Cats and Communication

 

I consider Freya to be a pretty smart cat, mostly because of her ability to communicate. It never fails to amaze me how well she can express herself without words. As you can see by the photo, she's got the irritated look down perfectly. She hates it when I point a camera at her. 

When she meows loudly and licks her lips, she wants food. 

When she meows at the cupboards, she wants treats. 

When she sits on the table and yowls, she wants a warm towel to lie on. 

If she approaches, stretching and purring, she wants to cuddle. When you pick her up,  she adjusts herself so that you cradle her like a baby. 

If she sits in the tub, she wants a drink.

If she yells at you, and turns her back to you, she wants the spot above her tail scratched.

If you pick her up after breakfast or dinner and she growls, it means "I don't want that insulin shot, dammit!" Still, she endures it with a resigned demeanor and doesn't bite or scratch.

She greets guests by bellowing at them. 

If you are lucky enough, when you hold her, Freya will express her love by leaning in with closed eyes and giving you a kiss. Kisses come with a loud purr. She'll shove her whole face into your armpit. I know I mention that a lot, but she does it A LOT. 

Even Amir is learning how to tell me what he wants. Weeks ago, as I sat here writing, Amir let out a demanding yowl. I got up to see what was the matter. I thought he wanted out. He'd literally shrieked his way in, but suddenly he was jumping up on the table and leaning into my hand. He loves a good neck scritching and apparently that's how he asks for them....Like, "I came here for lovin's, dammit. Gimme my lovins!"

As I write here now, Amir yowls and approaches the door. When I go to let him leave, he changes his mind and goes back to the couch so I can scratch his neck and smother him with affection. Three times in a row. This is how he says, "Love me, or I'm out." This blog took forever to finish because of that. He showed up with another fresh haircut. I don't know who is doing it, or how they get around his temperament. Every time I even attempt to brush him, he puts his paw down on my hand, like a very distinct "NO." There is a spot on his left flank. If I pet it, he gives me an indignant look, and gives me the 'No' paw again. So I try to remember not to do it anymore. Obviously. I want him to trust me.

As for Grendel, he doesn't ask for much at all. He meows and circles the kitchen when he's hungry, and if I approach him with my hand, he lifts his head for nose pets, with CLOSED EYES. This is significant. The next blog is about trust. Grendel lives for nose pets. 

My favorite story about Freya expressing herself is the time she tried to get my attention to feed her while I was writing. 

Her feeding station is around a corner from my desk, in the kitchen. I'm well trained because even when I get involved with my work, I keep an ear out for her. Often times I noticed that if I could hear her eating kibble, I should check the time, because it might be time for dinner. If she's hungry, and I don't get her wet food quick enough, she goes for the kibble. She has also noticed that if she goes for the kibble, Mommy will get up and bring her the good stuff. 

One day, I was on a roll. It was one of those situations where the words flow faster than you can type. It's a rare and beautiful thing. I heard Freya in the background, meowing, and I realized it might be time for dinner soon. I kept going. Didn't want to lose the momentum. Surely, dinner can wait a minute? 

I heard her hit the kibble. Freya was getting impatient and she knew that sound would summon me. Crunchcrunchcrunchcrunch. I could hear her, but I was trying to squeak out a few more sentences.

I heard two deliberate, slow bites. CRUNCH.... CRUNCH. I paused and looked to see Freya peering around the corner at me. She has such an expressive face, and her very expressive face said, 

"What part of CRUNCH, CRUNCH didn't you understand?" So I got up and fed her, like a good cat slave. She let out a huff of exasperation that sounded human. 

That reminds me of another amusing story. Freya was a stray before we got her, and apparently she missed being outside. She began to ask, beg and finally demand we let her out. She would try to sneak out. We didn't want her to be an outside cat, so we tried to teach her the word 'no'. Didn't work very well. 

One day, after a solid fifteen minutes of scratching at the closed door, she stomped into the kitchen, took a deep breath, and bellowed a long, musical warble worthy of Whitney Houston. Dan sang it back to her, 

"And IIIII eee IIII will always love youuuuuuu..."

She reacted with an irritated toss of her head and a huff before retreating downstairs. Dan glanced over at me, tossed his head in her cat-like fashion and said, "Ugh! Troglodytes!" I wish I had a video of that. 

It's my belief that cats and animals in general can communicate well with humans IF humans are willing to observe and listen. I like to learn what the cats I meet try to say to me. It's part of my obsession. That's what makes me a good little cat slave. 

You've seen cats patting their owners, meowing specifically and doing other adorable things to get attention. Cats are smart and they communicate quite well. Try it! It's both fun and fascinating. .