Are Cat Vocalizations True Speech? [View All]

[SoDesuKa]

I sort of understand Otis when he's "talking." Most of the time the things he says are appropriate to the situation, and some of the time he makes a trill-like comment that is also appropriate to the situation. I'm impressed at the things he's capable of saying in a short utterance.

But some other times he just seems to be making sound for its own sake. Since true speech involves an effort to communicate, Otis does that only part of the time. The rest of the time he's just, well, vocalizing.

Have scientists studied cat speech? At times I think Otis is very intelligent, but at other times I think he's just a cat.