I'd rather hear a bunch of mewling kikttens than a group of yowling or fighting cats.  

Mewl first appeared in a 1530 document in Scotland.  The spelling was apparently based on a Shakespearean usage and myay have derived from late Middle English word mewen, meaning to whimper. 

The words mewl and mule are not to be confused, although they sound similar. 

You know if my 9 cats are hungry, especially if they all mewl at once

With five spoiled cats, I know all about mewling.

I like cats. I've nursed kittens whose mother rejected them, as cat mothers tend to do. I've paid for a cat to have chemotherapy. I've had same cat put down because the chemotherapy eventually destroyed his kidneys. I've have had his cat brother's leg amputated due to cancer. I've seen same cat die from an embolus from said surgery.

I like cats. In many ways, cats are like people. They get cancer and die.

I'm living with a dog person. We don't have cats.