Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and meet my five funny cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles.
Yesterday, my neighbor sent me a photo of Clutch peering over the fence from his custom-built catio (my cats are not spoiled at all!). The reason he could see the furry face in the dark was because Clutch was singing, something he did every day.
His vocal gymnastics were often followed by a meal, as he stretched his feet on the kitchen countertops, walking from a delicious feast, but he could often be heard yuddling in the morning, evening, or mid-day as he was patrolling his outer enclosure. . To this day, I haven’t worked out the purpose or intended audience of these performances, and I’m starting to believe that Clutch is singing for himself.
Clutch’s Catalog of Sounds (Pun Intended!)
Like most cats, Clutch uses a variety of sounds, including the classic ‘meow’ used to communicate with us. Aside from the occasional friendly chip or huff of irritation, he doesn’t seem to engage in much interaction between cats, generally preferring the company of dogs or people. He uses a meow for a general declaration of hunger, but there’s a more urgent, compulsive meow in store when he knows there’s chicken in the fridge. Singing is something that has evolved over time; he was not always a performer.
While no one would describe Clutch’s releases as classical music, I began to suspect that my use of the word ‘singing’ might not be going too far. There was another time the Clutch belt let out a banger, and that was me too.
Duet or Dissent?
I enjoy a good private performance, whether it’s in the shower cubicle or the kitchen, and I fancy myself moderately proficient at karaoke. For a long time, however, I thought Clutch strongly disagreed. No sooner had I finished the first few bars of a song than Clutch rushed to my side, grinning wistfully. At first I thought he was complaining, or worried that I was injured, but I’m starting to wonder if he’s not trying to join in, Kenny to my Dolly, Elton to my Kiki Dee, Bradley to my Lady Gaga…
But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.
Does Clutch really sing?
I try not to anthropomorphize too much. While it’s great to try to empathize with our pets and try to understand the whys and wherefores of their habits and behaviors, the truth is that they are motivated by different things than we are. However, by applying what we know about cat communication, I don’t think it’s too farfetched to categorize Clutch’s vocal stylings as singing, and here’s why.
From what we understand, the classic feline meow, a vocalization used only by domestic cats, evolved with their domestication. The sounds commonly exchanged between cats are usually a combination of yowls, purrs, chirps, growls, and hisses; they don’t tend to ‘meow’ at each other. From this, we believe that the meow is designed to communicate with us, their human servants, and while we desperately try to understand the meaning behind their ‘words,’ it’s more likely that they are just talking back to us if what are our words like theirs?
So if meowing is just a form of mimicry, did Clutch learn to sing from me? Part of me wants to believe this is the case, while another part of me hopes I can carry a tune better than her! Somehow, singing seemed to make him happy, so I was happy too.
We hope to have his debut album out by Christmas.
This article is part of a series by Dr. Karyn with her five funny cats.
