If you’ve ever been startled awake by a very sharp loud meowing sound ringing all over your room, only to catch your cat clutching a toy in their jaw, then know that you’re not alone and every cat owner has been through it. A lot of cat owners, especially the new ones, struggle to understand that this behaviour is completely normal which stems from deep feline instincts. 

Why do cats meow with toys or wand toys in their mouth? 

Sometimes our cats behave in such a way that makes us scratch our heads. It will probably surprise you to find out that according to research, animals‘ behaviour is based on conjecture. Now, we can’t obviously get into their head and find out what is going on there, so the only thing that we are capable of is monitoring their activities, and connecting the dots like that. However, humans are capable of drawing fair conclusions based on their strong observations.

Considering the example of cats meowing while holding their toys. “Yowling”, is the right word to describe it. Meowing is close, but it lacks the proper edge, or sharpness. Cats who do this are basically attached to their toys similarly to how a  mother is attached to its kids. It is not very new or unexpected for cats to do this, especially if they are raised without interacting much with other cats.

This behaviour is completely normal yet a bit unusual, it’s the combination of instincts, emotions, and even personality. The toy essentially fills a void in their environment and calms them, they feel an emotional connection with them. It is just like a plush toy that can comfort a toddler. You can not resist smiling while watching a kitten having a toy in her mouth and making cute sounds, but what is the actual thing going on? Reasons are: 

• The hunting instinct: 

Cats are natural hunters, even inside of the house. It could be the natural hunting instinct of the cats, they consider that toy in their mouth as a prey. So when a newtie picks up her toy in her mouth and meows all around the house, she is effectively portraying a successful hunt.This is widely observed in cats when they play with wand toys and the cat, associating it with a real prey, can end up chewing the string or the flapping tendency.

Sometimes, even after the play time is over, cats still carry around their wand toys and wander around growling with it, showing strong hunting instinct. 

• Way of communication:

The other reason could be your cat just wanting your attention and trying to communicate with you, they might want you to praise them, play with them, showing off their toys  to you and want to play. 

• Mother instinct:

In the case of sprayed female cats, this act could portray their maternal instinct too. The cat might consider the toy their kid and carry it around the whole day. It could also mean a mother cat calling out to her kitten, or even making her watch it so it can learn how to prey too. 

• Territory making:

It could be the cat just claiming her property all around the house, claiming her ownership. It could happen especially in the case when there are more cats in the house, and one cat wants to be dominant over the other one. 

• Celebration:

The cat might just be celebrating her victory, or showing you “look what i did, or look what i got”. 

• Learned Behaviour:

If your cat meows one day, and you give her attention, it will become a part of its routine now, and she will keep on doing it to grab your attention. 

What triggers it? The wand cat and her prey

If your cat usually plays with wand toys, and you notice it walking away with the feathery part, know that the show has begun, and she will now pretend for a very long time that she is catching a prey, she will make such sounds too and act that way too.

Wand toys are very similar to the birds or insects, so if the cat catches it, it will take her away in some corner to enjoy the benefits too. Most cats also produce very loud sounds when playing with toys which are large in size and texture resembles birds and this behaviour is not common to the female cats but to mostly the male, because as a female cat, they are more of the motherly instincts whereas, male cat is of the hunter instincts. 

Though this behavior is considered completely normal, yet one needs to know how to respond to your cat doing it, here are ways you can respond to it:

• Praising and engaging:

You should let your cat know that her efforts are appreciated, you can reward her during the play time too. 

• Redirect the time: 

If your cat meows more at night, try to shift her play time before bed, so the hunting instinct can be satisfied too. 

• Rotating toys: 

You can also rotate her toys to make it more interesting for her, such as cat wands and plushies too. 

The meow plus toy movement is more than just a play, it is a combination of communication, instincts, and emotions. Whether the wand cat is just showing off her new prey, that she killed or having a motherly moment with it. So, the next time you see a newtie enter your room with her toy, just smile and know it’s a lot more than just playing. 

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