A Cat-to-Hooman Dictionary?

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jmcquown - 04 Apr 2005 01:23 GMT

I know what a lot of Persia's meows mean. I know what some of the little
mrrps and chirps mean. I know if I'm rubbing her forehead and she tilts her
head back for a bridge-of-the nose rub her meow means "Oh, yeah!"

When she's waiting for me to dish up her weekly dose of gooshy food, I swear
to you her meow comes out as, "Mama!" And Friday, when she wanted to be fed
her 2nd scoop of dry kibble far too early in the day, her meow was more
like, "NOW?"

But what about those times when she's not hungry (HA! Okay, LOL ), has
plenty of toys, doesn't want in her Kitty Walk, doesn't want scritches,
doesn't feel bad... just sort of wanders around making verbal commentary?
Wouldn't we all like a Cat-to-Hooman Dictionary?

Jill

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I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.

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Marina - 04 Apr 2005 04:10 GMT

> I know what a lot of Persia's meows mean. I know what some of the little
> mrrps and chirps mean. I know if I'm rubbing her forehead and she tilts her
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> doesn't feel bad... just sort of wanders around making verbal commentary?
> Wouldn't we all like a Cat-to-Hooman Dictionary?

I'd like one. Mere talks a lot. She comes and meows at me and sounds
very urgent, but I can't make out what she wants. I try lifting her up -
no, she wriggles away. I throw a toy for her - not interested. She has
food on her plate. I don't know what she's on about.

Frank is another matter. Sometimes, he wakes up in the middle of the
night and goes around mrowling. It's especially effective when he goes
into the tiled bathroom, where his deep-throated mrows echo nicely (and
probably wake up the neighbours, too).

Wish I knew what they were saying.

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Marina, Frank, Nikki, and introducing: Mere!
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
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Jo Firey - 04 Apr 2005 05:44 GMT

>> I know what a lot of Persia's meows mean. I know what some of the little
>> mrrps and chirps mean. I know if I'm rubbing her forehead and she tilts
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
>
> Wish I knew what they were saying.

Mere is missing her mommy and her litter and her old home. Not really a bad
thing but part of "growing up". It has to feel to a puppy or kitten like
their whole world dropped off the face of the earth. Even when they are
happy in the new one.
Jo

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Kathryn - 04 Apr 2005 13:40 GMT

>I know what a lot of Persia's meows mean. I know what some of the little
> mrrps and chirps mean. I know if I'm rubbing her forehead and she tilts
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> doesn't feel bad... just sort of wanders around making verbal commentary?
> Wouldn't we all like a Cat-to-Hooman Dictionary?

Wish I could have a hoomin-to-cat one as well! Most of the verbals Sesame is
giving me at the moment are in protest! Sometimes she seems to have mrows
that aren't related to food or scritches.. I think sometimes its more "I'm
still here, don't forget I'm still here!"

Kathryn

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Cheryl Perkins - 04 Apr 2005 14:36 GMT

> Wish I could have a hoomin-to-cat one as well! Most of the verbals Sesame is
> giving me at the moment are in protest! Sometimes she seems to have mrows
> that aren't related to food or scritches.. I think sometimes its more "I'm
> still here, don't forget I'm still here!"

I think that's a lot of what Mandy and Betsy say. Mandy always was a
mouthy cat, and she has a very extensive range of sounds, most of which
seem to be a variation on "look, I want to show you something. No! Not
that way! Over here! OVER HERE!! Right, now a little further this way...
look at THAT!!! What do you mean, there's food in it??? You don't expect
me to EAT it, do you??? (and so on and so forth unless I sprinkle a bit
more of exactly the same food in the bowl, which satisfies her for a
while. But sometimes she just wanders around practicing different
'Mrrrrps' and "mrrrows'.

Betsy always used to be a quiet scaredy cat type, but as she's gotten
older, she's gotten more talkative. She's got a rather questioning little
'Mrp??' which usually means she's on the bed right in the middle, she's
not going to move, but will I scritch her a bit. And every so often she
wanders around in the dark making these plaintive loud 'Mrrrrooooows', for
all the world as if she's lost and all alone even though me, Mandy,
lights, and noise aren't in the next room. When I call out to her, she
manages to find her way again!

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Cheryl

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Kreisleriana - 04 Apr 2005 17:12 GMT

>I know what a lot of Persia's meows mean. I know what some of the little
>mrrps and chirps mean. I know if I'm rubbing her forehead and she tilts her
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>doesn't feel bad... just sort of wanders around making verbal commentary?
>Wouldn't we all like a Cat-to-Hooman Dictionary?

Stinky talks quite a lot with no obvious outstanding needs. He always
tells me when he's going to hop up beside me with a chirp or a
"whrrrrrrrrr!" He often will butt into a conversation, too, walking
right up to somebody, catching his/her eye, and going "YOW!" My
mother says "Who asked you?" or "Another county heard from."

I always thought that when he first arrived, he heard so much
yammering in this house, he figured that was just the way things were
done around here, and he wasn't going to be left out. ;)

But in the past few days, he's resumed his habit of swaggering around
the house in the evening, making very wild yowling noises. It's
spring, and the windows are open again, at least part of the day, and
he can smell the bad outdoor kitties roaming around his turf. So he
will stalk around the house, yelling "I'll kick your a$$es!!!" This
will go on until it gets too cold to have the windows open again. ;)

Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

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SuzQ - 05 Apr 2005 23:37 GMT

But what about those times when she's not hungry (HA! Okay, LOL ), has
plenty of toys, doesn't want in her Kitty Walk, doesn't want scritches,
doesn't feel bad... just sort of wanders around making verbal commentary?
Wouldn't we all like a Cat-to-Hooman Dictionary?

Jill

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================================================
I'll be in the livingroom and Spicey will wander into the livingroom, then
she starts meowing. I usually talk to her. She talks back. I talk to
Spicey a lot.
Suz&Spicey

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Mathew Kagis - 06 Apr 2005 00:38 GMT

> But what about those times when she's not hungry (HA! Okay, LOL ), has
> plenty of toys, doesn't want in her Kitty Walk, doesn't want scritches,
> doesn't feel bad... just sort of wanders around making verbal commentary?
> Wouldn't we all like a Cat-to-Hooman Dictionary?
>
> Jill

Muscat has been doing this exact thing lately. I can't figure it out. For
the first 2 months I had him he was silent as a church mouse, now he's
giving running comentary on everything! Where's a Babbelfish when you need
one?

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Mathew
Butler to 2 kittens: Chablis & Muscat
En Vino Veritas

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Tanada - 06 Apr 2005 22:40 GMT

> Muscat has been doing this exact thing lately. I can't figure it out. For
> the first 2 months I had him he was silent as a church mouse, now he's
> giving running comentary on everything! Where's a Babbelfish when you need
> one?

Mine always get mouthier in the Spring. I just figure that they're
feeling their cheerioats. I think part of it is the exuberance of
having survived the world ending during the winter (snow), and part of
it is the sheer thrill of being alive, happy, and not having to worry
where their next meal is coming from.

Pam S.

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Singh - 07 Apr 2005 15:27 GMT

> Mine always get mouthier in the Spring. I just figure that they're
> feeling their cheerioats. I think part of it is the exuberance of
> having survived the world ending during the winter (snow), and part of
> it is the sheer thrill of being alive, happy, and not having to worry >

where their next meal is coming from.

Mine are getting mouthier period, I don't know if it's Spring or if they're
getting more confident. Odessa is suddenly meowing all over the place. For
the first few months she was silent as stone, or would cuss the air blue.
Now that she's decided she likes us, she's been quite chatty. Brandy has a
quiet little meow, but when she whines she can be loud. Typical adolescent
girl. She whines if she's not fed first, and if I pick her up when she's not
in the mood has this weird whine that sounds like a kid going "Mah-aahhhm!"
You may have heard such a sound if you're caught showing naked baby pictures
of your children to their prom dates. Stosh has the morning meowies, usually
directed at squirrels and the unneutered toms who wander in the front
bushes.

The one I need a dictionary for is Roxie. Roxese is a complex language. It
seems to be tonal, thus related to Chinese. A simple, single-syllable trill
can have multiple meanings depending on its tone and length. We've learned
several of the trills: the high-pitched one rising at the end, her Hi There;
the low, indignant one she makes if not fed first or Daddy chases he away
from his turbans; the warning she gives Stosh when he threatens to initiate
a wrasslin' match. It gets more complicated with compound words. Our
favorite is the trill-meow-squeak, which is impossible for a human to
duplicate and I have no idea what it means. She says it smoothly, with no
break in what seems like syllables, and mostly in the morning. I think it
may mean Daddy, Get Your Butt Out Of Bed, but as she's said it to me when
sitting aroung watching Court TV I can't be sure of that either.

Blessed be,
Baha

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