Quora Thread: Why Do Cats Call For Their Owners Inside The House

Hi friends, who here has a pet cat that likes to walk around the house, doing nothing, being peaceful, until they get the sudden urge to shriek like a banshee nonstop because they want something ambiguous and not at all urgent from their humans? We know that we here at I Can Has Cheezburger always tell our pets where we're going before we leave the house, just in case they worry about us after we leave, but our cats try to tell us stuff too. if only we could understand them! A Quora user recently posted the question, "Why do cats call for us when we're both in the house?" and humans answered this question using anecdotes and a little animal humor, it just adds so much to our lives. 

We hope you enjoy this super informative and also quite entertaining series of laugh inducing and awe inducing stories people have to offer about when their cats called for them out of lazyness, emotionality, etc. We want to know, did your cat ever ignore you and sulk after you hurt their feelings? Let us know in the comments!

Author image for Ellie Dunn Ellie Dunn
Advertisement
  • 01
    Font - Why do cats call while roaming the house?
    via Anonymous

    Cat lovers and feline enthusiasts, where you at? Well, let us tell you something you guys probably already know, cats love to walk around, realize they lost their humans, despite still being in the house, and then meow, that's just their nature! So take a pause from what you are doing, grab a friend and a cat, or a friend that is a cat, and get ready to laugh! 

  • Advertisement
  • 02
    Font - Robert Brummett, Retired Occupational Therapist I've been a companion to 6 or 7 cats over my lifetime. As I got to know them, I understood what they wanted when they called. Based on your question, I assume you haven't known your cat very long, or haven't had the time to learn much about your cat. They will let you know when they are hungry. If they are outdoor cats, they will tell you when they want to go out. They will tell you when their litter box needs to be cleaned, and they will te
    via Robert Brummett

    Aww, what a crazy story! It sounds like this feline was having a pretty heckin' hard day. We know the feeling, being moved around is scary, and getting transported around with no idea where you're going can't be easy for any animal, let alone this poor feline. It happens to us every now and then as well. We suggest seeking out a can of tuna and taking a deep breath. 

  • 03
    Font - Robert Brummett Moderators have written a comment to me that says that if I write a specific credential for my answer I will get more views. I don't have a PhD in cat, but I have owned many and know something about how they behave. I don't honestly know what other credential I could offer to make me seem more expert in this area. If you have had a cat in your life, you know that what I have said is true. Cats run around the house calling for the same reason that little children run around
    via Robert Brummett
  • 04
    Font - Laura Brose I had a cat who would sit at the top of the stairs and literally call my name! "Roh-rah!" she would say. If you were to come to my house at any given time, you would be surprised to see the cats actually use some English words! I had one who actually said "owrt" when she approached the door and looked up at you to open it. Alas, my current cats are not bilingual, but one of them told me to clean the litterbox by running parallel to it and conspicuously reaching in and making s
    via Laura Brose
  • Advertisement
  • 05
    Handwriting - Bam Amo My female cat actually says "MAH MAH" so clearly that over time, several people have came over to visit with me and she would call out for me. Upon hearing her my friends look at me with wide eyes, to confirm they heard her correctly. It's extraordinary what animals are capable of !
    via Bam Amo
  • 06
    Font - Robert Brummett I had a cat when I was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. I lived off post in a house with three housemates. The cat liked to stay outside in our backyard at night. He usually wanted to come in the house at around 6:00 a.m. He let us know he wanted to come in by throwing himself (literally) at the front screen door multiple times and yowling as loud as possible until someone would let him in for breakfast. On weekdays, we all had to be up and on duty early anyway, but
    via Robert Brummett
  • 07
    Font - Lorraine Evans L My cat "Baby" was a feral for 11 years and overnight decided to become indoor. We have become great friends except when she come into my bedroom every morning and sits by my bed meowing until I say finally, OK. Then she runs to the top of the stairs, waits until I slip into my clothes and we run down the stairs together. She follows me around and talks all the time. She seems so happy, but I still cannot touch her anywhere but on her tail which she frequently presents to
    via Lorraine Evans
  • Advertisement
  • 08
    Font - Beth Zullo My cats also call when they have a favorite toy in their mouth. Usually they find their favorite toy and bring it to me, as if they are presenting me with a special gift of a mouse or bird that they caught outside. They have a different call when they are doing this, and it could be in the daytime or usually, late at night. They Ilike to bring their toy into the bedroom and deposit it near my bed. This behavior occurs when they are particularly happy. Maybe we had an afternoon
    via Beth Zullo
  • 09
    Font - One of my cats who is an extremely active cat runs into whatever room I'm in to tell me that something alarming is going on. The neighbors got a puppy and he was very upset about that. He told me every time the puppy was outside for about a week. He often tells on his brother who is naughty. When his brother doesn't stay in the yard and wanders, his brother is quick to tell on him because they all know the rules and their boundaries. He also runs in to tell me when he's particularly excit
    via Beth Zullo
  • 10
    Facial expression - Cats are funny creatures when you understand them. They all have their own quirks and are quite intelligent. I find that the male cats like to do silly things to make me laugh, and the females that I've had can act very moody and will absolutely tell you if they are unhappy.
    via Beth Zullo
  • Advertisement
  • 11
    Font - G. Kern G. All the cats I have had both current & those now in heaven.have had unique meows for whatever they want. My snowshoe female has a long crying type meow when she wants a closed door open. She has a short two part one when she wants attention. She jumps up to wherever I am & trills when she wants treats..and if I ignore her.she comes up with a short "mmm" followed with a trill. If I still do not respond, she very gently & nibbles (like a gumming) on one finger somehow not using h
    via G. Kern
  • 12
    Font - Annie Cass We lived in Fiji for a while, at Pacific Harbour on the southern Viti Levu coast, and acquired guardianship of a family of cats. They enjoyed patrolling the nearby beach, especially the mouth of a small creek where crabs could be had. But the creek banks had a habit of collapsing, which could dunk the cats in the water. At this point they would come flying back into the house shouting "Towewr!" And of course we would get a towel and dry them. Cats, I'm told, only meow as adults
    via Annie Cass

    For a weekly dose of animal-themed community challenges - Subscribe to our Newsletter!

    Can't get enough of ICanHasCheezburger? Find us on Instagram! 

For a weekly dose of animal-themed community challenges - Subscribe to our Newsletter!

Can't get enough of ICanHasCheezburger? Find us on Instagram!

Tags

aww cool thread quora interesting kitten feline kitty reddit thread Cats omg
Scroll down for the next article

Also From I Can Has Cheezburger?

Trending Now

24-year-old who was catsitting little sister's unspayed $2,500 Maine Coon for a week suddenly refuses to return the cat to her sister who's had her for 10 years, claiming the feline was malnourished: 'My dad said should get cops involved'

24-year-old who was catsitting little sister's unspayed $2,500 Maine Coon for a week suddenly refuses to return the cat to her sister who's had her for 10 years, claiming the feline was malnourished: 'My dad said should get cops involved'

01
25 of the Funniest and Freshest Feline Tweets to Fill Your Week With Pawsitivity (April 27, 2025)

25 of the Funniest and Freshest Feline Tweets to Fill Your Week With Pawsitivity (April 27, 2025)

02
25 Wholesome Weekend Cat Memes Serving You a Sweet Sunday

25 Wholesome Weekend Cat Memes Serving You a Sweet Sunday

03
'[For] more than a year, I slept outside with her every night': Kind man saves a lion cub who was abandoned by her mother, hand-raises her himself for 10 years and creates an unbreakable bond with her

'[For] more than a year, I slept outside with her every night': Kind man saves a lion cub who was abandoned by her mother, hand-raises her himself for 10 years and creates an unbreakable bond with her

04
Woman adopts a meowjestic black cat that was being given away for "free" because she didn't like kids, the next day, she gets told the kids miss the cat and want it back, but no one shows up to take her

Woman adopts a meowjestic black cat that was being given away for "free" because she didn't like kids, the next day, she gets told the kids miss the cat and want it back, but no one shows up to take her

05
Woman rescues the tiniest kitten off of the streets, after noticing he isn't growing she discovers he's a dwarf cat, goes viral: 'He's gonna be a tiny cat furever!'

Woman rescues the tiniest kitten off of the streets, after noticing he isn't growing she discovers he's a dwarf cat, goes viral: 'He's gonna be a tiny cat furever!'

06
Advertisement