No matter what anyone says to the contrary, I fully believe that communicating with cats is truly a very special art form.
Through the years, I have found that the majority of kitty lovers that I “meet” on the Internet, or those friends in real life who also live with cats, honestly regard themselves as being fluent in “cat speak”. They are not only able to understand what their kitties are “talking” about; they get a huge kick out of sitting down to have heart-to-heart conversations about a variety of things with their beloved fur-family members.
But what I enjoy the most when I have the fortune to interact with any of these devoted cat keepers is how deeply they treasure each and every moment they spend with their remarkable felines. I find myself completely delighted by the words they use to describe these special moments of kitty communication with their fellow felinophiles.
Naturally, there are those folks who have little or no experience being around cats lack a well-founded appreciation of the species. As a result they are completely incapable of understanding why we feline devotees idolize our cats. They are also prone to accuse us of being simply anthropomorphic; sneering audaciously at us behind our backs.
However, with the easy access cats have to the Internet, while the one time popular message boards for cats are not used as frequently today following the advent of Twitter, our crafty felines always can find ways to reach out to other kitties to openly and fully express their feelings!
Although it takes a bit of patience and practice for us humans to easily interpret the written language of cat speak, this writer thinks it is well worth taking the time to learn it, in order to check out their Twitter account now and then. But then again it could be rather unnerving to find out what our kitties really may be saying about their furless two-legged companions at that particular moment. This said once we get the facts, we can quickly remedy our behavior and restore the harmony between us once again.
But in order to better illustrate exactly what I am talking about I found a video that was originally uploaded to YouTube by hkbecky. It featured two cats who appeared to be indulging in the sport of fisticuffs.
However, JustinCElliot voiced over the same video demonstrating its true meaning since he fully grasped the communication between these two cats. Therefore, in my opinion, Justin is a far more “tuned in” cat lover, and is fully fluent in their language.
So do take a moment to enjoy “meeting” Goo and Yat Jai, the communicative cats starring in “Patty Cake Cats”; a video that quickly went viral.
What do you think is the best way to communicate with cats? Tell us in a comment.
i often talk when talking to my cats, im sure they understand cause they give me that look like they really understand
Cat Language is not hard to learn or speak. We just have to take the time to watch and listen. Their language is filled with ear twitches and tail swayings, eye contact and whisker attitude. Most of it we cannot reply to because humans lack important parts for speech. LOL The one language that my husband just cannot stand is when the cats jump onto his lap and present their butts for inspection. LOL
I absolutely adore that video, Jo. I have two that box like that and they are vocal. I communicate with my cats on some level. I know what they want, and I give it to them. My kitties also communicate with me. Munchkin, whom we rescued from the pound at an unknown senior age, lets me know when she wants to eat or use the litter box in her “apartment”. So, I let her in and then she lets me know when she wants out again. Jmuhj, I also use the Jackson Galaxy “I love you” and it works amazingly. I have also hissed at my cats when they are behaving inappropriately. At first even I thought I was crazy, but it truly works. 🙂
It is an interesting technique: hissing at a cat as a form of communication. I have hissed, meowed and made a puffing sound to my cat. I remember a Bengal cat owner saying her Bengal cat made a puffing sound when dominating another cat (I think it was that). It has no effect on Charlie 😉
That video is too funny! Cats have a lot to say sometimes. Mine let me know when they want to eat, get a pet or to be left alone.
Hi Bonny, the video funny. I’d like to hear peoples’ ideas about what the cats are actually doing.
Great video — really love it every time I see it! and great article, too, Jo. Being born and raised “with cat” I’ve grown up with CSL (Cattish as a Second Language) and use it fluently. For instance, instead of saying something like, “No!” when cats are being aggro with one another, I hiss. If it’s really getting bad, I growl. And yes, it’s far more effective than “No!” >^^< (When I want to express joy to a cat, I use the "Cat I Love You" a la Jackson Galaxy, and I purr.)
You’re a scream. I like that. I think you have British humour.
Well, and I also speak Catalan fairly fluently. 😉 Some might call me a Cataloon >^^<
Do you have a Spanish connection or are just a bit of a linguist?
I’m very multi-ethnic, so I might, via Roma and/or Black Irish ancestors. Probably not Spanish, but people who migrated to Spain from N. Africa and India.
You’re going to have to show your face, you know, because you are interesting. I think you should write an article for PoC and nominate a cat charity 😉
Okay, let’s talk about that! 😉
You can write on any subject relating to cats (wild, feral, stray, domestic) and PoC will donate to a cat charity of your choice for that article. When Sarah Hartwell writes for PoC a donation of around £30 is made to Cats Protection. That is a guide. Whatever you write will be published as is (if you like ) or checked and edited by me (if you like). Just enjoy it and don’t chew on it too much. If you like writing stories (fiction) that’s fine too. I wrote a Warrior Cats story after the original series just for fun. I did it years ago. It is quite hard writing a novel 😉 LOL.
Marc,
The conversation between the cats is really funny- some folks have an amazingly creative brain:)
I reckon those two guys rehearsed that a few times and did a bit of cut and paste using a video photo editor.
I agree with the copy and paste- but it could also have been totally “off the cuff”. LOL
lol – can’t have sound cuz I’m at work but I so wish I could. It’s fun to watch though 🙂
I definitely have very detailed communication with my cats. It never ceases to amaze me.
I’d like you to communicate to us about it 😉 What I mean is how you communicate. I have set out my stall. It may vary from person to person slightly. I’d like to know if and when you have time.
I think the video shows cats indulging in an rather apathetic play fight.
It can take a little time to know cats and our own cat companion but it is not “work” or hard, it just happens from a close relationship.
Good communication is the reward from caring for a cat really well. I think we get back more than we give.
I’ve seen that patacake video before and it really is very funny, I laughed just as much seeing it again.
It reminds me of our boyz at times, although they’ve never batted each other for as long as those two lol
I think we communicate with cats as they do with us, by learning about each other, we don’t need words, we talk the same language without.