cat talk

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Rae Almozino - 06 Nov 2006 23:50 GMT

There was some discussion of cat "language" earlier on
this newsgroup which got me to thinking about when cats
"talk" and why.

My question is: do cats talk to one another? I've had
several talkers in my life and have a rudimentary
understanding of the language by now. But I've never
heard any of my cats talking to another cat (discounting
growls and hisses). Even my Siamese only talked to me
and never the other cat or dog.

Do cats only talk to their humans?

//Zino

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Fred Ellis - 07 Nov 2006 03:14 GMT

> There was some discussion of cat "language" earlier on
> this newsgroup which got me to thinking about when cats
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> //Zino

Yes, cat do talk to one another. But is limited to warning another cat
to stay away. They do vocalize as well growl when they warn the other
cat. Or when a female cat is in heat that they vocalize their desires.
That is where the term caterwaul or caterwauling comes from.

Fred Ellis

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Rae Almozino - 07 Nov 2006 16:09 GMT

<snip>

> Yes, cat do talk to one another. But is limited to warning another cat
> to stay away. They do vocalize as well growl when they warn the other
> cat. Or when a female cat is in heat that they vocalize their desires.
> That is where the term caterwaul or caterwauling comes from.

Yes--that's what I thought, or rather, what's been
my experience. I've never heard any of my cats "talk"
to others like they've talked to me. I had one cat,
Naomi (aka "Marshmallow Butt" as she was mostly white
and plump) who was normally quiet--except when I
arrived home from work. Then she'd follow me around
for about half an hour, talking non-stop. After that,
she'd go back to her normal quiet mode. I think she
was telling me about her day. :)

I've had as many as 5 cats (and 2 dogs) at one time,
and other than an occasional hissy fit (2 of the cats
did not get along), they never made noise at each
other, only at me. It's interesting that they feel
the need to communicate vocally to human but not to
their own kind. I wonder why.

//Zino

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tension_on_the_wire - 08 Nov 2006 06:16 GMT

> <snip>
>
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>
> //Zino

The usual typical "meow" is generally reserved for
humans. I imagine it is the nearest they could
come to imitating our own sounds to each other,
as it is clear that they use a different language
with each other. Seems like when they talk
to us.....they are trying to use their lips, no?!

Tell ya something else....I have had three cats
that understood limited English. There are
certain words and phrases that my cats
will respond to appropriately, even if I get
someone else to say them without any
intonation whatsoever...such as "who's
hungry for treats"....Luthien immediately
comes to me and stares me in the face with
a big fat meow if she hears it, and then bolts
for the kitchen before anyone has moved.

--tension

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Ted Mayett - 09 Nov 2006 06:49 GMT

>There was some discussion of cat "language" earlier on
>this newsgroup which got me to thinking about when cats
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
>//Zino

Mine talks to me, he likes to talk to me, and has a trick he does so
that he can talk to me. When I walk in the dark he gets to where I
step on him lightly, and then he talks to me about this!

I've come to sort of recognize some of his sounds, which are for
wanting to go out, which for dry food, which one means water. But
with food anyway, the sound is accompanied by a certain motion of his
tail.

And when he comes in from outside, sometimes he acts like he is
telling me something, trying to tell me of his adventures, or
disappointments or maybe discoveries.

And sometimes when he is "talkative" I can get it so it is like we are
singing a duet. He makes a sound, I make a sound, and we go back and
forth something like 8-10 times at times.

What though is this rudimentary understanding that you have of their
language, can you expound on this understanding?

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Rae Almozino - 09 Nov 2006 14:40 GMT

<snip>

> Mine talks to me, he likes to talk to me, and has a trick he does so
> that he can talk to me. When I walk in the dark he gets to where I
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> with food anyway, the sound is accompanied by a certain motion of his
> tail.

It's often easier to understand the "sign language" than the
actual "words". :)

> And when he comes in from outside, sometimes he acts like he is
> telling me something, trying to tell me of his adventures, or
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> What though is this rudimentary understanding that you have of their
> language, can you expound on this understanding?

I understand cat language in the same way that you do: not
the "words" so much as the sound. Happy sounds, excited sounds,
bitchy sounds, whining and complaining sounds.

I think it's fascinating that cats "talk" to humans but not
to other cats. Another poster suggested they are imitating our
sounds/speech.

Has your cat ever done the silent meow? My family has always
referred to it as "birdy talk", as it usually occurred as a cat
was watching the birds or chipmunks outside. They open their
mouths, their lower jaw quivers, but no sound comes out. What
is that?

//Zino

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Ivor Jones - 09 Nov 2006 15:13 GMT

[snip]

> Has your cat ever done the silent meow? My family has
> always referred to it as "birdy talk", as it usually
> occurred as a cat was watching the birds or chipmunks
> outside. They open their mouths, their lower jaw quivers,
> but no sound comes out. What is that?

Get this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Miaow-Manual-Kittens-Homeless/dp/0517556839

All will be explained..!

Ivor

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Ted Mayett - 09 Nov 2006 19:00 GMT

>[snip]
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
>Ivor

Can you mention a few of the highlights of this book?

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Ivor Jones - 10 Nov 2006 15:33 GMT

[snip]

> > Get this book:
> > http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Miaow-Manual-Kittens-Homeless/dp/0517556839
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Can you mention a few of the highlights of this book?

It's a manual for strays/homeless cats, teaching them how to deal with
their humans and get adopted into a house..! Written as if by a cat (who
knows, maybe it was..!)

Ivor

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Ted Mayett - 09 Nov 2006 18:59 GMT

> > What though is this rudimentary understanding that you have of their
> > language, can you expound on this understanding?
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
>//Zino

Hah, 'birdy talk'. This one time, this guy and I were looking at my
cat on the patio of a second story apartment. He was hunched down,
contorted, and he made a sound like the birds outside. We just looked
at each other surprised, quite surprised! He sounded like one of the
birds! I figured he was doing what he could to get a bird to come to
him since he couldn't get to the birds.

Then there was the time he had a bad wound in one of his front legs.
He must have been in a fight with another cat. And there was blood,
he was dripping blood. I had tried to fix it myself. Would pick him
up and lay him on the kitchen counter and pour peroxide on the wound.
It caused him pain, he was in serious pain. And this one time he
meows a long and protracted "nooooooooooo". It was eerie to hear
this, and it was unmistakenly the word "no". Next day I took him to
the vet. I've been with this cat 14 years now, I've never heard him
say "no" except that one time. But it was the word "no", it sounded
like a young child crying in pain.

>I think it's fascinating that cats "talk" to humans but not
>to other cats. Another poster suggested they are imitating our
>sounds/speech.

I sometimes wonder if he is frustrated, this little guy of mine. He
talks, I know he is talking to me, and I just don't understand the
words. Maybe our ears just cannot differentiate between the pitches
of the sounds they make.

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tension_on_the_wire - 11 Nov 2006 05:38 GMT

> Hah, 'birdy talk'. This one time, this guy and I were looking at my
> cat on the patio of a second story apartment. He was hunched down,
> contorted, and he made a sound like the birds outside. We just looked
> at each other surprised, quite surprised! He sounded like one of the
> birds! I figured he was doing what he could to get a bird to come to
> him since he couldn't get to the birds.

Hahah, that's cool. Sneaky! The kitten here (4 mths) has this funny
sound when he sees flies buzzing up the window.....he gets very
still and he starts....well, chittering like a chipmunk! He sounds
like nothing so much as a chipmunk trying to imitate a woodpecker,
it's the weirdest thing.

And he's got no meow. Period. Not for lack of trying. His mouth
is wide open and this little squeak like a mouse comes out. It
is so cute. Luthien (the elder) is a talker, and he tries to imitate
her when
he comes in the room, trying to talk to me....and nothing but
this pathetic squeak! It works though, I can't help but pick
him up and give him a cuddle when he does it, so maybe
he does it on purpose....bait for the catslave!

--tension

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