Public service from Sitecats taken from the Cat Wiki. It's amazing but my staff operates almost the same way.
Listen to your cat. If you watch what your cat is doing when it meows, you may learn to distinguish which meows are  associated with which requests (or protests) and eventually know the difference between a "let me out" demand and a "give me food" demand by sound alone. Each cat is different and may have its own variations, but some common meows can include:
- Short meow - standard greeting.
- Multiple meows - excited greeting.
- Mid-pitch meow - plea for something.
- Drawn-out mrrroooow - a demand for something.
- Low pitch MRRRooooowww - a complaint
- High-pitch RRRROWW! - anger or pain.
- Chatter (rapid teeth-chattering jaw movements) - excitement, frustration (e.g. when prey is out of reach or escapes)
- Chirrup (a cross between a meow and a purr with rising inflection) - friendly greeting sound
- Purr - invites close contact or attention
Watch your cat. Since cats are more "fluent" in body language, certain gestures will accompany vocalizations to reinforce their message.
- tail straight up - happy
- tail twitching - excited or anxious
- slowly
blinking eyes - affection, equivalent of "blowing a kiss" - sustained
eye contact is interpreted as being assertive or even aggressive and
makes cats uncomfortable; slow blinking communicates trust[5]
- ears back - alarmed
- rubbing head, flank and tail against a person or animal - greeting ritual
- head-butting - friendliness, affection
- face sniffing - confirming identity
- ears back and flattened - fearful and anxious
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