So afaik there’s no definitive answer as to why they do it. I heard it’s an attempt to lure prey closer but I find that not very convincing as I can’t believe it would ever actually work, especially since they make the same sound for mice, birds and even insects.
I’ve observed two aspects about it that I haven’t heard anywhere before: They only make the sound when the prey is out of reach and there’s a social aspect to it. I’ve tested both myself. If you want to you can test the social aspect too. Next time your cat is locked in on a bird outside the window just make a vaguely chitter-esque sound and there’s a good chance it will join in. I do it a lot since I’ve discovered it’s contagious for them. Really gets them riled up and ready for murder 😅
My best guess is when cats do this they’re basically stimming, similar to purring. They don’t have naturally great attention spans but they need to stay focused on the prey in case it moves within range. Producing a sound might help them stay in the zone. The fact that it can be triggered by making the same sound does puzzle me a little. Maybe it’s just a way for them to bond, sort of like howling in wolfs. Hunting is very important to them after all so actively stalking prey together could be a way to strenghten the relationship. I don’t think they do it as a hunting strategy though. Maybe I’m wrong but I’ve never seen house cats actually hunt together as a team.
Ok enough yapping out of me. What are your thoughts? Do you have theories of your own? And have you ever chittered together with your cat? 😄
I assumed it was communication between cats. Mine do it to eachother, usually when they get home. Sometimes they do it to me as well. They also do it if they see something out of the window though.
There were a couple books I read long ago, one of which I think was “Catwatching” by Desmond Morris. I can’t recall the other one. Both books indicated the chittering was a frustration sound.
Oh that’s interesting. I gotta look them up. I can definitely imagine frustration being a part of it but Idk if that’s all there’s to it. I mean this is highly anecdotal and subjective but my cat just seems excited more than frustrated when I’m next to her. Maybe they find joy in sharing the frustration 😅
Morris described the situation as frustration as in not being able to reach the pray as if saying “Ah heck” but there is no evidence to back up any of this anyway, pure speculation/imagination
Edit: still good book tho
I’m unsure as to why or how, but my cat has different chitters for each type of bird or creature that he’s watching. The volume is also dependent on the size of the creature, so sparrows get a decently quiet “ch-ch-ch” sounds, while crows get a louder more crow-like “cha” sound.
The morning that he was making really loud unusual chirping was the morning that there was a set of vultures on the neighbors roof that he was watching.
Usually, though, I can reasonably identify the bird even if I’m in a different room.
I thought I had read something about this, but I can’t find a source, so take this with some salt.
Even big cats chitter, and while sometimes there’s a social aspect where other cats are alerted to the hunt, not all big cats hunt in groups. So I think they chitter to warm their jaws up. Like streatching before exercising, or the jitters you get from adrenaline, the rapid movements ensure they can bite at maximum strength quickly, and without pulling a muscle.
Interestng theory. Chittering is also in ultrasound, so it could well be a sort of hunting call to fellow cats. However cats aren’t exactly social hunters. Also, it’s anecdotal, but due to the fact that mine sometimes just sits in a room and chitters at me ( sitting in another room ) while fixating me with its look when bored has me leaning towards the frustration hypothesis.
If cats were allistic, they’d be dogs
