CatMeows: A Publicly-Available Dataset of Cat Vocalizations

Abstract This dataset, composed of 440 sounds, contains meows emitted by cats in different contexts. Specifically, 21 cats belonging to 2 breeds (Maine Coon and European Shorthair) have been repeatedly exposed to three different stimuli that were expected to induce the emission of meows: Brushing - Cats were brushed by their owners in their home environment for a maximum of 5 minutes; Isolation in an unfamiliar environment - Cats were transferred by their owners into an unfamiliar environment (e.g., a room in a different apartment or an office). Distance was minimized and the usual transportation routine was adopted so as to avoid discomfort to animals. The journey lasted less than 30 minutes and cats were allowed 30 minutes with their owners to recover from transportation, before being isolated in the unfamiliar environment, where they stayed alone for maximum 5 minutes; Waiting for food - The owner started the routine operations that preceded food delivery in the usual environment the cat was familiar with. Food was given at most 5 minutes after the beginning of the experiment. The dataset has been produced and employed in the context of an interdepartmental project of the University of Milan (for further information, please refer to this doi). The content of the dataset has been described in detail in a scientific work currently under review; the reference will be provided as soon as the paper is published. File naming conventions Files containing meows are in the dataset.zip archive. They are PCM streams (.wav). Naming conventions follow the pattern C_NNNNN_BB_SS_OOOOO_RXX, which has to be exploded as follows: C = emission context (values: B = brushing; F = waiting for food; I: isolation in an unfamiliar environment); NNNNN = cat’s unique ID; BB = breed (values: MC = Maine Coon; EU: European Shorthair); SS = sex (values: FI = female, intact; FN: female, neutered; MI: male, intact; MN: male, neutered); OOOOO = cat owner’s unique ID; R = recording session (values: 1, 2 or 3) XX = vocalization counter (values: 01..99) Extra content The extra.zip archive contains excluded recordings (sounds other than meows emitted by cats) and uncut sequences of close vocalizations. Terms of use The dataset is open access for scientific research and non-commercial purposes. The authors require to acknowledge their work and, in case of scientific publication, to cite the most suitable reference among the following entries: Ntalampiras, S., Ludovico, L.A., Presti, G., Prato Previde, E., Battini, M., Cannas, S., Palestrini, C., Mattiello, S.: Automatic Classification of Cat Vocalizations Emitted in Different Contexts. Animals, vol. 9(8), pp. 543.1–543.14. MDPI (2019). ISSN: 2076-2615 Ludovico, L.A., Ntalampiras, S., Presti, G., Cannas, S., Battini, M., Mattiello, S.: CatMeows: A Publicly-Available Dataset of Cat Vocalizations. In: Li, X., Lokoč, J., Mezaris, V., Patras, I., Schoeffmann, K., Skopal, T., Vrochidis, S. (eds.) MultiMedia Modeling. 27th International Conference, MMM 2021, Prague, Czech Republic, June 22–24, 2021, Proceedings, Part II, LNCS, vol. 12573, pp. 230–243. Springer International Publishing, Cham (2021). ISBN: 978-3-030-67834-0 (print), 978-3-030-67835-7 (online) ISSN: 0302-9743 (print), 1611-3349 (online)摘要 本数据集共包含440段音频，均为不同场景下家猫发出的喵叫。具体而言，21只来自2个品种（缅因猫（Maine Coon）和欧洲短毛猫（European Shorthair））的家猫，被置于三种预设可诱发喵叫的刺激情境中，重复开展实验： 1. 梳毛场景：主人在家中环境下为猫咪梳毛，单次实验最长持续5分钟； 2. 陌生环境隔离：主人将猫咪转移至陌生环境（例如另一公寓的房间或办公室），为避免动物不适，尽可能缩短运输距离并采用常规运输流程，运输时长不超过30分钟。运输结束后，允许猫咪与主人共处30分钟以缓解运输应激，随后将其单独置于陌生环境中隔离，最长时长为5分钟； 3. 待喂食场景：主人在猫咪熟悉的日常环境中启动喂食前的常规操作，实验开始后最长5分钟内给予食物。 本数据集由米兰大学跨院系项目制作并使用（更多信息请参阅该DOI）。数据集内容已在一篇正在审稿的学术论文中详细阐述，论文正式发表后将提供完整引用信息。 文件命名规范 包含喵叫音频的文件存储于dataset.zip压缩包中，格式为脉冲编码调制（PCM）流（.wav）。文件命名遵循"C_NNNNN_BB_SS_OOOOO_RXX"模式，各字段含义如下： - C：发声场景（取值：B=梳毛；F=待喂食；I=陌生环境隔离）； - NNNNN：猫咪唯一标识ID； - BB：品种（取值：MC=缅因猫；EU=欧洲短毛猫）； - SS：性别（取值：FI=未绝育雌性；FN=绝育雌性；MI=未绝育雄性；MN=绝育雄性）； - OOOOO：猫咪主人唯一标识ID； - R：录音场次（取值：1、2或3）； - XX：发声计数（取值：01~99） 额外内容 extra.zip压缩包包含被剔除的录音（非家猫喵叫的音频）以及未剪辑的连续近距离喵叫序列。 使用条款 本数据集面向科学研究与非商业用途开放获取。 作者要求使用者需对其工作予以致谢，若用于学术发表，请引用以下任一合适的参考文献： 1. Ntalampiras S, Ludovico L A, Presti G, et al. Automatic Classification of Cat Vocalizations Emitted in Different Contexts[J]. Animals, 2019, 9(8): 543.1-543.14. MDPI. ISSN: 2076-2615 2. Ludovico L A, Ntalampiras S, Presti G, et al. CatMeows: A Publicly-Available Dataset of Cat Vocalizations[C]//MultiMedia Modeling. 27th International Conference, MMM 2021, Prague, Czech Republic, June 22–24, 2021, Proceedings, Part II. LNCS, vol. 12573, 230-243. Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2021. ISBN: 978-3-030-67834-0 (印刷版), 978-3-030-67835-7 (网络版) ISSN: 0302-9743 (印刷版), 1611-3349 (网络版)