Learn Your Name

Hi i have a large cat that i received from a friend. They asked me to take care of it for a week and then they gave it to me ! It was a long haired cat so i named her Fluffy. She doesn't come when i call her name and i try to give her treats but i don't know why she doesn't come. She likes to play with sting so i try to make her learn her name with the string. PLEASE HELP MEEEEEEEE. Thank you

The thing about cats is that they aren't like dogs. When you say your cat's name do her ears perk up?. Chances are she knows her name but doesn't like to come when called. I've had quite a few cats over the years that are like that. Cats are however very smart, and it sounds like you are on the right track by giving her a treat when she does come to you. Just be patient.

Why don't you ask your friends what her name IS? She'll ought to respond to her real name, though may choose not to come every time you call her.

I would call her by name with a very distinctive melody each and every time I fed her. Holler it the same way every time- I did this with mine and now they will come running without fail.

As the others are saying, it takes a while--you and the cat have to compromise on who she is And even then she will ignore you when it's convenient.

My cat's official name is Arizona. She only responds to "Arizona" if I sound really, really mad. The rest of the time she is known as "Miss Arizona" and that is all she will acknowledge.

I think it depends on each cat, Tolly is really good and comes every time you call him, Daisy comes if she thinks she will and Chloe sits there going "Who me?)

One of my three is deaf so she doesn't respond to being called at all...

Of the other two, they definitely make the ultimate decision though in a way they did have an active role in having the names that they do so it is a little different I suppose.

Sofia "chose her name" while I was watching the movie Vanilla Sky and every time someone on screen said the name Sofia, she'd turn and look up at the screen. At first I thought it was funny/quirky and then I realized it was something more when she stood up on her hind legs and really started responding the more the name was spoken. She has been Sofia ever since.

Keef has never had any other name but knew hers was hers within the first half an hour I had her. The vet remarked on that - how such a young kitten responded so well to a name - and she still does.

I read a quote once (paraphrasing): Dogs will come when called, a cat takes a message and gets back to you.

The young ones know one word very well: "RAUS!"
(German command for "Get out!")

Of course, I don't always use it correctly, I will also use it for "get down" because the command is just too long and isn't nearly as effective.

Tone and melody? Yep, those work too.

Treats? Sure, if your cat will eat treats...mine are a little quirky about treats.

Don't take that to mean that I yell at my cats, I don't. Why? They'd think I'm the noisy person spoiling their fun and ignore me. I get further with them actually if I speak directly to them, almost like reasoning with a child.

Keef will chirp and trill and squeak her replies to my request that she please get down and NOT try to get on top of the wine rack on top of the fridge...or please not try to chase that shadow any further up the wall at 3am when she's already at the highest point in the room... Keef pushes limitations.

Sofia is a brat at times and will do things she knows will get my attention whether it is positive or negative and then get this hurt look in her eyes when she doesn't get positive reinforcement for her negative behavior. That being said, Sofia will nearly always come if I call her.

i find the most effective way to communicate with my cats is via whistling, i have come to the conclusion they CAN differentiate different types of whistles, they know feeding time whistle very well!

I've only managed to teach my first kitten to come to her name. I discovered her absolute love for cheese, so i would hide around the corner out of sight and call out her name in a happy voice and when she came she would get cheese. i would then go and hide and repeat it. She learned in no time what her name is, and still comes (most of the time! ) when i call it. When i got Rambo on the other hand, if he knew i had food...i wouldn't get the chance to hide since he would have been climbing all over me to inhale the food. So i gave up with him. All i have to do is open a drawer in the kitchen and he comes running!

Seriously would YOU want to be called "fluffy"?????

I'd try some more names and see which one she responds to most. They do have preferences of names. When we first got our rex, I was gonna call him TS (for Top Secret) for short - well he NEVER responded to that name as a kitten no matter how many times you called him.

My ex-husband came up with "Spooky" cause he was white like a ghost. And he perked up his ears at the name and has responded every time you call his name.

Try a "sing song" sounding name or one that is prettier then just plain "Fluffy"

Phenom comes when she darn well pleases as do most cats. But if I sing in the tune of the chicken dance (don't laugh at me cause it works for Phenom...she comes running from where ever she is when I do this)

Phen-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-nom, Phen-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-nom, Phen-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-nom, Phe-ne-ne-nom!!

sorry

Jaffa will come if he feels like it or if he thinks there might be something edible on offer, but I always found the best way to bring him was to call for his brother, Magpie. He couldn't bear the thought that Magpie might be getting something and he wasn't.

Originally Posted by Phenomsmom

Phenom comes when she darn well pleases as do most cats. But if I sing in the tune of the chicken dance (don't laugh at me cause it works for Phenom...she comes running from where ever she is when I do this)

Phen-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-nom, Phen-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-nom, Phen-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-nom, Phe-ne-ne-nom!!

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I sing Polly the name game song.....Polly, Polly, po, Polly, banana-fana fo Folly, me, my, mo, Molly.....Polly!

She looks at me strangely when I do that

Originally Posted by Phenomsmom

Phenom comes when she darn well pleases as do most cats. But if I sing in the tune of the chicken dance (don't laugh at me cause it works for Phenom...she comes running from where ever she is when I do this)

Phen-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-nom, Phen-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-nom, Phen-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-nom, Phe-ne-ne-nom!!

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do you do the dance too??? that was funny!

My cats all know their names, but choose when they want to respond which is not very often

Originally Posted by katiemae1277

do you do the dance too??? that was funny!

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I should have known you would all laugh!! But she really does answer to it 98% of the time!! Plus it gets stuck in everyone's head I have my friends singing it when they leave my house!

Oh yea.. No I don't do the dance!! That would scare her!!

You should probably give it a little longer than a week. It took my cat almost a month before he actually came to me from calling his name. Especially with young kittens, new cats have so much to investigate when first coming home that I don't think they pay much attention to their name. I made sure to use his name everytime I interacted with him - whether it was when I was feeding him, when I was petting him, when I was changing the litter box, or when I would just see him in passing down the hall.

I agree with some of the others...you may want to try calling her different things to see if she responds.


Good luck!

You might want to pick a name with a hard sound. Something with a P, B, G, T...cats and dogs respond to these names faster.

Give him more time. My cat Puppy was owned by several people before us, and it took him a month to learn his name. Previously, he had the names Toes, Marbles, and Fred. After a while, your cat will perk his ears when you say his name. He won't come, but hey, he's a cat.

Make sure to say his name before you pet him and before you feed him. He'll figure it out.

Originally Posted by Phenomsmom

I should have known you would all laugh!!

But she really does answer to it 98% of the time!! Plus it gets stuck in everyone's head I have my friends singing it when they leave my house!

Oh yea.. No I don't do the dance!! That would scare her!!

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It's really cute though I sing to Simon, in the tune of La Cucaracha, Simona Marona! Simona Marona! I don't dance either, he already looks at me like I'm crazy