Why Your Cat Chirps at Birds and What It Really Means

Some cats are silent hunters, prowling about without a sound, except maybe when it's time for dinner. Others are chatterboxes, who don't seem to be happy unless they're screaming at you every waking hour. Their range of noises and vocalizations can be astonishing, especially when you learn that they rarely actually make many noises to each other in the wild. Many of those noises are just for us!

So, beyond the purring and the meowing and the occasional yowl, it's interesting to think about the noises your cat is making, and why they're making them.

One of the most fascinating noises a cat can make is the chirp or chatter. It's an interesting and unusual noise they make, and it's often reserved for when your fur baby is perched on a windowsill or out in their catio, where they can see and hear the birds, but aren't able to go hunt them.

What is a Cat's Chirp?

The chirp, also known as the chatter, is a rapid, stuttery kind of noise your cat can make. It's quite unlike a meow, which is a longer and fully open-mouthed noise. It's also very different from a purr, which is deeper in their chest and more of a deep, subtle rumbling.

Chirps and chirrups have a unique, characteristic kind of shuddering noise, because your cat will rapidly chatter their jaw when they make the noise. It's almost like they're meowing but fighting it, their mouth rapidly opening and closing, bits of meow escaping in between clicks of teeth.

Individual cats have different chirps, too. Some are much more clicky, sounding almost like a rapid-fire tapping noise. Others are a lot more like stuttering meows, interrupted by mouth movement, but less clicking. The behavior is the same, even if the specific noise is different.

Technically speaking, cat chirping is a mixture of three different noises, kind of all happening together.

• Chirps, which are individual, short meow-like noises. Your cat also likely makes these if they're happy to see you walk into a room, or if you touch them when they're asleep and they wake up to a treat.

• Chatters, which are the rapid jaw movement and clicking noises, without any of the meowing attached.

• Tweets, which are almost bird-like, high-pitched meows they make in between these other noises.

The exact combination, order, and balance of these noises is as unique to your kitty as your fingerprints are to you.

Fun fact: it's not just our house-bound feline friends that make these chirping noises. While you might not have ever heard it yourself, many mid-sized wildcats also make these kinds of noises. In particular, cheetahs are known for it, and mountain lions have been observed to make the noises as well. Side note: if you've never heard a cheetah meow, you're missing out.

Why Do Cats Chirp At Birds?

Now's where things get interesting. Why is your cat sitting in the window and chirping at the birds outside?

We don't really know!

There are a lot of theories, and they're all more or less equally plausible. They also aren't the kinds of things we can really test or understand on a deep and fundamental level. After all, you can't really ask your cat why they're making the noises they are.

Since there's no one answer, I'm going to go over the different possibilities.

They're Copying Bird Sounds

One theory is that they're mimicking the sounds the birds are making.

Cats are fierce predators, and when left to their own devices, they'd definitely be stalking those birds and trying to get their next meal. While silence is the usual strategy (and it's really impressive to see how quietly they can move across a yard to catch something), it's not the only strategy in their arsenal.

As the theory goes, cats chirp and chatter at birds because it's a bird-like noise. You'll tend to see it more when the birds in question are out of reach, like they're up in a tree instead of down on the ground. Or, when your cat is inside, and the birds are outside.

The idea is that birds tend to chirp and make calls when they feel safe. If they don't feel safe, they might fall silent or shout a warning before flying off. So, the presence of birdcalls makes the birds feel like there are no predators around.

Your cat is basically pretending to be a bird to make the birds feel safe enough to come down and come closer, where they can pounce and strike.

Clever, right?

They're Really, Really Excited

Another theory is that it is a sheer, involuntary expression of excitement.

The reason you see this behavior pointed at birds and not at, say, you, is that it's heavily emphasized by their prey drive. Your cat is laser-focused on the birds, and their little feline brain is telling them this is their next meal. They're imagining getting their paws and jaws on it. They're poised to pounce at a moment's notice. They want nothing more than to get that snack.

It's sort of like how, when you're hungry, the thought of food can make your mouth water.

Now, if your cat were in a position to go get that snack, they would. But since they can't, they just have to yearn for it, and that desire makes them react. Chattering and chirping is the expression of that desire.

They're Frustrated

Part and parcel of excitement is frustration. Your cat is watching the birds and really wants to go get them, but they know they can't. The window is in the way, and they can't get out through it. If the excitement is like your mouth watering, the frustration is like knowing you can't have the food you smell.

For a cat, though, this is all part of the fun. It's not a bad kind of frustration, but more of a good kind. After all, it's not like they're going to starve if they don't get those birds; they have you to feed them.

The excitement of seeing and yearning for the birds is coupled with the frustration of not being able to get them, but both feelings are pleasant to your cat. And remember, cats in the wild aren't catching their prey 100% of the time. They're used to frustration. If the frustration was harmful to them, they wouldn't have kept it in their genetics for thousands of years!

In fact, it's been observed that cats actually get more enjoyment out of hunting when there's some frustration to it. If their prey keeps moving away, or hides, or ends up in a place that's harder for them to approach, it just makes them have more fun hunting.

Just because it's fun to be frustrated doesn't mean it can't be a problem eventually, though. There's a reason why some people recommend against laser pointers (since your cat can't actually catch a laser dot) and why it's a good idea to let your cat actually catch the toys when you play with them. While they're used to failure, they should experience success some of the time.

It's Part of The Prey Sequence

One idea that has been picking up steam is that cats have a prey sequence. The prey sequence is the specific set of behaviors, in order, that a cat performs when they're hunting.

Stare. Your cat starts by staring at and observing their prey. This is when they're hyping themselves up for the hunt, watching the environment for threats or concerns, and seeking hints of when to go after their prey. This is also when they're most likely to chirp.

Stalks. Your cat hunkers down, sneaks forward, and gets themselves as close as they can to pouncing range. They won't chirp at this stage, since they're now on the hunt.

Chase. Depending on the prey animal, your cat may pounce and give chase. Birds, obviously, will fly away and leave them sitting there at a loss. More land-bound prey can be chased across a yard, around a meadow, through a room, or wherever else they flee.

Grab. A successful hunt results in grabbing the prey. Depending on how your cat is hunting, they might toy with their prey, or they might go in for the last step of the prey sequence, which is

Kill. A hungry cat will kill their prey, and either go to town eating, or take it somewhere they feel safe to eat. At home with toys, your cat will bite, chew on, and otherwise "kill" their toys before you pull them away and restart the cycle.

The prey sequence isn't necessarily widely accepted as a cat behavioral pattern, but it's definitely something close to how cats act. It's not as rigid as it seems, though, and of course, if your cat is just watching through a window, they can't kick off the whole party. So, they sit, and they chirp, a lot longer than they might if they were out hunting.

So, as you can see, there are a lot of possible reasons why your cat is chirping at the birds, and they all kind of center around one thing: they're tiny hunters, excited to see their prey, and they're expressing that in one of the only ways they know how.

Common Questions about Cats Chirping at Birds

I've seen a lot of people ask these questions, so I wanted to address them here as well.

My cat never chirps at birds. Is that something to worry about?

Nope, not at all. Some cats just don't like to make many noises, especially cats that are former strays or ferals. Others are just quiet. There's nothing wrong with them; it's just not a behavior they're particularly inclined to engage in.

That said, it could also be a lack of opportunity. Does your cat have a nice place they can sit and watch birds from? You can experiment: try moving their favorite perch to a sunny window, and place a bird feeder a few feet outside. When the birds spend time on the feeder and your cat notices, they might take up a new chirpy hobby.

Is chirping a sign of a bad behavior, or something to worry about?

Nope. Chirping is just one of the many noises cats can make, and it's not hurting them or hurting you in any way. In a way, it's kind of like just talking to the TV.

If you're really concerned, or if you find the behavior annoying, it's not hard to stop. All you'd have to do is make it harder for them to watch the birds. But why would you want to?

Truthfully, chirping is a sign that your cat is being kept engaged, which helps alleviate boredom and stress. If you try to suppress the behavior, you might end up making them more stressed or anxious, and that doesn't help anyone.

Can I get my cat to chirp?

Maybe! Like I mentioned above, chirping is a natural behavior and a sign of an engaged cat, but not all cats are going to engage in that behavior.

You can fairly easily set up an environment for your cat to chirp by placing their perch or a bed at sill-level of a window that looks outside, and placing something to attract birds on the other side of the window. Let nature take its course, and you could have a chirpy, chattery cat in a matter of days.

If you live in a place where you don't have that option, like a few floors up in an apartment, you can set up a bird-watching or cat-entertainment channel on a TV and see if that does it. Some cats find that kind of entertainment very engaging, though you do need to make sure that if they jump at the screen, they won't knock over your TV.

Don't be surprised if your cat doesn't chirp, though. Not all of them do, and that's okay, too.