Technically they’re big cats, but you don’t have to be afraid of being attacked by a cheetah. That only happens, very rarely, in zoos–not in the wild.
So I have had to discard my theory that the cheetah makes this meowing noise to try to lure gullible humans to their deaths. You think you’re going to rescue some poor cat lost on the savannah, and uh-oh, it’s a cheetah! Run for it!
Good luck with that, kimosabe.