Friday, July 8, 2016

Conversations with My Cats

I like talking to my cats. Something that Deb wrote in her blog Just Cats, and my response to it, has caused me to think about the verbal interaction I have with my pets. Deb wrote that she loves to converse with her cats. I can certainly sympathise with her. However, I hadn’t give much thought until now as to why talking to animals may actually be beneficial to the relationship between them and humans.


Cats are among the more advanced animals; intelligent and capable of learning quickly, they can acquire the knowledge of a great many human-language words. To select just a few my lot knows, I can cite “dinner” and “snack”, “bath” and the phrase “what do you see?” But actual words probably form the least important component of the value in talking to your pets.


When I was trying to accustom Cammie to living in her new home (it was meant to be a foster-home at the time; I’ll give you a moment to roll your eyes),  I would talk to her whenever I went into the room in which she was then sequestered. I didn’t initially try otherwise to interact with her. But she grew to know my voice. It became familiar to her, it went with my presence, it demonstrated that I was there and that I acknowledged that she was, as well. Speaking to Cammie let her know that she meant something to me, though she may not have known exactly what.


This leads to another aspect of conversing with my cats. It conveys mood. Cats, like dogs, likely derive much more understanding of their humans from the latter’s moods than from their words. Sensitive creatures, they can tell what a person is feeling; egocentric creatures, they are usually concerned with how those feelings affect them. They undoubtedly use a person’s voice as a tool for comprehension. My cats can certainly determine when I am pleased or tired, vexed or amused; watching their reactions to how I say their names at different times, using different tones, confirms this.


Musing upon this led me to wonder if there is real value in the ‘baby-talk’ that many use with their pets, ‘baby-talk’ that most people think is ridiculous - and that most people use more often than they admit. It is a speech pattern that is exaggerated. Like all exaggeration used at the appropriate time and place (satire and caricature come to mind), it can make a point or teach a lesson, possibly more clearly than other means. I was once told that cats have the mental capacity of toddlers, though I suspect that this is an under-estimation of feline intellect. Even so, this suggests that speaking to a cat in this manner does the same thing as speaking this way to a child: it translates complex meanings into a simpler, perhaps more fun language. I myself would never do this, however. I hope you know that.

So what does all this mean? It means that conversing with cats is not just comforting to a human, but is advantageous to the greater harmony and understanding between that human and his feline friends. Besides, I like talking to my cats.

17 comments:

  1. I chatter away to myself...uh, the cats...all the time. Nicki definitely picks up on my tone of voice, because he darned well knows when he's in trouble for being up to no good. Derry, bless him, is just a pretty face. I don't think either of them recognizes any words but their names, though of course they know certain gestures. I'm sure this lies more with MY lack of communication skills with them. For instance, last evening Derry got fed, cuddled, brushed with his favourite massage brush, was outside in the little back space, then inside, and still was meowing at me for something. I had NO idea what else he wanted and with the house like an oven, wasn't keen on figuring it out. Maybe he just wanted to know why we don't have central air or even an ac unit. :-D

    Purrs for a wonderful weekend for you all!

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    1. The sounds my lot make that puzzle me are the sounds of 'singing'. The boys will wander around wailing and whooping - not loudly. I have no idea what it means or why they are doing it.

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  2. I have heard dog trainers say that baby talking to dogs is about tone. You cant baby talk harshly, it keeps you in a tone of voice that the dogs react well too. Cats like higher voices better, and baby talk is usually higher pitched. So even without knowing it, we are conveying gently and in a pitch they prefer when we baby talk. That said, I rarely baby talk, lol, but they know they're my babies anyway!

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    1. Ah, that makes sense about the baby-talk. Interesting.

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  3. Oh goodness, I am always talking to my felines. I only have one at a time but they are always talked to just as any other being would be. Katie understands a LOT of words. Breakfast, supper, snack, treat, brushie, comb, beddy time, come here (said sweetly only...otherwise it is ignored). play, kiss, That's my baby girl, (gets purrs) and probably many there just like your cats. They understand a lot more than we notice of human vocabulary. Tone certainly gets (or not) results too. Smiling is appreciated by them. Baby talk is all she usually gets. I can't help myself.

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  4. mom talks to us and the foster kittens. Daiquiri even knows the phrase "where's your ball?"

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  5. I have always conversed with my cats, and I have always felt that they understood what I was saying. (They were probably the smartest folks in the room, after all!) I am currently working in the Maternity Room at our animal shelter, where we have two feral mom-cats. I find that if I talk to them while I give them care, they are a lot easier to handle than they would be otherwise.

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    1. The human voice can contain much reassurance and comfort. Not talking to pets seems like half-ignoring them.

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  6. I will admit to many conversations with our cats over the years. Like you I enjoyed talking to them. I remember growing up one of our cats was hit by a car. I rushed her to the vet and phoned my Dad and let him know she was there. He rushed right over and when he came into the vet office he naturally was questioning the vet about her condition. As soon as our cat heard my Dad's voice she started howling and didn't stop until my Dad went into the examination room and held her.

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  7. Never noticed the Tuckster's striking blue eyes before. Cutie!

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  8. I am always chatting to - with - Holly ( she is likely wishing I would just shut up and give her some peace. But I believe cats and animals do respond to our chattering with them. I have had to attend training and seminars in parent - child attachment as part of work and often think of the theories when talking with Holly (and my dear Jessica.) and yes, baby talk is very important in forming attachments with babies and, yes, our pets.

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    1. Talking does form attachments, you're right; it lets them know we know they are there, and that we think they are significant. And I'm sure Holly appreciates your verbal attention.

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  9. I talk with my cats all the time. Just like my kids they occasionally listen. ;)

    Have a great weekend!

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  10. I always talk to my cats, probably more than I do to people.

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  11. I talk to my cats all of the time. I love when they make those small, chirping sounds in response. I don't baby talk then in a typical fashion but will tell them how wonderful or sweet or special they are to me in a softer, deeper voice which they seem to adore. I strongly believe talking to our cats makes them smarter, just like babies and children.
    In a gift shop , I saw a tittle saying on a canvas that said. " if cats could talk, they wouldn't ". Keeping the mystery alive, I guess.

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    1. I can see Cammie keeping mum much of the time, but the others would talk to me. Tucker would probably talk incessantly.

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  12. I am a firm believer in talking to cats.. I've seen it work over and over again

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