expert why cats behave the way they do, and today we're finding out about 'Cat Sounds'

我們將從專家口中得知喵星人的行為邏輯，而今日主題是「貓的聲音」

Well, of course all cats have their own personalities and I know with my

我們都知道喵星人的個性都獨樹一幟，

cats it's the sounds they make, which really helps define them from each other.

而每隻貓的聲音有助於牠們辨別彼此

Well, I think the most vocal one of all of my cats has to be big fluffy

我所有的貓裡面話最多的就屬毛茸茸的泰迪了

Teddy, he's such a loving cat that when he comes into the room

牠超級可愛，牠每次進房間的時候

he lets you know the great big chirp, his tail's in the air, he's happy and he loves

牠會大聲的唧唧叫一下讓你知道，牠的尾巴豎起顯示牠很開心

to purr and puggle and he will meow all all the time for food!

牠很愛用呼嚕、磨蹭和喵喵叫來向你討食物

In contrast to Teddy, I have Maisy, big Maisy, and she was a

和泰迪不同的是梅西，胖梅西，她曾經是流浪貓

rescue cat, so when she was a tiny kitten, she spent the first eight months on the

當她還是幼貓時曾在街上流浪八個月

streets, so she didn't really learn to meow, because she was living with other cats

她當時沒有學會如何喵喵叫，因為她和其他的貓生活在一起

and as a consequence, she doesn't really meow, so she's very quiet and she'll go

因此她不太會喵喵叫，她很安靜，會發出一些細碎的聲音

make a little tiny noise, instead of a meow but she's a very affectionate cat

而不是喵喵叫，但她是一隻很貼心的貓

she purrs for England, so she makes up for not having a voice by purring as

她用最大的呼嚕聲來彌補他寡言的個性

[Meoooooooow]

喵~~~~~

Meowing is not actually a natural behaviour for cats, out in the wild they wouldn't be

喵喵叫其實不是喵星人自然的行為

communicating with one another through vocal communication, and it's the same

在野外牠們並不會用聲音來溝通，野外的聚居地也是一樣

for feral colonies, when cats are communicating with each other they

當喵星人要與其他貓溝通時

actually prefer to use scent communication primarily, but they'll also

實際上牠們主要會偏好用嗅覺，但牠們也

rely on facial expression and body language as well. But, with our pet cats

會靠臉部表情和肢體語言。但我們的寵物貓

they tend to be quite chatty. What's really interesting is that this is a

通常會很多話，有趣的是

communication form that builds up over time with owners and their cats. The cat

這樣的溝通方式是建立在飼主和寵物貓之間

will develop specific meows depending on how their owner responds.

寵物貓因為主人的反應不同而發出特殊的喵叫

So if a cat does meow for example, to say open the door and the owner does this, then that

舉例來說，牠們如果說把門打開而主人照做了

cat will learn that that's going to get the response it wants, and it's more likely

喵星人就知道這招有用

to do that particular type of meow next time. This is very much a learnt behaviour

牠們下次很有可能用同樣的喵叫，這很像是一種和人類相處的學習行為

with people, so if you're a chatty owner you may well find you have a chatty cat.

所以如果你是很愛說話的飼主，你可能會發現你有一隻多話的貓

When a cat growls at you it's usually because they feel threatened in some way.

如果喵星人對著你嚎叫，通常是牠們感受到某種威脅

Essentially what the cat is saying is stay back, because I will strike or

這時貓可能在說，不要過來

attack if you come any closer. Growling is quite a distinct sound and

你再靠近我就要攻擊你了喔，嚎叫是非常特殊的聲音

other animals that are much larger use low-pitched sounds, when they're being

其他動物在感受到威脅時，大部分會使用低頻的聲音

threatening. So cats may be using the growl, to be more intimidating to other

所以貓使用嚎叫來威嚇其他同類，讓牠們不要靠近

cats in order to get them to back off. Cats are often heard growling around

在發現食物時常聽到貓咪的嚎叫聲

food, either to tell humans or other cats to stay away, this is a

目的是為了要人類或其他同類不要接近

perfectly natural behaviour because out in the wild, they're solitary animals

這是非常自然的行為，因為牠們在野外是獨生動物

and they wouldn't be sharing their food with others.

牠們並不會分享食物給同類

A cat may hiss for a variety of reasons, whether it's because they're

喵星人會發出嘶嘶聲有很多原因，有可能是因為牠並沒有充分的適應群體生活

poorly socialised or they've learned a negative association with something

或是牠在我們不知情的狀況下和其他事物產生負面的連結

that we are unaware of. Cats that are hissing or spitting are very likely to scratch

貓咪在嘶嘶聲時很有可能會抓咬攻擊

or bite and that's why it's very wise to leave them alone when they're showing

當牠們出現這樣的狀況時最好離他們遠一點

these behaviours. If it's uncharacteristic for your cat to hiss, then certainly the

如果你的貓發出嘶嘶聲是很不尋常的事

first thing we recommend, is getting the health checked by the vet, because it may

我們的建議是立刻帶她去給獸醫檢查

be they have an underlying medical problems such as being in pain for

因為牠有可能有潛在的醫療問題

example and it's crucial to get this ruled out first.

像是某身體部位很痛，把這個可能性去除是非常重要的

Purring is one of those sounds that we're all familiar, with generally

呼嚕聲我們是非常熟悉的

speaking it's when cats are being nice and content, this is a behaviour that

大部分的情況是喵星人感到滿足或示好發出的聲音

kittens can show just after they've been born, it's a form of communication with

這項行為是剛出生的幼貓能做的事，也是牠和母貓做的一種溝通方式

their mother that all as well. The mother will also purr back say that all is well

而母貓也會發出呼嚕聲告訴幼貓一切都很好

her end too. Cats will generally purr when they're stretched out in the sun

喵星人通常在陽光下伸展時還有趴在你的大腿上時會發出呼嚕聲

or lying on your lap. But there are other types of purr, there is another type of

但還有其他種呼嚕聲，其中一種叫做請求呼嚕聲

purr called the solicitation purr, this sounds more urgent to the owner and they

這種呼嚕聲聽起來較緊迫，通常是要求主人的注意或是討食

often asking for food or attention. Scientists have discovered that it has

科學家發現

an embedded frequency that sounds like a human cry, although purring is

這種呼嚕聲的頻率聽起來有點像人類的哭聲

usually a sign that a cat is content, they can also purr when they're in pain.

雖然呼嚕聲通常是喵星人滿足的象徵，但也有可能牠們受到苦痛

Now, if you're concerned look at the context of the cat, are they asleep

如果你在意的話，請看看貓咪的狀況

and feeling nice and relaxed? Or could there be other medical signs that

牠們是不是能熟睡而且感覺良好放鬆

there's an underlying medical problem?

或是有可能有一些生理警訊或醫療問題?

When I had finished my very first Simon's cat film, I started to think about the cat noises

當我完成第一隻賽門貓的影片，我開始想關於貓咪發出的聲音

he would make, I had a silent film, the cat was acting but he had no voice. First

我有一支無聲影片，片中貓咪並沒有發出聲音

of all I thought about putting real-life cat noises on top of the cartoon.

我一開始想要配真的貓咪的聲音

But I soon found out this didn't really work, they weren't really gelling

但我很快發現這行不通，牠們的聲音不是黏在一起的

together. So then I thought, well...l I've kept cats all my life I know the noises they

後來我就想，我養貓養了一輩子，我非常懂牠們什麼時候會發出什麼樣的聲音

would make him and how his mind is working and what noises he would make in

牠們當時在想什麼，通常在這樣的狀況下會發出什麼聲音

that situation. So then I thought I'd give it a go.

所以我決定放手去做

Meow

喵

Meow

喵

And, it works...

我成功了

So ever since then, I've recorded all the cat noises myself!

從那次開始，所有的貓叫聲我都自己錄