Our cat Tonka will look at us and ask, ‘Prrrt?’ Sometimes he’ll declare ‘Prrrt.’
I haven’t figured out what he’s saying yet, but I’ll bet there have been studies on cat vocabulary and someone actually knows what ‘Prrrt’ means. Can I get a factual answer as to the Cat-to-English translation of ‘Prrrt’, both as a declaration and as a query?
It’s probably a ‘chirrup’ or ‘short meow’ which generally indicates a friendly greeting. There are a variety of mostly overlapping cat-human dictionaries on the web - here’s one.
“Hiya” for British cats.
“Howdy” for US cats.
“G’day” for Antipodean cats.
“Prrrt” is the cat equivalent of “dude.” It plays many linguistic roles.
Interesting. I’ll give it a read when I have more time.
Our Zippy has variations of “mrap”. A short “mrap mrap” means “night night” as she tries to herd us off to bed, and a long “mraap mraap” means breakfast. When I get home she tries to converse with me about her day with “mraaaaap”, waits for me to speak, then she says it slightly differently, and we continue until she’s done talking.
I think it means “April is the cruelest month.”
“Prrrt” usually means:
“It is impossible to separate a cube into two cubes, or a fourth power into two fourth powers, or in general, any power higher than the second, into two like powers. I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this, which I would tell you about, if my vocabulary wasn’t limited to variatons of ‘prrrt’”.
“Prrrt?” on the other hand, usually means: “Dude, where the hell is my tuna?”
Based on yesterday’s antics, ‘MEOW MEOW MEOW’ means ‘OMG you guys there’s a strange man mowing the lawn and I am VERY concerned about what is going on out there!’
And then ‘prrt’ means ‘oh, if you’re not bothered then I guess I won’t be either,’ swiftly followed by ‘mrrp?’ which means ‘I don’t suppose it’s dinner time yet?’
I only have one cat that demands food. His cry? “M’ahwwwwwwwwwwwww!” (FOOD! NOW!) if we’re awake. If not, he developed several methods of waking us up:
Typing on an old typewriter we have. Lifting and dropping handles. Chewing paper goods. Rubbing plastic bags.
Removing all of these kitty-tools, he’s now resorted to tipping over key items in the apartment. He doesn’t even bother with the meowing most of the time. Eli likes results.
The new kitten is too small to vocalize much.
My other cats have high, trilling voices.
Fred has a classic, lilting chirp: “M’r? M’r?” (If you aren’t too busy, would you mind petting me?)
Chloe, our demure bakeneko in the works, seduces my husband with: “Mrrrreeeeeow!” (I’m going to take over mommy’s position one day!)
And Jack, the tubby stray we took in, always sounds concerned. “Mrrrrooooh.” (I fear I might roll on to my back and stay there)
Lefty uses “OWwwwww, mrOWwwwww, mrOWwwwww, mrOWwwwww, OWWW OWW OWW OWW!” which seems to mean “a mild impulse has idly occurred to me, WHY HAVE YOU NOT PRE-EMPTIVELY FULFILLED IT, HUMAN?”
You’re sure he’s a cat and not a Chtorr, right?
nice.
Sput-phwut. 
While the “prrrt” can have different meanings as far as query or greeting, the underlying emotion for it is always affection. Cats use it with each other when greeting or playing. Cats use it with people as an overture to play, give or receive affectionate touch, and as a greeting. I’ve never heard a cat use it with another cat or person they don’t like or don’t have some sort of positive relationship with.
When Tonka prrrts a declaration at you, often it’s likely “Hi, you’re there. I like you,” and not much more. When he prrrts a question at you, he may be thinking it would be nice if you came over and gave him a scritch, or even that he goes to you and gets some scritches that way and is wondering if you would be fine with that. He’s thinking of those things as a momentary picture in his head and the declaration or query lasts about as long as the “prrrt.”
Temple Grandin has some interesting insights as to how animals think. She believes her form of autism is very similar to how animals think in pictures, because of course they’re not thinking verbal thoughts. If you get a chance to pick up one of her books, or even see the biopic movie, it’s an interesting way to get a peek into your pets head.
Hm. This seems most likely.
Sheba has a high-pitched EEEEOWWWW which means “Pay attention, slave!” (She’s a Siamese, if you please.)
Sonia Blue, however, has an “orca type” whine, “EAH EAH EAH.” Then she pokes you in the arm to say: “My dish is empty” or “I’d like FRESH water.” 
Prrrt seems to be rather a common cat phrase. I suspect it means, as others have said here, that he or she is glad to see you.
Of course, an alternative translation could be ‘why the heck did you name me Tonka’?
That’s the name he came with.
Aside from the extremes (hissing, growling, and purring), I’m not sure that any of our cats speak the same language. The sound that means “why aren’t you petting me?” from one cat may mean “touch me and lose a finger” from another.
Kzin, actually.
Anyone who has even the slightest interest in what goes on inside an animal’s head should read Temple Grandin’s books!