communicating to humans

[bab-ush-niik]

Puppy seems to have problems telling us what he wants. He meows randomly, kind of at us but at nothing. We end up wandering around trying figure out what the problem is.

My other cats have always been more direct. Meowing in the kitchen means "I want canned food". Meowing at a door means "I want this door to open." Meowing at the litter box means "I want this cleaned (or I'll go find a rug instead)." Meowing and rubbing up against a person was "I want attention." Meowing at a person and walking to the door was "Follow me, I'll show you what I want."

Puppy doesn't do any of this though. He's only a year old though and hasn't had a stable home. It's been a long time since I've had a young cat. Does he need to learn this stuff? How can we help teach him? We just feel bad when he randomly meows and we can't figure out what he's wanting.

 

[justicelynn]

Don't feel bad...when I first got Akasha, she didn't make any noise unless it was a hiss or growl. Then when she learned that I wasn't going to hurt her..well..she hasn't shut up since. I usually just talk back to her. Try picking him up (if he'll allow it) and petting him when he meow for no reason. If he hasn't had a stable home he probably just needs TLC. Also is he fixed? This may be an issue as well.

 

[sbw999]

Originally Posted by JusticeLynn

Try picking him up (if he'll allow it) and petting him when he meow for no reason. If he hasn't had a stable home he probably just needs TLC. Also is he fixed? This may be an issue as well.

 

[bab-ush-niik]

Yes, he is fixed. He actually doesn't meow very often, which is why we figure he really wants something if he's bothering to meow. We tried just picking him up and petting him, but it seems it's not always what he wants. He also doesn't like to be picked up or be on someone's lap, he prefers to just be pet on the floor or to your side, so it's even more confusing since sometimes he wants attention, but only in a certain way.

Yesterday he meowed a few times and I finally figured out that what he wanted was someone to play with him and his fishing pole toy. I pretty much had to keep trying stuff until he stopped meowing because he wasn't meowing near the toys and he wasn't leading me to them.

 

[buzbyjlc10]

Oliver rarely meows for something in particular (unless I'm making tuna or pouring a glass of water or filling his kibble bin)... he'll usually greet me with mews when I come back home though - so most of the time when he mews it's pretty random and I just talk back to him... I feel like sometimes he's saying "so Mommy, how was your day, what's goin on? I love you, you know" so I just talk right back to him, haha... I guess I wouldnt be too concerned - if he really wants something I think he'd find another way of letting you know (ie: going to a particular place, pawing at something, scratching at doors, etc...) see if you can start to notice any patterns in his mewing - when? where? etc.... good luck

 

[alewifebp]

I've had my car for one week now that I adopted, and she was in the shelter for a while. She meows seemingly for no reason too sometimes. In the morning and night when I get her dish ready, she meows, so I can understand that. And sometimes she will look at me and meow when she wants some attention.

But, she also just randomly walks around sometimes and meows, like she is looking for some attention, but she is just meowing to no one, because she will be in the other room, or looking away from me.

 

[babyharley]

Same with Harley - when I walk in after work - he meows at me & I'll have a little conversation with him "How's your day been?" ect. - I know, I'm crazy

Othertimes he'll walk around meowing and I'll just start talking to him, and he'll meow back like we're having a real conversation, I love it - I just love hearing his little meowing voice!

 

[bab-ush-niik]

alewifebp, how old is your shelter kitty? That sounds exactly like what Puppy does. There are certainly times when it's obvious what he wants (like if it's 6:30 and he hasn't been fed yet, he meows in the kitchen and looks at his bowl) But then there's these other times he meows for no reason.

Maybe it's something about being moved around so much.

 

[momofmany]

I have cats that have lived with me since kittens that walk around meowling for no apparent reason. I ask them what they want and they just meowl back.

Could be a lot of things with Puppy - from being moved around a lot and not being entirely settled into you place, not knowing your routine entirely yet, or could be his personality.

 

[alewifebp]

She is two. I'd say over half of the meowing is all related to food, that is when she is the most active.

 

[ruthiesmom]

I call that "kitty singing." When Ruth just walks around a bit and meows for no apparent reason, I'm sure she's just singing because she's happy.

 

[purrpaws]

Originally Posted by babyharley

Same with Harley - when I walk in after work - he meows at me & I'll have a little conversation with him "How's your day been?" ect. - I know, I'm crazy

I don't think it's crazy at all. Most of our communication is nonverbal, and I believe that animals have an enhanced ability to pick up on nonverbal communication. So I think that even though they can't understand all our words, they can understand perfectly what we are saying. Does that make sense?

 

[jane_vernon]

I have conversations with my kitties all the time!

My two meow randomly, and I always ask them "What? What do you want?"

I think most of the time they just want a pat or for you to talk back!

 

[gailuvscats]

Don't worry, he will train you to figure it out. When mine meow, and it is not obvious, I ask what do you want? and stand up, and then they take me to it.
It is amazing how easily we are trained.

 

[rubenz]

My Cat Demon I swear can talk to humans well. If I say Demon, he makes 'what" sound. like grrrrrr-whaaat sound

I wonder about him some times lol.