will never be some obedient pet

I find it odd that people think that. Mine are all incredibly well-behaved. I mean, I invested time in training them but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I think the secret is being consistent and correcting the behavior as it's happening. They're smart enough to know when they're doing something wrong. Oh, they know! Lol

I love cats, but I also love my plants, and despise the odor of a used litter box. Therefore, I cannot have cats. It sucks.

We have many strays we are trying to rescue amd until then they get fed and if some rando is letting their cat out to eat whatever the heck then find (and steal my food) on my property that's the cat's owner being the asshole. I'm trying to help needy cats and I can't even oht traps down to get them medical attention because I could end up catching some irresponsible person's cat.

The cat is abducting itself. They’re not dogs. They’re rarely loyal.

Sir, this is a Wendy's, you cannot keep the gator just because it was thrown through the window...

Alligator can have the whole house, actually. It's okay, I'll move 👍

Babies are real dude

IIRC, it's more that they over time figure out what sounds and actions get their owner's attention. We respond better, unconsiously or otherwise when they meow at us.

My old cat figured out, before I did, that if she knocks shit off the coffee table I get up and check if her bowl is empty.

Generally wild/feral adult cats are more or less mute outside of anger/mating/territory calls, but domesticated cats keep their kitten vocalizations if we respond to them.

My current cat is very vocal and we responded playfully to his meowing as he grew up.

Edit: Here's a scientific american blog/article about it. I don't think it's something we have confirmation on, just a good hunch.

Yeah that seems really far fetched. Humans are generally bad at communicating with mostly body posture and scent. We have no tail to wiggle, no easily movable ears and no chance to use cat pheromones.

So naturally the cat has the best chance to get a response by using vocalication/sounds. It is just coincidence that their kittens do also mostly respond to sounds in their first weeks.

From my understanding, wild cats only meow when little and domesticated cats keep this juvenile trait into adulthood