Can Cats Talk? The Science Behind Meows, Purrs, and Human Manipulation

About this episode

This episode explores the science behind how cats communicate with humans through various sounds.

Send us Fan Mail Subscribe and prepare to realize your cat has been training you this whole time. In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole dive into the fascinating research of Dr. Susanne Schötz, a phonetics professor at Lund University—and the scientist behind some of the most groundbreaking work on cat–human communication. Her research explores how cats use meows, purrs, trills, and intonation to communicate with humans, how those sounds change...

People in this episode

Hosts: Katy Reiss, Laura Fawks Lapole

Guest: Dr. Susanne Schötz

Topics covered

• cat communication
• phonetics
• animal behavior
• human-animal interaction
• meows
• purrs

Keywords

• cats
• communication
• meows
• purrs
• phonetics
• animal training
• human manipulation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Lund University

More episodes of Wildly Curious

• The Real-Life Dragon You've Probably Never Heard Of · June 9, 2026 · 9 min
• Mutations Explained: The Tiny DNA Changes That Can Change Everything · May 21, 2026 · 58 min
• The Poisonous Bird You've Probably Never Heard Of · May 12, 2026 · 12 min
• Real Life Zombies: How Parasites and Fungi Control Animal Minds · May 5, 2026 · 53 min
• Why Are They Called Crows and Ravens? · April 21, 2026 · 11 min
• Why Is It Called a Chickadee? The Surprising Story Behind Bird Names · April 14, 2026 · 9 min