Cats make a variety of sounds to communicate with the people and animals around them, including the quiet chattering noise they sometimes make at prey.
While there is no scientific evidence for any one theory explaining this behavior, cat behaviorist Mikel Delgado suggests that it could be a frustration behavior, as cats may be excited to see prey but unable to reach it.
Another idea is that cats are opening their mouths to enhance their sense of smell, directing air flow toward their vomeronasal organ or Jacobson’s organ to gather more sensory information about their environment.
However, designing a study to test either hypothesis would be difficult, as cats’ independence makes them particularly challenging to study in the lab.
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