Humans make strange noises; cats respond because they are social animals, as they recognize the sound of the human voice. Assuming their hearing is intact, a cat may have learned that the ‘pspspsps’ does not signal anything of interest to them, neither a threat nor something worth investigating and so they may ignore that sound,” Pankratz says. Molly DeVoss, a certified feline training specialist who runs the nonprofit Cat Behavior Solutions, tells Inverse that high-frequency noises mimic the chatter of rats, so these sounds naturally draw the attention of felines. They may answer with a high-pitched meow of their own or rub on you while you speak it,” Bonk adds. Other body language patterns may be more ambiguous and you’ll need to use the context to judge whether your pet is amused or threatened.

Cats also can experience a condition called audiogenic reflex seizures — some cats are especially sensitive to some sounds, such as the tapping of a keyboard and the crinkling of foil,” Delgado says.High-frequency noises like “pspsps” are like catnip to felines — a concept you understand if you’ve ever cooingly spoken to your cat in baby speech, also known as “ cat-directed speech.”

The Inverse analysis — Veterinary behaviorists state cats' reaction to noises like “pspspsps” is partly a learned response to repeated interactions with their human owners — a sort of Pavlovian conditioning if you will. Cats are social animals (although many people believe they’re not – that’s a common misconception) and often respond well to positive attention and interaction from humans. We tend to forget our felines are one of the most efficient predators out there, so it’s no wonder the sound of prey catches their attention! If an adult cat has never heard the sound before, he might respond in alarm to the unfamiliar noise,” DeVoss says.Some cats may respond to strange noises as an invitation to play, especially if the noise is followed by movement or other stimuli that resemble prey. • Training A user mentioned that he will “pspsps my 20-year-old man when I get home.” However, the user also mentioned that the feline cannot hear properly. Appreciating the reply, another user said he “loves that you refer to your cat as a man xD I call mine my ‘baby boy’.”

We used to keep fresh-cut flowers from our yard all over the house. But so many things we grow are toxic to cats, so we finally just gave up and enjoy the flowers outside,” he said. “I really miss making the bouquets so I started making them again, but only in fabric this time.” Cats’ will react to “pspspsps” in “any number of ways” depending on the tone used and how they’ve been conditioned by their owners, according to DeVoss. According to Pankratz, typical emotional reactions to “pspspsps” can range from fearful to inquisitive to anticipation of pleasure and even no response at all. To figure out whether your cat is responding in a positive or negative way to “pspspsps,” look to their body language. In short: there’s a good chance “pspsps” isn’t just a weird buzzword to cats, but a noise that triggers a deeply rooted evolutionary response. Evolutionarily speaking, cats are both predator and prey and must be vigilant for noise at all times. One theory is that the sound mimics the sound of a small animal (onomatopoeia), such as a mouse or a bird, which are a cat’s natural prey.Some cats may respond to the sound of “pspspsps” by becoming more alert and focused, as the sound might put them in the “hunting mood”! This higher frequency sound paired with a consonant that interrupts that sounds create a staccato sound that is abrupt and attention-grabbing,” Pankratz says.

Have you ever noticed that when you make a strange noise or sound near a cat, they often perk up its ears and start looking around for the source? It’s almost as if they’re trying to figure out what the noise means. Ultimately, the response of an individual cat to the sound of “pspspsps” may depend on the context in which it is used and the particular cat’s personality and preferences. Why Do Cats Respond To Strange Noises Humans Make (Such As The “Pspspsps” Sound!)? Many felines are drawn to high-pitched noises — like baby talk — whistling, and the rustling of paper bags. Getty/Kevin O'MaraMany cats have learned to hear the sound of a can opening or [the] crinkle of a bag to be associated with delicious canned food or treats so they may come running and begging at those sounds,” Pankratz says. Finally, there may be a simpler explanation as to why your pet doesn’t care about “pspsps”: it’s simply being lazy.