Do Cats Talk?

Do Cats talk?  Of course they do, they talk to each other and they talk to you. You just have to learn to be a good listener. It’s sort of like a dog’s training class, the trainer isn’t training the dog, he’s training you.

For instance, my oldest cat, Pepper, (a fifteen year old Ragdoll, now deceased from diabetes)  was a whiner. I often asked her if she wanted whine with dinner. But, apparently, her whining had gotten her what she wanted and she was not about to change.

So, when she came into my bedroom at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning, I first knew she wanted me to get up. But I came to understand there was probably a good reason she wanted me up. She had become the ‘spokesman’ for an empty food dish. But then, she had five other felines depending on her to make sure the food bowl and water fountain were filled and, believe me, she was very good at her job, because she was persistent.

Then there is Smokey, my fourteen and a half year old Russian Blue. He is responsible for getting the pet door to their outdoor kennel opened, first thing in the morning. That’s why he is uncharacteristically loud early in the morning, around 5:00 AM. He also takes responsibility for reporting back in, to me and his housemates, if the weather is cold or if it is raining. On cold, wet mornings, he wastes no time with his report. I can tell he wants me to do something about it. I just comfort and sympathize with him until he calms down and finds another spot inside to relax.

Our third vocal kitty is Little Bit, a nine year old Manx with a stub of a tail. It has fallen to her to scold the others, chasing them while she does it. She’s the most mischievous one in the family. It has also befallen her to be the beggar of treats, starting about 5:00 in the afternoon. Since I like to wait until dusk to bring them in, with the shaking of the treat container like the pied piper, she sometimes has to wait, but continues to make her impatience known. After all, she has others depending on her for their daily treats, so, she continues improving her vocal demands and I know exactly what she is saying.

Then, there is Precious, sister to Little Bit. Precious was given her name before we discovered her personality. Now, when I speak of her, I often say “Precious………..NOT.” Don’t get me wrong. She is very lovable. She is also very vocal. She can be loud when she paces the house calling for her sister. She gets cross, like a sleepy baby, when she wants me to take a nap with her and I’m too busy. She will sometimes spend an hour or more following me every step I make, asking me to take a nap (I swear she says mama, over and over), until finally she gives up and finds a place to nap by herself. She also is like a little girl, watching my every move when I’m folding clothes or some other task, as if she’s trying to learn how, in order to help me.

Last, but certainly not least, was Squeaky, a gray stripe tabby (also now deceased at the age of seven and a half of lung cancer). She got her name when she was a ‘stray’ living outside and only showing up for meals twice a day. I would call her for her food and not realize she was there until she was right next to me because of her faint meow. She was always quiet and shy with other humans, basically only trusting me. She became friends with Precious and they would snuggle together at night. Even though she was shy, Squeaky also talked, mostly to tell me when Little Bit or Smokey were bullying her or when she needed a little love from me, often demanding it, quietly, by jumping into my lap, when I was working at the computer.

So, you see, they all talk, some more than others. Once you understand the personality of each cat and you learn to listen to them, their communication will become much clearer to you.