Cats make all kinds of funny sounds that keep us laughing and entertained. If a cat owns you, chances are, they make a sound that’s your favorite. When they do it, you automatically laugh and grab your phone to catch it on video.
Thousands of such funny videos are part of why cats have ruled the internet for over three decades. And there’s one particular weirdly adorable cat sound that people can’t get enough of.
Chirping, Chatting, and Ekekek
People absolutely love it when cats do the funny sound that’s become known as ‘Ekekek.’ We usually call it chattering, the strange sound that cats often make when they see a bird from the window. Others call it chirping, similar to trilling. They often do it when they see another cat outside.
Sometimes, they do it for no apparent reason at all, like Jugg below!
Video by Cole and Marmalade featuring our own Jugg of Jugg and Zig Zag:
Nobody Knows Why Cats Do it
Why are people so fascinated with Ekekek? Part of why is surely that it’s just silly-looking. And, like a cat’s over 300 facial expressions, it’s mysterious. Nobody knows why cats make these chirping sounds, although there are lots of ideas about it. Kittens and cats of all ages do it.
Kitten chirping or ‘ekekek’ via YouTube
It’s often considered a way to express pent-up frustration at not being able to catch a bird through a window. But as you can see in the videos below, that’s not always the case. There seems to be a whole range of emotions behind the sounds. And chirping quickly blends into meows and other feline sounds.
It’s fascinating that the rapid jaw motions and sounds could be a way to quickly heighten the sense of smell. Or purrhaps it’s related to vibrations, as with a cat’s incredible healing purr. We’ve noticed that blind cats seem to almost have the power of echolocation, so who knows what cat supurrpower could be hiding there?
Jugg gets into a chirping mood via YouTube
Whatever the reason, over a million followers of the ‘ekekekkekkek’ page on Instagram aren’t too concerned with the why. They just find it hilarious and entertaining. People can’t get enough of seeing and hearing this feline phenomenon.
Two cats chirping together via YouTube/ekekekek
Is Chirping Contagious?
Below, you can see a compilation of the best chirping moments from ekekekkekkek. One kitty even does it in response to their cat dad’s imitation, suggesting it’s another way of rewarding their humans.
Damiano Giordano and his chirping cat, Gattaro via YouTube/ekekekekek
A cat’s meow evolved as a way to talk with people. Now, it looks like people are learning to Ekekek as a way to talk with cats! And cats will often respond to a person doing it or to another cat making the chirping sounds.
Video via YouTube/ekekekkekkek:
Synchronized Ekekek?
There are so many people submitting videos to the channel that there’s a weekly roundup of them. And it never gets old! It’s curious, funny, and maybe even oddly soothing. Maybe that’s why cats do it in the first place?
Chirping Party
Below, you can see more of the clowder of cats making synchronized chirping together. It’s an “ekekek party!”
Synchronized Ekekek via Youtube
Why are they all doing it together? We may never know for sure. But the mystery is part of what makes it so funny.
Video by Cole and Marmalade about 7 sounds cats make and what they mean:
