API Key Setup
Set up your free Anthropic API key to start translating cat sounds.

What's your cat saying?

Record a meow, purr, or any sound and get an instant translation with behavioral insights.

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What's Happening
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About the Cat
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Record or upload your cat's sound above — your translation will appear here.

How it works: hello&meow extracts acoustic features from your recording — pitch, duration, amplitude modulation, onset patterns — then uses AI to identify the vocalization type across five behavioral categories established in feline ethology research (Schötz 2006, Nicastro 2004, McComb 2009, Bradshaw 2013). Results are for informational purposes only — consult a vet for health concerns.
Session History
Behavioral Groups This Session

Understanding cat vocalizations

Cats have a remarkably complex vocal repertoire developed specifically for communicating with humans. Unlike their wild relatives, domestic cats rarely meow at each other as adults — the meow is almost exclusively a human-directed behavior, shaped over thousands of years of domestication.

hello&meow analyzes acoustic features extracted directly in your browser — pitch, duration, amplitude, rhythm, and syllable count — and uses AI to map those measurements to one of 32+ recognized vocalization types across five behavioral categories: Feeding, Social, Defensive, Reproductive, and Distress.

Meow
The most common cat sound. Rising pitch signals a question or request; flat pitch often signals acknowledgment or demand.
Purr
Continuous low-frequency vibration (25–150 Hz) signaling contentment or, in some contexts, self-soothing during stress.
Trill / Chirrup
Short, rising vocalization used as a greeting. Cats often trill when approaching a familiar person or to call kittens.
Hiss / Growl
Defensive warning sounds. Hisses are sharp and percussive; growls are sustained low tones signaling territorial threat.
Yowl
Long, drawn-out calls associated with reproductive behavior, territorial conflict, or distress in senior cats.
Chatter
Rapid jaw-clicking vocalization, usually directed at prey (birds, insects). Thought to be an instinctive hunting response.

hello&meow's interpretation framework is grounded in peer-reviewed feline ethology research, including work by Schötz (2006), Nicastro (2004), McComb et al. (2009), Bradshaw (2013), and de Souza Filho et al. (2019). Learn more about the methodology.