# why do cats do this chattering thing? (see video) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019 "2007-03-22T14:48:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/1 "2007-03-22T14:48:43Z")
why do cats do this? it seems like if there were hunting this would ruin the hunt. my cat does it when he hides behind flower pots while bird watching from indoors. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NYGsFG06ilo/hqdefault.jpg "Kitten vs Squirrel") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYGsFG06ilo) ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/2 "2007-03-22T15:14:41Z")
I know this is a small sample size but I’ve never had any of my outdoor cats do that, only the indoor ones. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/3 "2007-03-22T15:26:52Z")
Our cat does it all the time when looking at birds on our bird feeders. I love it, and the link…really funny stuff. From a Vet Site: > [@](#): > > Chatter > When cats stalk a prey or pretend they are stalking a prey, such > as watching a bird from a window perch, oftentimes you will hear > your kitty “chatter”. This is their way of trying to get it’s > prey to trust him or her and is used in an offensive manner. Cats > will chatter when they are not in pursuit of a prey. Cats have > been known to chatter back at their human when they are caught > off guard or disagree with the human’s tone of voice toward them. > If your cat gets in trouble, sometimes, he will chatter back at > you, as if in defense of themselves, saying, “Whatever it is, I > didn’t do it!” Chattering, therefore, can be used in offensive or > defensive situations. ---
**Author:** ![benny73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@benny73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benny73)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/4 "2007-03-22T15:28:01Z")
It’s excitement overload. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/5 "2007-03-22T15:35:13Z")
[QUOTE=benny73] It’s excitement overload. [/QUOTE] It may be that. It could also be frustration; they can see the prey, but they can’t. Quite. Reach it. Other theories suggest it’s emulating the way cats bite the back of the neck of their prey to kill it. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/6 "2007-03-22T15:46:44Z")
I’m very curious about this. Some of the cats I’ve lived with do it; some don’t. And it doesn’t depend on the cat being a “hunter” personality: the fuzzy black land shark who lives in my house right now doesn’t chatter at all, and I regularly find decapitated rodents in the yard. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/7 "2007-03-22T16:14:55Z")
Mine don’t do that, but we do get a throaty growl when they spot something outside that they can’t kill. ---
**Author:** ![AHoosierMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@AHoosierMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHoosierMama)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/8 "2007-03-22T17:35:41Z")
I’d heard that (can’t remember source - vet maybe?) it is what they’d be doing if they got a hold of the bird. A cat wants to first either bite the beak off, or decapitate the bird so it won’t get pecked. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/9 "2007-03-22T18:29:19Z")
My five year old female does this when looking out the window at birds. She’s an inside cat, and I always thought it was just frustration because she can’t get at the bird-burgers. (and she won’t eat chicken!) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/10 "2007-03-22T19:03:36Z")
A Vet on a radio call-in show once fielded this question, saying the cat, visually alerted by prey on the other side of the glass, but mysteriously unable to smell it, does this to get a better olfactory response. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/11 "2007-03-22T19:10:53Z")
It’s also called a “hunting call” and honestly we don’t know exactly why. It is possible that it is to call other cats to help- domestic cats do sometimes naturally group into mini- “prides”. > **[Excerpt from Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist, Wild Cats of the World](https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/779998.html)** > > An excerpt from Wild Cats of the World. Also available on web site: online catalogs, secure online ordering, excerpts from new books. Sign up for email notification of new releases in your field. “One of the most intriguing characteristics of domestic cat social organization is the fact that, like lions, these diminutive felids are able to live in social groups when conditions are right. Food seems to be the key factor favoring group living, and it is notable that all the documented incidences of domestic cats living in groups occur at clumped, abundant, artificial food sources such as dairy farms or garbage dumps.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/12 "2007-03-22T20:16:31Z")
> [@](#): > > It may be that. It could also be frustration; they can see the prey, but they can’t. Quite. Reach it. When our cats used to do this back at our old apartment, we called it the “frustrated noise”. They only did it when they couldn’t get at something. They never did it when play attacking inside. They never did it later, when we allowed them outside on walks, and they attacked (and sometimes killed and ate) prey. It always was associated with an inability to get at some nearby and (were it not for that damned window!) reachable target. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/13 "2007-03-23T01:17:57Z")
Ours does it. We thought it sounded funny and began using it as a “cat laugh” when speaking for the cat in a…er…cat voice. I’ve said too much. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/14 "2007-03-23T01:31:01Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] When our cats used to do this back at our old apartment, we called it the “frustrated noise”. They only did it when they couldn’t get at something. They never did it when play attacking inside. They never did it later, when we allowed them outside on walks, and they attacked (and sometimes killed and ate) prey. It always was associated with an inability to get at some nearby and (were it not for that damned window!) reachable target. [/QUOTE] Mine would do it when the bug they were trying to murder insisted on flying just out of reach. I think it’s kitty profanity, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/15 "2007-03-23T01:38:05Z")
May as well post this one… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MeE2E7nqe0w/hqdefault.jpg "Crazy Cat") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeE2E7nqe0w) ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/16 "2007-03-23T02:05:00Z")
Once in awhile a gecko will get in, and three of our four cats will do this. They’ll sit by the wall and stare at the lizard and make that sound. It’s comical. Then I have to catch the lizard and put it back outside so as to remove it from danger. That’s not so comical. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/17 "2007-03-23T02:43:29Z")
My cat would do this when the moth she was after got up near the ceiling. She would sit under it, tail lashing, trilling her hunting cry. I figured she was trying to call the moth down to her and it would never work, but what the heck? It did work. Eventually the moths flew straight toward her. (Oh boy, it’s almost moth season.) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/18 "2007-03-23T05:13:56Z")
[Bengals actually _talk_ when doing this!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTPrwWPeHOU) ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/19 "2007-03-23T05:21:15Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] May as well post this one… [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MeE2E7nqe0w/hqdefault.jpg "Crazy Cat") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeE2E7nqe0w) [/QUOTE] Gee, thanks for the nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019/20 "2007-03-23T12:50:03Z")
My cat does this, only: a) She vocalizes a lot more when she does it–it sounds like she’s chirping; and b) She mainly does it when I sneeze. Especially if she was sleeping and I sneeze. I always thought she was scolding me. Daniel [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-do-this-chattering-thing-see-video/397019.md?page=2)