cat mouth shuttering?

Question

why do cats make a weird noise and shutter their mouth wen they see a bird or something? My cat started at a kitten and used to do it wen he saw the mouse moving on the screen...

Answer 1

When a cat zooms in on a bird or other prey animal that he sees through the window, they often begin making that clicking noise with their teeth, sometimes combined with an "ack-ack" gutteral noise.

This behavior is called "chattering" and it even has the experts stumped as to exactly why cats do it. Perhaps it's nothing but frustration, or maybe they are saying "I want to catch you", as the cat obviously would like to make a meal of the creature. Sometimes they actually salivate while carrying on, so this explanation could be valid.

It would be interesting to know what the birds etc. think when they hear a cat making that noise. I wonder if they understand that for them it can mean danger - don't get too close.

Answer 2

She probably is excited. My friend has a cat that can sound just like a squirrel. Guess what happened to the squirrel that came to the call.

Answer 3

Does it sound sort of like a stuttery meow? According to Desmond Morris' "Catwatching," your cat is practicing the killing bite he would use when dispatching prey.

Answer 4

its mainly because its excited of its new find. My cats do that all the time. Its just somthing planted in their head that they do.

Answer 5

My kitties have done that too, it's really cute. I believe they do it out of excitement!

Answer 6

i like that answer about the killing bite, mine both do that when they see a bird also

Answer 7

because hes excited