls if we listen and watch |
| sounds, from the pleasant purr, to a wide | | | | our feline teachers. |
| variety of miaows, to the fierce growl. They | | | | |