# Why do my cats chitter at pigeons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903 "2016-03-13T21:01:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/21 "2016-03-14T23:33:54Z")
> [@lilihob](#): > > My ex feral cat, who is “Hunter extraordinaire” has never made this sound in the 5 years he has lived with us. Our 11 year old pampered house puss, spends hours sitting in the window, chittering at the birds outside. > No cite, but I think that it’s a kitten behaviour that the real hunters grow out of, (counter-productive), and house cats still do. This makes perfect sense since we have deliberately bred cats for neoteny, to keep kitten like qualities. [http://www.metaphoricalplatypus.com/articles/animals/cats/cat-facts/neoteny-why-adult-cats-retain-kitten-qualities/](http://www.metaphoricalplatypus.com/articles/animals/cats/cat-facts/neoteny-why-adult-cats-retain-kitten-qualities/) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/22 "2016-03-15T20:40:43Z")
We’ve had many cats over the years and it’s only the newest one that we’ve gotten the “chirping” sound. She watches the squirrels on the deck or the birds at the feeder and chirps at them. I think she started it from trying to imitate the squirrels. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/23 "2016-03-15T20:50:52Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > We’ve had many cats over the years and it’s only the newest one that we’ve gotten the “chirping” sound. She watches the squirrels on the deck or the birds at the feeder and chirps at them. I think she started it from trying to imitate the squirrels. Heh, you may find this theory interesting: > **[Why Do Cats Chirp? 3 Reasons for This Behavior - Catster](https://www.catster.com/cat-behavior/reasons-why-cats-chirp/)** > > Find out why cats make their adorable chirping noise so you can better communicate with your cat when this noise occurs. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/24 "2016-03-16T22:27:06Z")
I don’t entirely buy the “experienced hunters don’t chatter” idea. My previous (and final) cat Freckles was an experienced and talented hunter, and he made “his bird noise” whenever he saw birds from indoors. He even did it when the birds could hear him through a screen. The birds, by the way, were not spooked when they heard the noise. Freckles and I had to part company when I figured out he was an asthma trigger for me. I put out his resumé, and he got a new job a few days later. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/25 "2016-03-17T02:17:54Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > [Here is a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66iN3vzM98U) of a cat chattering. [URL=“[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Z6Nz8FuPc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Z6Nz8FuPc)”]… That’s what the Piper cats sound like. The odd thing is they’ve just started doing it in the past two months. We’ve had Piper Cat Mark II for two years now, and Piper Cat Mark III for just under a year, and neither of them made this noise until about two months ago. They knew the pigeons were there, because they’ve watched them out of the window, but suddenly, “chitter, chitter, chitter.” Piper Cat Mark I has never chittered. It seems to be beneath his dignity. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/26 "2016-03-18T02:01:29Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Piper Cat Mark I has never chittered. It seems to be beneath his dignity. That is the only one that is a true cat. Beware, the others are Pod People (Cats) or [Space Aliens.](http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349413107l/848023.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/27 "2016-03-18T03:12:38Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Beware, the others are Pod People (Cats) or [Space Aliens.](http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349413107l/848023.jpg) Eh, not necessarily a [bad thing](http://www.amazon.com/The-Green-Millennium-Fritz-Leiber/dp/1434497372). ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/28 "2016-03-19T05:17:42Z")
My Himalayan dust mop used to chitter at birds, chipmunks, and squirrels out on the deck, behind the glass door. Now he is so bored, he sits out there dozing in the sun, with wildlife a yard away behind him doing their thing, everyone at peace. He may surprise me someday but he’s not much of a cat. More of a catlike creature. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/29 "2016-03-19T06:18:20Z")
Why do humans ask silly questions such as “Why do Cats…”? By now, you’d think they would have figured out that there will never be answers to these silly questions. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/30 "2016-03-19T13:50:55Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Why do humans ask silly questions such as “Why do Cats…”? > > By now, you’d think they would have figured out that there will never be answers to these silly questions. The discussion makes for pleasant conversation. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/31 "2016-03-19T19:35:52Z")
I prefer to simply chitter at the little birdies… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/32 "2016-03-19T20:24:15Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > I prefer to simply chitter at the little birdies… Quality time spent with our cats. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/33 "2016-03-19T20:43:03Z")
I chitter at my cats so they know what it’s like to be the prey. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/34 "2016-03-20T00:54:46Z")
Do they react? ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/35 "2016-03-20T02:34:22Z")
Are we taking about a European or African sailboat? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/36 "2016-03-20T02:36:46Z")
Or cat does that when a butterfly is in the vicinity. He then proceeds to murder the hell out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/37 "2016-03-21T04:10:21Z")
My cat was an abandoned rescue who I got at approx. 9 months. She’s 7 now, and she does this whenever watching birds out the balcony sliding door of my apartment. I like to think that she’s simply talking smack to the birds. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/38 "2016-03-21T06:32:01Z")
It’s a nefarious plot. They’re communicating via a secret language. You are not meant to understand. ---
**Author:** ![lilihob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a9adbd/32.png) [@lilihob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilihob)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/39 "2016-03-21T14:36:33Z")
> [@Hocus\_Pocus](#): > > My cat was an abandoned rescue who I got at approx. 9 months. She’s 7 now, and she does this whenever watching birds out the balcony sliding door of my apartment. > > I like to think that she’s simply talking smack to the birds. I like this theory, and I am going to keep it. I will believe that my ever so elegant, elderly lady cat has a dirty mouth, and is choosing to be, oh so rude, to the birds, and my rough and tough, ex feral is above all that. So that next time she’s chittering in the window, and he watches, then walks away, I can believe that he’s muttering to himself, “she’s no lady”. It will make me happy. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903/40 "2016-03-21T15:25:42Z")
My cat once made a single falling tone at a robin in my backyard. A quick Googling doesn’t return any discussion about prey noises other than the “chatter.” It was a loud “BEEEEEOOOOOOooooooo” Cats is weird. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-cats-chitter-at-pigeons/748903.md?page=1)