Why Must I use FQDN on local network one way and not the other

This problem has existed off and on for a couple years. I have several computers on a local network. Some connected by wifi and others wired. All running Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04. and up-to-date.
I log in to meerkat. It has both wired and wifi connections/

On meerkat, I must use FQDN to ping strix.
meerkat> ping strix
ping: strix: Temporary failure in name resolution
meerkat> ping strix.wavecable.com
PING strix.wavecable.com (192.168.1.136) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from strix.wavecable.com (192.168.1.136): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.360 ms

But, if I ssh to strix, then I can ping meerkat without FQDN.
 strix> ping meerkat
PING meerkat.wavecable.com (192.168.1.143) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from MEERKAT.wavecable.com (192.168.1.143): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=1.10 ms

The same for two other computers on the same local network.

arp shows a similar table on both computers.

I can not find why meerkat, software wise, is different, other than being older.
Any ideas?