Do You Talk With Your Cats?

I don't mean to, I mean WITH. I don't mean the cutsie baby talk stuff. Yeah, call me crazy, but I talk WITH them in their own language. I mimic their EXACT sounds, down to the pitch of their meow's. When they change their meow, I mimic what they do to sound exactly like their sounds.

This can go on for a loooong time, with a lot being said. Now, I'm not sure WHAT they are saying, but they know I'm doing my very best to communicate with them. I figure if they are swearing at me, I'll give it right back. It's closing the gap between humans and animals. I just have to be careful when I'm out in public to remember who I really am. Am I the only one that does this?
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I do that same thing too with Abby! She's such a chatter box and loves the sound of her own voice.

I imagine because I'm repeating everything she says in the same tone/reflection that she's yelling at me to stop repeating everything she says!!!

Yes indeed I talk to/with my cats. We all live together and include each other in just about everything. They talk just as much as I do, with one another and with me.

Yes, I "speak" to my more vocal cats by imitating their distinctive sounds. They respond either vocally or by jumping into my lap. Of course, I speak to them in regular English too. They seem to find me equally amusing both ways.

Ahem......yes......I talk with mine too. Well, with Lily to be precise, she spends ages talking with me and I talk back. She usually talks when she hasn't seen me for a while, we're not talking days here but because she's been asleep or I've been out, or first thing in the morning.

Yes, the conversations go on for some time.....the family think I'm nuts

Our cats really do communicate with with us by using different sounds and body language.
If we listen and watch them closely, over time we can learn their language.
I frequently carry on conversations with my cats.
They are very smart.
Meow!

I wish I could carry on a conversation with Bella. She makes some of the funniest sounds I've ever heard.

Everyone says that cats only meow for and to humans, but if you imitate certain meows they use with each other you can really upset your cats. The one that gets the biggest reaction is what I call the "upset meow". We've all heard it, the meow that cats used with distressed (not scared, that's different) - it's higher pitched and short. Kittens use a variation of it to cry to their mothers.

If I were to make it right now all of my cats would come running.

There's the "momma cat call" that mother cats use to call kittens to them. I've used it for years to call out kittens I'm trying to catch. It also works to call Tomas and Tanna - they still think they're baby kittens.

There's the "come here" type meow that works to call up cats to you - it's slightly drawn out at the beginning of the meow and short at the end.

And there's the whining meow. Imitating it usually annoys the cat you're mocking.

Plus various brrs, trills, chirps, and squeaks.

I'm also able to imitate a few birds...I had to stop imitating doves because I wasn't quite sure what I was telling them but it kept resulting in creepy stalker doves getting too close to me.

None of my cats right now are talkers, so I've gotten out of practice. But, I had a black oriental mix named Sassy (had to rehome her before I moved back to the states) that would talk up a storm. We would have 1/2 hour long conversations about what? I don't have a clue. But she loved it when I just talked back to her. Maybe I have to start trying again and see if I can get them to talk with me.

Chloe and Fera are Siamese mixes so they talk a lot. Chloe is usually the one I can have a kitty conversation with, but often Fera will drop in. I usually refer to this as the "meow chorus". I can't get any of my boys to respond.

Of course and I know that they understand me, hubby thinks I am mad lol. My mum talks to her cats and she has made voices up for them and she speaks for them Ok, now who thinks my mum is mad?? x

The boyfriend mimics Marigold's sounds all of the time. You could be laying in bed in the morning and then on one side of you the boyfriend and the other side is the cat both talking to each other. I'm able to get Marigold to understand a few human words like come here and come see mom lol. Haylo on the other hand well is not very talkative when we try talking to him.

I talk to and with Hannah all the time in a variety of meows, chirps, and trills. Callie's not much of a talker and Tumbleweed's so new to our home that I don't know what all cat language he knows.

I am not very good at trying to mimic the sound of the different meows, so I don't really do it. I usually talk to them in human, but will mimic the body langage of cats. I should practice the moew thing...

Originally Posted by Bellaandme

I wish I could carry on a conversation with Bella. She makes some of the funniest sounds I've ever heard.

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I have many long conversations with my cats, individually I mean. Just because I don't know exactly what they are saying does not mean the conversation is not meaningful!

I'm su re they know what I am saying most of the time anyway!

Originally Posted by otto

I have many long conversations with my cats, individually I mean. Just because I don't know exactly what they are saying does not mean the conversation is not meaningful!

!

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It's not too hard to figure out very basic meaning in some meows. The feed me meow is easy.

One thing for anyone trying to imitate meows, keep the pronunciation (? ) shorter at the end of the meow noise you make. Making it drawn out, and especially if you lower voice while doing it, is a common cat meow that shows displeasure, anger, or fear. Think of the sound two cats make before they fight. Don't imitate that.

After being around some ~60 cats or so in my life, I've noticed meow patterns.

thanks. I do know the meaning of their specific sounds when they are asking or telling me something specific.

I was more talking about our rapture sessions. I don't meow back at them, I talk human while they talk cat.

I talk to Holland all the time, but she's so quiet it usually ends up being a one way conversation...

LOL, oh yes yes yes, absolutely!
I DO talk to/with Ku Ku all the time
So does my neighbor who lives with 3 cats. Another friend of mine who lives with 4 cats does the same, too.

We, cat owners do have mutual understanding re: conversation with our "babies" but I'm sure others would think we are nuts and have some problems should they hear our conversations

I know Ku Ku understands me with or without vocalizing conversation.
I also occasionally talk to my neighbor's cats when I see them, and I know they understand me, too.

Cats are really amazing & such a smart creatures

Yes, and they both understand perfectly well what I am saying, I am sure of it. Yet when my wife (DW) talks to them in her native language (Persian) they don't understand and I have to translate into English for them and then everything is OK.