Cat Mimicking Screaming Kids Has Internet in Stitches: ‘Confused’

A ragdoll cat called Louie has left the internet in stitches after getting caught imitating the sound of loud kids in a video that quickly went viral on social media.

The hilarious video, shared on TikTok under the username louiethelilacragdoll, shows the feline sitting in a pram as his owner walks him through a department store where kids can be heard screaming.

As soon as Louie hears the kids, he starts meowing as if imitating their sounds to fit in with them.

“Louie meows on command when he wants [to] and the command is me meowing at him. He thinks meowing back and forth is a game. When we passed the children (I had stopped recording) he continued to meow while staring at them. He’s never mimicked someone other than me before,” a caption reads.

The poster, Rachel from Austin, Texas, told Newsweek that Louie is a very sweet and extroverted 1-year-old ragdoll cat.

“I socialized and leash-trained him since he was a baby, and he loves going out with me. He’s a very social fellow and loves meeting new people. I started taking him to cat shows because of how extroverted he is. In the evenings when I get home, he meows by the front door because he wants to go out.”

Louie has always been very talkative, according to Rachel, who said that at home he loves to meow back and forth with her, and it’s one of their favorite ways to interact.

“In the video, you can see Louie mimicking children by meowing at them, which he continued to do even after I stopped recording. It’s something he’s never done with anyone other than me before, so it was quite a fun and surprising moment!”

While cats are able to make dozens of different meowing sounds, they rarely use them when communicating with each other.

They do, however, meow to their humans quite a lot. But why? Pet MD explains that cats usually communicate through body language, but we’re not able to decode it, so they found a way to communicate with us by meowing.

Vocalizations are different from cat to cat, and while some meow all the time, others don’t at all. As a cat owner, it’s important to pay attention to their vocalizations, and if you hear your cat meow more than usual it could be a sign of them not feeling well.

“For example, often one of the first signs of hyperthyroid disease in cats is that they start meowing a lot at night. Changes in meowing can also signal that your cat needs or wants, like food,” the website added.

The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 518,200 views and 141,400 likes on the platform.

One user, Thickdaddytentacle, commented: “Cats are soo good at mimicry, it’s one of the ways they domesticated themselves.”

Carlee Russell’s wig said: “She’s such a copy cat.”

Vadelchanel wrote: “A little confused but she’s got the spirit.”

Juanaiguanaa added: “One time I thought my son was crying and I turned around, it was my dad’s cat freaking out because he walked into my room and he normally doesn’t go in there.”

Update 6/19/24 10:58 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from the OP, Rachel, and new pictures.

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