Adult cats rarely meow to each other. Thus, an adult cat meowing to human beings is generally considered a post-domestication extension of meowing by kittens: a call for attention.
this is a stupid take especially considering that “tame” usually literally just means domesticated
Not or no longer wild; domesticated
adjective: 1. (of an animal) not dangerous or frightened of people; domesticated.
verb: domesticate (an animal).
reduced from a state of native wildness especially so as to be tractable and useful to humans : DOMESTICATED
in fact the first definition for “tame” in every dictionary i’ve looked up just has the word “domesticated” as the meaning for tame. “domesticate” and “tame” are also indirectly cognates, they both ultimately derive from PIE *dem(h₂), just “domesticate” is Latinate and “tame” is Germanic, but that’s more of a fun fact than a relevant indicator of meaning.
we selectively bred cats to fit our wants/needs, they live in our house and pester us to support their lifestyle, what about that isn’t domestication
My cats meow at each other sometimes, especially when surprised or trying to pick a fight, but it’s very different than how they meow at me. And they seem to favor non verbal cues with each other as well.
Domesticated cats meow much more than wild ones do, since they’ve learned to do it for us. Cat mothers chirp to their kittens. So while yes, they do, the tweet is right; cats meow to get our attention, and they meow at about the same frequency as babies.
The incorrect part about the tweet is that they do it to mimic human infants. They do not. They learned that humans love a little meow meow and it gets them attention, it’s confidential that it’s similar to babies
My friend had a cat whose meow sounded like an elderly pack-a-day smoker.
cats absolutely meow to other cats
From wikipedia
Cats are not domesticated though or not fully domesticated. They are tame.
this is a stupid take especially considering that “tame” usually literally just means domesticated
in fact the first definition for “tame” in every dictionary i’ve looked up just has the word “domesticated” as the meaning for tame. “domesticate” and “tame” are also indirectly cognates, they both ultimately derive from PIE *dem(h₂), just “domesticate” is Latinate and “tame” is Germanic, but that’s more of a fun fact than a relevant indicator of meaning.
we selectively bred cats to fit our wants/needs, they live in our house and pester us to support their lifestyle, what about that isn’t domestication
My cats meow at each other sometimes, especially when surprised or trying to pick a fight, but it’s very different than how they meow at me. And they seem to favor non verbal cues with each other as well.
Domesticated cats meow much more than wild ones do, since they’ve learned to do it for us. Cat mothers chirp to their kittens. So while yes, they do, the tweet is right; cats meow to get our attention, and they meow at about the same frequency as babies.
The incorrect part about the tweet is that they do it to mimic human infants. They do not. They learned that humans love a little meow meow and it gets them attention, it’s confidential that it’s similar to babies
My friend had a cat whose meow sounded like an elderly pack-a-day smoker.