Why Does My Maine Coon Trill?

Most owners of a Maine Coon have probably already wondered about the strange use of vocalization of their furry darling compared to other cat breeds.
But this leads us to a question:

Why Do Maine Coons Trill? A Maine Coon learns to trill and chirp early on from its mother, where it's used by the mother cat as a means to command the kitten to pay attention or as a simple greeting.

To properly fulfill your cat's needs and keep her happy, it is a necessity to understand your Maine Coon's vocalization as often as possible.

Why Does My Maine Coon Trill?

Trilling is being utilized by Maine Coons very often, as they are basically the dogs of the cat world.
This behavior is being trained in the early kittenhood through communication with their mother.
The mother cat will trill when she wants her small ones to pay attention or to follow or to greet them.

An older Maine Coon might trill more often due to frustration or even because of pain, so be sure to keep up to date on your cat's health.

Communication with other Maine Coons is mainly hissing when a cat invades another cat's territory, but for humans, they use another separate set of vocalizations that have evolved over thousands of years of domestication.

To wrap it up, trilling is usually a happy sound that is often used for attention-grabbing, just like meowing, even if the cat's already an adult.

Is My Maine Coon Really Trilling?

There are many different vocalizations a Maine Coon can engage in on a daily basis when she's communicating with you.

To be able to understand your cat's needs and feelings, you need to correctly pinpoint the exact sound your Maine Coon uses and know whether it's a trill, a chirp, or an imitation of your voice.

The easiest way to distinguish between a trill and a chirp is knowing that the trill is made closed-mouthed and the chirp open-mouthed.
Trills sound very much like purrs, but instead, the sound is created within the cat's mouth instead of her body, similar sounding to the soft rolling of an r.

Chirping, on the other hand, is being used when your Maine Coon spots prey.
You probably have already heard your cat doing this while observing birds and other animals through the window.

Pay Attention to the Tone

As I've mentioned earlier, depending on the tone, trilling can be a happy sound, but it can also be a sign that your cat is in pain or frustrated.
It all depends on the situation and the pitch.

Just as you might call your furry friend in a different tone when she devastated the kitchen counter compared to when she hops onto your lap to get some pats, the tone of her trilling can vary depending on what she needs in that exact moment.

For example, trilling while you're coming home and entering through the door is a greeting, but if your cat is older and maybe even in pain, the trilling might be a symptom of medical or mental issues.

In the end, you have to pay close attention to the tone of your Maine Coon's trilling to determine what exactly she wants or needs in that very moment to keep her happy and healthy.

A Maine Coon is a Social Cat

Because of the generally playful and social nature of a Maine Coon, trilling is usually used as a happy-go-lucky tone.

A shy Maine Coon might trill less often as her playful conspecifics and older ones could be even quieter.
Nevertheless, it might happen that your aged Maine Coon trills a lot due to dementia or other medical issues.
However, as this breed is rather slow to age, this happens - in case it does at all - comparably late.

Being the dog of the cats, the Maine Coon loves to socialize with humans and even tends to talk with us!
So, if you notice that your Maine Coon is trilling your way as if she was expecting an answer, just keep the "conversation" going, as this will spark a lot of joy inside your furry darling's heart.

If your Maine Coon is still a baby, you might notice that the trilling may almost be escalating at times, but this is just because they are still young and depend a lot on socialization while still growing up.
Baby Maine Coons tend to be a lot clingier and need even more attention than adult ones.

Since the Maine Coon is a very sociable breed, you have to be aware that your cat hates being alone.
Therefore it is necessary that your cat has someone or at the very least something to play with while you're away.

Conclusion

The Maine Coon is a very sociable cat breed that uses trilling rather frequently when compared to other cat breeds.
They learn it early on from their mother who uses it for greeting, commanding, or generally when asking the kitten to pay attention.

To be able to distinguish a trill from other vocalizations, you have to know that a trill is formed inside the Maine Coon's closed mouth, which sounds like a rolled r.
A chirping cat opens her mouth to do so and a purr is formed inside the cat's body rather than the mouth.

If you really want to be able to understand your furry darling and keep her happy and healthy, you also have to pay close attention to the tone of the vocalization.
A greeting after you came home sounds differently from an old Maine Coon's frustrated trilling.

You have to keep in mind that the Maine Coon cat is a very sociable animal and because of that boredom strikes these big cats very hard.
This is why it is important to make sure that your cat has someone or a toy to play with while you're gone.

I hope this article was helpful and answered your questions!

Do you often hear your Maine Coon trill and do you usually know what your darling wants or is in need of?
Let me know about your experiences and questions in the comment section below.