I’m a guy and wondering if I should speak to my cat in falsetto or normal tones to get her attention. I realize cats respond to ultra high tones like mouse squeaks, etc. but how 'bout the human voice?
Along the same lines do cats respond more to women than men? Because of their higher voices, that is. I think men do respond more to a woman’s voice.
Finally, is there such a thing as a cat whistle? Like there are dog whistles?
BTW my cat dosen’t respond to much except the can opener. 
Longer vowels. Slightly higher pitch, but falsetto is not necessary. Longer, meowing vowels though.
I find myself talking in a slightly higher pitch, but not much. I can’t say I’ve ever noticed the longer vowels making a difference though. I think cats do learn to respond to different tones in your voice though. Mine know and react differently if they’re being scolded or called for food.
Why use your voice? Take the non-verbal approach and try the slow squint. Slowly squinting is a cat’s way of a friendly smile. If you squint at cats, and they like you, they’ll squint right back at you.
If they do, don’t start staring at them; a human stare is, to a cat, super intimidating.
Whenever I give my cats food on a platter, I make a sound, always the same sound. I use a high pitched mimimimi, as I’ve read somewhere that cats like the " i" sound. The cats learn to associate that sound with food, and will come running nine out of ten times when I make that sound.
The Blinking Game!!!
Watch cats with each other, this is a non-verbal communication that indicates they’re letting down a defense with each other, or in this case, with you.
One of my childhood cats and I made this quite the complicated game. She’d sit on my chest and we’d start by just staring at each other. Then I’d blink both eyes, and she’d blink both eyes. Then I’d blink one eye, and she’d blink just the one on the same side - my right, her left.
When I call the cats to eat, I yell “kitties!” in my best Julia Child. Gets 'em running every time.
Do you really want your cat to respond to you the same way it would respond to a mouse?
Obviously, not all men.
You have a normal cat.
Many of my cats have responded to low, soft sounds with blissful purring. They believe(d) I was purring to them, and purred back.
Another agreement with the eye contact and slow blinking. It’s on reason why lots of people who don’t like cats (perverts! weirdos!) will report that in homes they visit the cats seem attracted to them and will not go to the adoring cat-lovers. The cat-lovers can’t take their eys off the kitties, which is interpreted as stalking or aggression. OTOH, if you look away from a cat this may be interpreted as acceptance or trust.
Just don’t use that high screechy baby talk voice. You can actually watch my cat fill with hatred when someone uses that tone with her. It insults her confirmed Princess status to be talked down to. When she is being a bad kitty, I talk to her the same way (ironically) as I do with my 6th graders when they get overexcited. Short and to the point, not condescending, but authorotative. When she is being a good kitty, I talk softly and calmly…and she talks back.
What the others said. If your cat learns to associate particular sounds with pleasurable things, they’ll soon respond to the sound. When I first got my cats, I made a point of saying their names to them in all sorts of not scary tones when I petted them. Now they know their names. They also know the sound of the cat cookie jar being moved. They learned that one faster.
Oh, yeah. My late and dearly departed Rocky could hear the sound of a tuna fish can being opened from 3 rooms away. I figured it was the smell also, until we realized his behavior was the same if my husband said, “Hey, would you mind making me a tuna fish sandwich?”
I have 2 of the neighbor cats more or less trained to come a runnin’ for head scritches and belly rubs by means of a simple 3-step maneuver: 1) squat, 2) squint, 3) call kittykittykittykittykitty real fast.
My kitty (usually) comes when her name is called - reinforced by treats, of course. She also comes running when we say “chicken” in a particular tone. She’s very vocal and will “talk” to us when we talk to her. I don’t think that we use a different tone with her, but we must because if she’s in the room and my husband and I are talking to each other, she ignores us, but if we direct a comment at her, she will swish her tail or look at us.
If we make a low growling noise at her she will immediately stop whatever she’s doing (about to jump on the kitchen table, scratching the carpet, etc.). It’s a really effective way to control her behaviour, though it only works when we’re in the room! I believe that mother cats make the same type of noise to kittens when they are acting inappropriately.
i heard that cats have arpund 100 tones and dogs oround 12 
., so er… make sure you vary your vocabulary.
There’s a universal hard-wired “come here” that every mama cat uses to call kittens to nursing and fresh-caught food. Some call it a trill. You have to raise the pitch at the end of it, as if you were asking a question. “Mrrrow?” Then you look away from the cat. If you have a free hand, wiggle your fingers a little.
Thanks, all, lot’s of new things to try with kitty if she’ll let me. Although she usually just looks at me like I’m a complete idiot and walks away. 