Why Do Cats Bark?

Iused to love cats. In fact, when I was 16, I had one of our pet cats sleep beside me every night. However, my love for them eventually waned when I discovered that I'm allergic to cat dander.

I believe I inherited my interest on these feline creatures from my mom who has an unusual love for animals. Just to sidetrack a bit, when my mom was a teenager, she kept 500 chickens in their farm! (maybe that's also the reason why I love eating chicken!). Not only that. There was also a time that we had more than 10 dogs in our small home. Unfortunately, some of them died of old age and went to dog heaven LOL! Today, we only have four dogs left, along with two adult cats. As for myself, I've decided to keep fish (bettas in particular) as pet simply because they're easy to take care of and they don't have irritating dander that I have to deal with.

Going back to the subject, I decided to write this lens because the other night, I came across a video of a cat that I found quite unusual. And that's because the cat wasn't purring or meowing at all - it was barking! Now, the scene wasn't new to me since I hear our cats doing the same thing from time to time. It just kind of awakened my interest for these lovely creatures again. So I did some research on why cats bark, and this lens basically discusses what I've discovered.

Here's the video I was talking about. I just saw it on YouTube and would like to share it with you guys. I hope you'll enjoy it as I did. Have fun! Arf! Arf! I mean, Meow... =)

A Site That Discusses In Detail The Meanings Of Sounds Cats Make

According to the information I've gathered from several different sites, cats actually produce barking sounds when they are trying to lure a prey. Sometimes, they also produce chattering sounds to draw birds and rodents towards them for an easy ambush! Talk about cat hypnotism. There's also this site I found that discusses in detail the different kinds of sounds a cat can produce and what they actually mean.

For instance, when you hear your cat making a high pitched and thin "mew" sound, it is actually calling for help or is asking for attention. I bet you're also familiar with the "chirrup" sound your cat makes when it sees you coming. According to experts, this cross between a purr and a meow is actually a greeting sound that cats make when greeting their owners.

Cats also create other different sounds that may mean they're afraid or threatened (screaming or hissing sound), excited or frustrated (chattering sound), contented or relaxed (purring sound), or even inviting another cat to mate (a caterwaul).

This gives us the idea that while cats may lack the complex emotions that we human beings have, they do possess basic emotions that are displayed by the kind of sounds they produce. And one more thing, if your cat is glaring at you right now and doesn't seem to stop meowing, it simply means one thing - it's hungry. LOL!

HHere's another video of cat caught barking by its owner. It's funny how the cat stopped barking and started meowing again when he realized someone was watching him. LOL!

Asinging cat? This gets even weirder...

This may not be a video of a barking or a singing cat but it sure will get your attention. It's actually a video of a real-life Garfield! I know, I know, he's boring...LOL!