{"id":664299,"date":"2024-11-01T10:00:05","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/?p=664299"},"modified":"2024-11-14T13:57:34","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T18:57:34","slug":"a-star-is-born-the-vocal-stylings-of-clutch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/felines-weekly\/a-star-is-born-the-vocal-stylings-of-clutch\/","title":{"rendered":"A Star Is Born: The Vocal Stylings of Clutch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction<\/a> to learn more about me and meet my five hilarious cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday, my neighbor sent me a photo of Clutch peering over the fence from his custom-built catio<\/a> (my cats aren\u2019t spoiled at all!<\/em>). The reason he\u2019d spotted the furry little face in the dark was that Clutch had been singing, something he does on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

His vocal gymnastics often follow a meal, as he stretches his legs on the kitchen countertops, walking off a delicious feast, but he can often be heard yodeling in the morning, evening, or in the middle of the day as he patrols his outdoor enclosure. To this day, I haven\u2019t been able to work out the purpose or intended audience of these performances, and I\u2019m starting to believe that Clutch sings for himself.<\/p>\n

\"Clutch
Clutch the Attention Seeker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clutch\u2019s Catalog of Sounds (Pun Intended!)<\/h2>\n

Like most cats, Clutch uses a wide variety of sounds, along with the classic \u2018meow\u2019 used to communicate with us. Apart from the occasional friendly chip or grumble of irritation, he doesn\u2019t seem to engage in a lot of inter-feline conversation, generally preferring the company of dogs or humans. He uses one meow for a general declaration of hunger, but there is a more urgent, insistent bleating reserved for when he knows there is chicken in the fridge. The singing is something that evolved over time; he hasn\u2019t always been a performer.<\/p>\n

While no one would describe Clutch\u2019s overtures as being classically musical, I have started to suspect that my use of the word \u2018singing\u2019 might not be too far off. There is one other time that Clutch belts out a banger, and that\u2019s when I am, too.<\/p>\n

Duet or Dissent?<\/h2>\n

I enjoy a good private performance, whether it be in the shower cubicle or kitchen, and I fancy myself to be moderately proficient at karaoke. For a long time, however, I thought that Clutch strongly disagreed. No sooner had I completed the first few bars of a song than Clutch would rush to my side, meowing plaintively. At first, I thought he was complaining, or worried that I was injured, but I\u2019m starting to wonder if he wasn\u2019t attempting to join in, Kenny to my Dolly, Elton to my Kiki Dee, Bradley to my Lady Gaga\u2026<\/p>\n

But perhaps I\u2019m getting ahead of myself.<\/p>\n

\"Clutch
Clutch and Karyn: The Next Big Thing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is Clutch Actually Singing?<\/h2>\n

I try not to anthropomorphize too much. Although it\u2019s great to try to empathize with our pets and try to understand the whys and wherefores of their habits and behavior, the reality is that they are motivated by different things than us. However, by applying what we know about feline communication, I don\u2019t think that it\u2019s too farfetched to categorize Clutch\u2019s vocal stylings as singing, and here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

From what we understand, the classic feline meow<\/a>, a vocalization used only by domestic cats, evolved alongside their domestication. The sounds typically exchanged between cats are usually a combination of yowls, purrs, chirps, growls, and hisses; they don\u2019t tend to \u2018meow\u2019 at one another. From here, we believe that the meow is designed to communicate with us<\/a>, their human servants, and while we are desperately trying to decipher the meaning behind their \u2018words,\u2019 it is far more likely that they are merely echoing back to us what our words sound like to them.<\/p>\n

So if meowing is simply a form of mimicry, could Clutch actually have learned to sing from me? Part of me likes to believe that this is the case, while another part of me hopes that I can carry a tune better than he does! In any event, singing seems to make him happy, so I am happy, too.<\/p>\n

We hope to have his debut album out by Christmas.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Incomparable Clutch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Dr<\/p>\n

This article is a part of Dr. Karyn's series with her five hilarious cats.<\/div>
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