How does your cat communicate with you?

suzoo · 04-15-2004, 10:01 PM

I work with hundreds of cats every day and I'm always amazed how cats find different ways to communicate their needs to us humans...
Some use vocal communication, marking with their scent glands, grooming you, bunting you with their head, giving you 'love-bites'...

My cats differ in their communication styles and they're brothers...
Wilson is vocal (but only when he wants to be fed).. he head bunts me for attention and if I ignore him, he rolls around on his back at my feet until I get down and give him belly rubs...

Wiley has a lack of vocals so when he meows it comes out as a raspy sounding hiss... he only 'hisses' at me when he wants his catnip fix or the food dish is empty... when I talk to him he 'blinks' at me... it seems to be his way of answering me...

So what does your cats do to communicate with you? I find cat behaviour very interesting...

neuroleptical · 04-15-2004, 10:12 PM

Hnak is very communicative. She speaks & answers in distinctive tones, & I know she understands certain phrases I use a lot w/ her, like "want a little treat?", "want to go out?", "time to go home", etc. as her responses are tailored to the particular questions.
She also expresses a lot through looks, like the half-closed eyes that indicate pleasure & love, or the wide open "feed me!" eyes.
And I would say she does a lot of paw gesturing, patting me on the face while her lips are curling up & eyes half-closed for instance!! (Her "good human" treatment!! lol) She also wakes me up most mornings w/ patting on the face.
Great topic!! can't wait to read some more responses.

Ludi the Yard Fool · 04-15-2004, 10:24 PM

My cat Bud is a poor communicator. He isn't good at making his specific wishes known, instead he runs around the house saying "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" and we have to try to figure out if he's cold, or hungry, or wants to be held, or put in the sun, etc.

Candycane · 04-16-2004, 01:22 AM

Both of my cats are very vocal but Syd is definitely more articulate.

She has a wide range of meows that are quite easy to understand. Max uses the same one when he needs something whereas Syd has different meows for wanting food vs. snuggles. They are both quite easy to understand through facial expressions as well. I *know* when Max is grumpy versus when he wants a good chin rub.

pamm013 · 04-16-2004, 08:15 AM

Aspen will meow little meows at me in the mornings (weekends) when its time to get up to feed him... he will leave Andy totally alone and meow at me..
then if he wants out.. he sounds sooooo desperate... when he wants attention.. he has his rolling meow... with his nudges... when he wants a birdie outside.. he makes a shakey meow... lol Im sure you guys know what meow that is.. lol

greencolander · 04-16-2004, 08:15 AM

Manik sounds like Bud: she just waltzes around saying "mew!" and we have no idea what she wants. Cake bites when he wants some love (counter-intuitive, I know); he sits by his food dish howling if he's hungry. My late Gilgamesh was very communicative. He would nibble on my fingers if he was hungry, and he had all sorts of different meows for things ("cuddle me please" versus "let's play" versus "I want to go out onto the balcony").

Enkidu thinks jumping on my head in the middle of the night is a good way to get me up to feed him!

fertmom · 04-16-2004, 10:12 AM

If I get busy doing something and its been awhile since BB's last scoop of food, she will come and find me and pat me with her paw like "hey, its time to feed me" and she will give the evil eye and tail twitch to anyone who picks her up, I swear she is saying FU! She rolls over on command, so I know she knows different phrases and different word groups like Hank. She will respond differently to do you want to go outside vs do you want some food, etc. Her eyes and body language are very expressive, I think.

Lixx · 04-16-2004, 09:47 PM

Orangey has his "I want to be fed NOW MEOW!" It's used quite often. He also has his 'mrrp' which is used if you have disturbed him. Donovan has his "I'm lost where are you????" meow, when he is upstairs and we are downstairs and he can't figure it out. Mikoto (the princess) has her "No, you are to come to me" & "why aren't you coming to me?" meows. Yugi has the "please,please,please". Samurai is the "The answer is no, no you have not given me enough attention today" and lastly Lady has the "pet me pet me pet me......but don't touch me!" meow. Those are the most used, but there are several other 'shared'responses for basic needs

suzoo · 04-16-2004, 10:07 PM

Quote:

"pet me pet me pet me......but don't touch me!" meow

I know that one from some of the cats at work!

Banshee · 04-16-2004, 11:03 PM

Great topic!

My guys are all vocal, but Aoife and Hamish are the loudest of the bunch

Hamish and Aoife both have different meows for different occasions. Hamish has his wail -- he'll sit by the food dish and let out this long, wavering wail that goes on and on and on....when the dish is empty or he wants another type of food. All the while his eyes will be open wide and he'll have this incredibly sad look on his face. He also has his excited 'Yowwwwwwwwwww!!!' meow when I'm getting their din-dins ready or I've called him over to cuddle. Oh yeah, he also has his croak -- he tries to meow while he's purring but it only comes out as a hoarse croak -- it's pretty funny. Aoife has her little 'meuffff' responses to my 'Hi Miss Aoife!', her deep-throated worried meow when she wants to get into the rat room (that's her quiet time room where she can get away from the other cats and sleep under the bed) or she is bored, her 'GIVE ME TREATS NOW!!!!!' demanding howl and then she has her expletive meow -- I can only describe it as a steady stream of verbal abuse when she is displeased. She unleashes this at everyone, including the other cats, myself and visitors to my home.

Aoife even has different levels of purring. A faint purr means she's content but when it gets to a dove cooing sound, you know she's in absolute heaven. She can go from dove coo to verbal abuse in less than five seconds

She's my most complex cat and is a right pain in the butt, bless her

The kittens aren't as vocal but they have the sweetest, tiniest mews ever -- they still sound like babies although they're almost two years old

They communicate amongst themselves vocally, as well. They have this deep 'brrrrrrruuuppp' sound they make to call each other to play.

They all make lovey-eyes at me when I talk to them (the slow blinking of the eyes) and they will all come and put their paw on my shoulder or on my face when they're feeling affectionate. That always melts my heart

And if you say the word 'din-dins' to them, no matter what your tone, they know that means 'dinner time' and they all go mental