Meow?

I wonder how the “meow” evolved.

If you’ve ever experienced the sound of a lion’s roar in person you know just how powerful it is.  It’s an amazing thing to hear and feel.  I can’t think of another sound in nature that more clearly expresses, “back the fuck off or I will kill you and your whole family.”

I think I understand how the roar came to be.  Giant teeth, powerful jaws, sharp claws – it makes sense that these things would be selected.

But WTF is with the meow?