A meow or miaow is a cat vocalization. Meows may have a large range of sounds. Adult cats rarely meow to each other, and so adult meowing to human beings is generally considered a post-domestication extension of meowing by kittens: a call for attention. Pre-domesticated felines are believed to have communicated with each other mainly via their sense of smell and marking behaviors which provide a superior means of communication with other cats, but as they were domesticated they learned to vocalize to humans. Their vocalizations can signal hunger, desire to go outside, or simple greetings.
