Study Shows Cats Vocalize More to Male Owners, Research from Türkiye

Conducted by the Department of Psychology at Bilkent University in collaboration with Ankara University, the research focused on the greeting behaviors of 31 cats in their home environments. To capture natural interactions, participants were asked to mount a camera on their bodies as they entered their homes, allowing researchers to observe how cats typically greet their owners during the first five minutes.

Researchers standardized their analysis by coding the first 100 seconds of each recorded video, identifying 22 distinct greeting behaviors. They also examined various factors that might influence feline behavior, including the gender of the cat and the owner, the number of cats in the household, whether the cats were adopted or purchased, and details on their breeds.

Assistant Professor Kaan Kerman, the project leader, reported a clear gender-based difference in vocalization: cats meowed an average of 4.3 times per 100 seconds when greeting male owners, compared to 1.8 times for female owners. Kerman suggested that male owners might have a harder time recognizing their cats’ needs, leading to increased vocalization from the cats to draw their attention. He clarified that this behavior was specifically related to greeting, as there was no correlation between the frequency of meowing and the cats moving towards food bowls.

Kerman emphasized that the study does not make broader conclusions about male behavior worldwide, as the results could be influenced by cultural factors specific to the research group.