[gunterkat]

Yesterday I was feeling really badly, and didn't feel like eating. Well, right about my dinner time, Arianwen came up to me and told me, in her cat-language,"You eat treats now!". She knew I wasn't feeling well, and was telling me to eat something good so I would feel better.
What a sweet Tiger!! :heart :heart
I have become accustomed to her language, and that's the closest translation I can come up with. What she "said" consisted of a 'good food' facial expression, with imperative body language, pointed at me. It was pretty fast, too.

I just had to share that, for those folks who say their cats just see them as "food dispensers", and don't really care about them otherwise.
Cats have a language that is quick, and subtle. If you don't watch for it, or think they have no language to express things like caring, you'll miss it. :wink:

 

[Leazie]

I am really glad that Arianwen is there to take care of you. It is easy to skip eating and taking care of yourself when you don't feel well, and she was there to give you the kick in the butt that you needed.

 

[gunterkat]

Lea-Ann, Arianwen is my sweet little familiar, my almost constant companion, my little best friend in a fur coat.
:heart

 

[doublemom]

Oh, I agree completely that cats can talk to us if we only stop long enough to watch and listen. Our little Monkey has SO MANY different vocalizations it's amazing, and he will look me straight in the eye and tell me something, and I can usually figure out right away what it is. My older Fuzzy-Silver girl also talks to me, though not as much. Her main talking is to let me know she needs a refill of her water dish(es)... she will ONLY drink water if it's fresh out of the tap, and she lets us all know in very plain English when she needs a refill. And Jet... we'll, he's just such a big hunk of cuddles and love that he rarely talks, because he doesn't need anything but hugs and more hugs.

I remember reading or hearing somewhere that cats have over 100 different sounds, but dogs only have about a dozen different ones. I need to try to find that again, it was really interesting...

Andi

 

[OwnedByACat]

Awe, how very sweet. She's making sure you take care of yourself!

 

[RachandNito]

Hehe, I have come up with a few kitty translations that I have procured during my time with Nito:

Turn around butt-flash combined with tail flick: "Whatever" or somewhat like flipping someone "the bird"

One ear turned back: "You're crazy" or "You're annoying me"

A trilled meow: "Look at me!"

A meow through a mouth of food while looking up and accidently goobering chunks of food all over the place: "Yum!"

Looking you directly in the eye while blatantly doing something naughty: "Chase me!"

Inquiring meow (going from lower at the beginning to higher in pitch at the end) when I sleep in or am upset: "You ok mom?"

:cat3 Anybody else come up with any kitty-language translations?

Oh, and Arianwen is quite the darling little angel... how precious. You are quite lucky to have her

 

[gunterkat]

Thank you! She is such a sweetheart. And so is Nito!

Looking back at you, then walking forward with a forward tail-flick is. "Follow me!".

 

[OctoberinMaine]

The most obvious language I get from Murphy is a sudden, loud "WHHHAAAAA" sort of wail. It's more like a wail than a meow. I know that means, "Where are you???" I yell out, "I'm up here, Murph," and he stops wailling.

 

[RachandNito]

The follow me signal! Nito does that too. I forgot about that one. He also does the "Where are you?" wail, and he has two different wails that he uses depending on who he is looking for.

 

[gunterkat]

The follow-me signal can be combined with blinkies, the "good food" lick-lips, or "play" body language, to qualify the reason your kitty wants you to follow.
There are other things, like the cough-bark to warn of danger, and the sharp, almost barking, meow to ask for food.
Doing blinkies, then looking down with chin tucked in, is, "Come here, my friend.". Followed up with one hand (paw) patting just in front of her, means, "Come sit by me."
I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting.

Early this morning, Arianwen wanted to leave our bedroom, to make her rounds checking the house. I had forgotten and latched the door, so she scratched the door, and said, "I go out!", pretty clearly, in English. So, it works both ways; we are learning each other's language.

 

[RachandNito]

Hehe... It's so good to know that I'm not the only one who really has conversations with their kitty.

I just remembered- hehe, Nito had a certain meow that he uses only after he's pooped. The "I just took a dump, clean it mommy!" meow :lol:

So is Arianwen one of those kitties who actually mimick human sounds? That sounds so cute. Do you have pictures of her here on the forum?

 

[gunterkat]

I had forgotten, Arianwen does have a "Where are you?" wail, too. I don't remember just what it sounds like off the top of my head, because it's been quite a while since I heard her do it. I do remember, though, there was a very sad, lost feeling to that meow. It made me want to go hold my baby and pet her, telling her it's alright.

There is a picture of her in the Bellies thread, here, where she's rolling around on the concrete patio, telling me how much she likes it outside and asking me to let her stay outside longer.
Also, there are tons of pictures of her here - http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t240/gunterkat/Arianwen dSLR/
She's a long, very floofy kitty, but she has a barrel chest, and short arms, legs, and tail.