What Is ‘Caterwauling’—and Why Do Cats Do It?

Both of my cats are extremely vocal and have a surprisingly varied repertoire of sounds, including meows, howls, chirps, and chitters. But there’s one sound I’ve never heard either of them make in all of our time together: the caterwaul. Caterwauling is a loud, unsettling yowling noise that sounds almost like a crying baby, and humans have even come to use the word to describe some of our own distressed sounds. But it’s actually one of the less frequently heard feline vocalizations, and if you have fixed indoor cats like I do, you may have never heard your pet make this sound at all. 

So how do you know if what you’re hearing is a caterwaul, and what does it mean? Behaviorist Mikel Delgado stresses that the scientific community uses the term only to describe a “very specific” type of vocalization.

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“Humans are really not great at identifying cat vocalizations,” Delgado says. “But basically, there are three types of sounds that cats make.”

She says the first category includes: purrs, chirps, and trilling sounds.

The second category: any sounds that begin with an open mouth, but the mouth closes at some point during the vocalization — like meowing and howling).

The third category: sounds where the mouth is held continuously open, as in a hiss or a caterwaul. 

Delgado is quick to point out that though caterwauling and howling can sound very similar to the untrained ear, and though both usually signal some kind of distress, they are different sounds. I know I’ve definitely heard both of my cats howl, for reasons ranging from “I’m about to puke” to “I ate all my food, and now my bowl is empty.”

But though a howl can be used to convey many different types of negative emotional states, the insistent, dramatic tone of the caterwaul is designed to draw attention, and it’s used almost exclusively in a few distinct contexts. 

Territorial anxiety

“Caterwauling is frequently territorial, whether it’s between two cats outside or whether a cat sees a threat outside its home, like through a window,” Delgado says. She compares it to looking out your window and seeing an unfamiliar person in your backyard—you’d probably freak out, too.

The best remedy for this is doing whatever you can to make your yard unwelcome for roaming neighborhood cats, says Delgado, like securing your fence or installing motion-activated sprinklers. If you can’t find a way to keep strange cats out of your yard, she suggests covering certain windows in your home with a privacy film, so you can at least prevent your indoor cats from experiencing the anxiety that comes with seeing the perceived threat. 

Mating calls

One of the most typical uses of caterwauling is by female cats when they’re in heat, in an attempt to attract a mate. Likewise, males can also make this sound when they sense a female cat in heat is nearby. If you live somewhere with a significant feral cat population, it’s not uncommon to hear this sound at night, but “people who keep their cats indoors are hopefully not going to hear those sounds,” Delgado says. 

Cognitive decline

Caterwauling can also be a sign of cognitive decline, particularly in senior cats. As cats age, they sometimes experience cognitive changes similar to senility in humans, which can lead them to become confused, disoriented, and distressed.

As their hearing becomes less sharp, your cat may simply not realize how loudly they’re vocalizing. Or they may be having difficulty navigating their home as a result of vision loss, and they caterwaul to display their frustration. In cases like this, it’s best to talk to your vet first to rule out other potential medical issues, but there are a few things you can do to make your home less disorienting for a senior cat — like removing as much clutter or physical obstacles as possible and leaving night lights on to help them navigate. 

Separation anxiety

Your cat may also make distressed vocalizations as a result of separation anxiety, an issue which Delgado says is still not very well-studied in cats. “Cats in general do better when things are predictable in their environment,” she advises. “The more stable an environment you can provide your cat with, the less likely you're going to have anxiety issues.”

According to Delgado, the best way to manage anxiety includes providing the cat with more cognitive enrichment and more physical activity. But in cases of severe separation anxiety, medication may need to be prescribed — so naturally, a visit to the vet will be in order. 

If you’re still unsure how to classify the sounds your cat is making, or can’t identify the source of their distress, it always helps to consider context. As with any other aspects of your cat’s behavior, a sudden and sustained change in their vocalization habits is enough to merit closer attention, and possibly even professional evaluation.

“If your cat used to be quiet as a mouse, and now they're howling a lot, then that is a warning sign that something is off,” Delgado says. “Something has changed for them. And a vet check is always the first step in making sure that your kitty is OK.”