Hi,I posted about Morgan before. Now its Dash this time. When he is in the Window, sometimes he'll start making broken meows and his jaw will start moving clicking together. his pupils get tiny as well. But when we pick him up, it stops. is this normal? He sounds like a chipmunk/squirrel,and it is kinda scary to me, since other cats I've had never did that before. Then again, all those where female.
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Chattering like a squirrel!
- Thread starter eudevie
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Its normal
Its what cats do when they see "prey". Im not sure exactly why, though.
It's entirely normal. Many cats will chatter at birds or squirrels they see outside. Both mine do it.
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mine sits in the windows and chatters. isn't a hoot?
The first time I heard Marcie chattering, I almost called the vet about it. Luckily I had read about it here the day before and it just took me a minute to realize that she was chattering. She only does that for flies....
Palekana does that when she's birdwatching at the patio door. She gets so excited.
Polly does it when she sees birds outside. She sure loves birds. Sometimes I think she's trying to sound like a bird so they'll come close, but it's probably just an excited response. It's kind of like if you saw a giant chocolate bar!
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*phew* when my mom first heard him chattering, she thought it was because he was cold (the window had ice sealing it from opening it) or he got his toungue stuck on the window.
Then today he was looking at the small field with a buncha birds in it. he went nuts.
LOL, apparently cats do this all the time..weird thing is Trout doesn't do it
When a cat sees prey, it will practice the 'killing bite' - they move their jaw in a fast opening and closing motion to disable their prey by cutting through the spinal cord. This sounds like chattering teeth to us, as their teeth move against each other. When they are just watching birds or other prey-size creatures, they do it out of excitement, as if the killing bite is running through their mind while they watch!
Now the wierdest noise my cat ever made was a high pitched 'weeeeeeee' as he ran around a corner, it sounded like a car with squealing brakes. If anyone can offer a good reason for that noise I will be really impressed!
Now the wierdest noise my cat ever made was a high pitched 'weeeeeeee' as he ran around a corner, it sounded like a car with squealing brakes. If anyone can offer a good reason for that noise I will be really impressed!
There was a thread about this awhile ago, with a link to a site explaining it.
Apparently they are doing their "kill bite"
http://www.pawsonline.info/teeth_chattering.htm
I also found this explanation on another site which refutes that:
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/whydo.html
Why do cats chatter when seeing a bird?
The odd behavior that resembles teeth-chattering is usually produced when a cat sees something he wants but can't get to it. Though his mouth is slightly open (the lips pulled back and the jaw opening and closing rapidly), it's not a form of communication. The noise made is a combination of lip-smacking and teeth-chattering as he gets more excited. He may emit small bleating noises like a baby goat. So far, none of this is believed to have any function.
Apparently they are doing their "kill bite"
http://www.pawsonline.info/teeth_chattering.htm
I also found this explanation on another site which refutes that:
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/whydo.html
Why do cats chatter when seeing a bird?
The odd behavior that resembles teeth-chattering is usually produced when a cat sees something he wants but can't get to it. Though his mouth is slightly open (the lips pulled back and the jaw opening and closing rapidly), it's not a form of communication. The noise made is a combination of lip-smacking and teeth-chattering as he gets more excited. He may emit small bleating noises like a baby goat. So far, none of this is believed to have any function.
Most of mine do that from time to time - its and 'excitment" thing - especially if they see a bunch of birds sitting right outside the window. I say they are imitating the birds to lure them in closer to catch them.
Its funny
Its funny
My cats do it when watching birds or squirrels outside.
Gypsy sometimes does it when watching my Pekingese, too.
"Wow! That's the biggest squirrel I've ever seen!"
Gypsy sometimes does it when watching my Pekingese, too.
"Wow! That's the biggest squirrel I've ever seen!"
Prego doesn't do it either. He's content to watch quietly. I guess it just depends on the cat.Originally Posted by Trouts mom
LOL, apparently cats do this all the time..weird thing is Trout doesn't do it
Buffy and Willow both make the chattering chirps.
Molly, on the other hand... I think she TRIES, but bless her soul, she doesn't quite get it right. She just goes "mew?" lol
Molly, on the other hand... I think she TRIES, but bless her soul, she doesn't quite get it right. She just goes "mew?" lol
only 2 of my 7 cats do this , both male , it scared the crap put of me the first time i heard it , i took him up the vet , boy did i fell stupid when he told me it was natural. but out of all the cats i have had , he was the first to do it.his 8 months old now
ps , mine dont make any nosie when doing it , just sounds like a clicky sound as though his lost his voice or something.
ps , mine dont make any nosie when doing it , just sounds like a clicky sound as though his lost his voice or something.
One of my cats did that too when she was watching birds or squirrels out the window.
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My cat does this whenever I open the blinds so he can see outside the window. Sometimes he chatters when there is absolutely nothing there that I can see, but most of the time his nemesis the squirrel couple in the oak tree next door are responsible for his chattering.
Come to think of it, I have not seent them in awhile...they were always mating in the tree but now they are gone...hope they are ok because it was quite entertaining.
Of course, they were the reason we had to get rid of our bird feeder because despite my best efforts (too numerous to go into), there was nothing I could do to keep the squirrels out of the bird seed.
Come to think of it, I have not seent them in awhile...they were always mating in the tree but now they are gone...hope they are ok because it was quite entertaining.
Of course, they were the reason we had to get rid of our bird feeder because despite my best efforts (too numerous to go into), there was nothing I could do to keep the squirrels out of the bird seed.
