Vets Thinking They Had Two Cats Not Prepared for What They Find in Cage

A ginger cat has left the internet in stitches after his ability to do two totally different meows left vets thinking there was more than one feline in their care.

The 16-second clip was posted six days ago by @vetnurse.ace. She filmed a conversation between herself and a certain feline patient, and has since gained more than 1.1 million views.

The video kicks off with the person behind the camera playfully urging the ginger cat, "Use your big boy voice, buddy." The initial response is a small, adorable meow, prompting the caregiver to quip, "No, that's your baby voice. Use your big boy voice." What follows is a surprising and robust meow that garners an enthusiastic response: "That's your big boy voice!"

Scientists believe that the cat's meow may have originated around the time of cat domestication—8,000 to 12,000 years ago. It was primarily used to communicate with humans, and studies have looked into the different types of cat meows and their different purposes in our feline's eyes.

Researchers from the University of Milan studied 225 adults ranging in age between 18 and 70. The scientists asked them to identify the meanings of various meows omitted by cats during situations including waiting for food, isolation, and brushing. The study found that human listeners with cat experience performed significantly better than naive listeners in classifying meows, suggesting that humans can interpret cat vocalizations to some extent.

The ginger cat's differing meows didn't seem to be about different requests. However, his ability to switch between a soft, almost baby-like meow and a robust, attention-grabbing one adds to the growing body of evidence that cats can adjust their vocal expressions as they choose—plus it prompted plenty of laughter and joy online.

In hundreds of comments, people shared their reactions. Boots wrote: "My boy cat has a different voice when he's talking to me or my husband." Cat owner Casey posted: "My cat squeaks; he is a big cat too, and it sounds ridiculous."

Others were impressed with the differing meows, though. "He's got multiple personalities," commented Kamryn, while marcia_nova wrote: "My cat usually squeaks, but when he's mad or hungry, it's the big voice."

"I had an orange cat that would baby mew the entire vet trip," wrote A misnomer. "People would always be surprised to look in the carrier and see a 9lb grown cat staring back."

This isn't the first time a cat's meow has left people in stitches, either. Like the "silent mode" meow that left people in stitches, or the clip of a feline with an incredibly long meow that was viewed over 38 million times.

Newsweek reached out to @vetnurse.ace via email and TikTok for comment.

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