How to Communicate With Your Cat

I hope that by now you can all see through the various videos I have posted just how closely I am able to communicate with the cats. I can both 'read' them and they in turn get most things I say. Not only do they get it, they respond and react. I can stand there and talk to Gabriel, and tell him to 'go get' Princess, and he actually does. It's on video. Or like today, when I saw our crazy squirrel neighbor by the top of our deck. He was by the food bowls in the kitchen when I said "hey, Gabriel! Look at the squirrel! It's the squirrel!". He actually responded and went straight to the deck door, looked out, and spotted the squirrel. On the surface, I honestly don't know how they get the words, but they do. What I do know though, is that I fostered a very close bond with both cats, from the start. They accepted me (and 'adopted' me) immediately as their caretaker, their surrogate mom. I spoke their language through touch, smell, stroking, and talking to them. When they called for me, I responded so the trust and communication continued to develop. They followed me, and still follow me, everywhere in the house most of the time. (It actually took about a year for them to become more independent and foray into their own for a block of time, like Gabriel discovering there's a world full of chipmunks, birds, and squirrels outside of the glass door downstairs.)

So, if you want to achieve this level of closeness and communication with your cats, 'talk' their language and let them hear you talking to them as well, on a regular basis. Let them know and feel that they are truly a part of your life and family, not just extras or pets. And you can do that through talking, not just touch and stroking. Princess, for example, doesn't respond just to touch - she starts purring most of the time when I talk to her, and acknowledge her.

A Beep-ing and A Flit

Ah'm Gabriel here again and as you awl know bah now, Ah am really happy and lawve mom laike mah life. Ah'll do cartwheels for her, or at the very least, roll mah belly when she asks.

But there's one thang Ah just don't trust: When she opens that door "downstairs" and Ah hear that beep sound, Ah still get nervous and run up the steps. [alarm beep].

Mand you, she ain't holding anythang in her hands. But Ah just know that, through that door, thangs tend to go out of control. Like when she grabs me and puts me een that thang [carrier] and Ah go out of the house altogether. Ah really don't care how long it's been since that happened [it's been several months now]. Ah just have no interest in gettin' out of mah house altogether.

Ah've got no whatsoever curiosity as to what's out there through that door. Ah'm perfectly happy een here and don't really want to go anywhare. Just laike Pipi - she doesn't want to leave, never does. But mom keeps tryin' to explain it to me. The other day Ah got startled again when Ah heard the beep sound and Ah scrambled upstairs on the double. And then of course Ah come down a step or two to check on mom anywah.

So she started tawlking to me: "Gabriel, we're NOT going anywhere, okay? When I say "I'm gonna go bye-bye, it's okay - I'M the only one's that leaving. Okay? It's only when I say "We're going to the DOCTOR, or the CLIPPER's, that's when YOU come with me. Okay?"

It got embarassin': Ah'm listening the whole time standing upright at the top step, but Ah'm turning mah head away from mom the whole time she's talking to me. Ah mean, does it awl have to be spelled out laike that? Do Ah have to hear "doctor"??!!

..Ah just dawn't wawnt to have another panic attack in that box, you know? [the carrier].

Do We Have A Princess Here?

I was at Tyson's mall the other day when I strolled into a specialty gift store. Something caught my eye by their front-door display and I wanted to take a closer look at it. It was an old fashioned carriage, the kind that you associate with a Princess in it. It had big silver wheels on it and a pumpkin-like center where a picture fit in .. quite the cinderella archetype.

So I held it in my hands and one of the two sales people offered to help show it to me. It turns out it also had a musical theme that you could wind up and listen. So he wound it up and the theme started to play but I couldn't hear it... there was a second sales woman a few feet away who was talking very loud. So the first sales guy kind of clumsily tried to tell her.

The woman bumbled over but didn't quite get it... let's just say she was very extroverted. She sees me holding the Princess carriage and hears some sort of mumbling from the guy, still trying to help me listen to the tune.

She takes one look at me and says: "What? Oh, we have a .. real PRINCESS here ? "

...Not sure where she got that from, to be honest...


:)

Eet's Nawt Awl That Baad...

Hah, y'awl... Gabriel here. Tuday, we had a leetle momentary deesturbance..

You see, Ah keep forgetin' 'dat Ah'm not supposed to deeg mah claws into the carpet. And so, every time Ah do it, mom keeps tryin' to tell me to stop. So, Ah did it again today, just dug in 'dere. Pipi was sitting nearby me and next thang Ah know, sometin' comes flyin' mah way.

Pipi got this look of horror in her face and Ah just scrambled downstairs. Mand you, mom didn't even bother to yell at me, Ah knew Ah was in the wrong. Pipi got totally spooked though and followed me right down, she tried to make sure Ah was awlright.

"Eet's nawt that bad, Pipi.. Ah'll go back upstairs now, you see? 'Cmon, too.", Ah told her. But she wouldn't, she was just taken aback bah this flyin' thang. So we stayed down there for a while, waiting. Ah finally had enough of that so Ah climbed the stairs back up to mom's area but kinda thought about what Pipi was feeling. So, Ah passed by and continued to go upstairs even more [the stairs off the dining room now, going up to the bedrooms].

But Ah stood there, mid-step, and Ah looked back at mom. Hmm.... What do Ah do? Do Ah keep going up? Ah wanted to check in with mom, see how she was feelin' about the whole thang. So Ah looked one more time and Ah got what Ah was hoping for:

"Aww, 'cmon on my baby! Come on!" she told me, opening up her arms in the air.

That's awl Ah really needed. Ah turned right around and bounded down the few steps and just ran, 'er... rambled , over to her. "Awww, MOM! Ah'm so glad we're good again!", Ah 'said' to her as Ah came close to her and jumped on her belly on the couch...

[...It's the mutual adoration society. ]

How Things Turn Sour

It was another lazy afternoon with mom today. I layed there with her on the "beddie-bye", enjoying the sunshine streaming in on us, while she stroked me. I gave her another massage-on-demand, too. It's a routine for us, you know, lounging together like that. Googie was out of sight-out of mind, somewhere downstairs pretending to be hunting. That silly boy, he thinks just because he sticks his nose to the glass and scoots around looking at a chipmunk or a "birdie", that's hunting! Hah!

Anyway, he suddenly shows up in all his glory.. nowadays, when Googie jumps on the bed, we all feel it, you know? I figured, it's time for me to go, he can take over and shmooze with mom.

Next thing I hear from the floor, it's mom doing the 'battle cry' again. Oh, no!... Googie's getting bitched at! I jumped back up just in time to see him with ears flat, facing mom patiently while she's like... threatening him. Googie, let me lick your head a little. So, I try to smooth things over - I reach to his head from behind and start to lick him and groom him, make him feel better while he's still flat-eared. He's stuck with mom trying to smother him, you see. And he takes it, he really does, he's pretty patient.

['Mom' had some more fun messing with Googie's head, doing the cat sing-song sound... It's the cat's 'battle cry'. She just wanted to hug him and make him stay close but she apparently used the wrong message and Googie went flat-eared ..! ]

A Phone Call and A Beg

Mom came home way too early yesterday. We both sensed her and were sitting by the steps "downstairs" ready to greet her. Hmm... she didn't look too good. So I followed her quietly everywhere she went in the house, patiently waiting to try and get near her. She finally went to her 'beddie-bye' and layed down - that was my chance. I jumped on top of her and gave her my custom massage. 'Do you feel better now? a little?' I looked and checked on her, eye-to-eye. I took turns with Googie who did the same, well minus the massage... He's not that good at that... But he told me, 'Hold on there Pipi, let me try. Ah'll go awn now and see how she's doing.. Ah'll just lie there beside her, she'll feeel better'.

But that phone thing kept ringing. She picked it up and got up from the 'beddie-bye'... Hmm... she didn't look good again, I followed her to the other room. She kept talking to that thing and I could tell she was upset. I quickly jumped on the [window sill] as she stood there talking, looking out the window and got up on my back legs trying to reach her with my front paws.. I stretched as far as I could up to her chest. "Mom? Mom! Here I am, right here... It's all right... It's all gonna be all right, don't worry!", I tried to tell her, trying to distract her, looking right into her eyes.

I could only stretch upward like that for so long... I stood by her, clinging to her leg the rest of the time. And then we all went to sleep in the 'beddie bye', that was the right thing to do, I'm sure...

A Perfect Example ...

..of how a cat can listen attentively to you, AND respond.

This is another spontaneous moment caught on video. But don't misunderstand me: I really don't get into some sort of 'training' ritual with my cats. I just talk to them. And this is the result.

... (And, I'm not a froielyne! )

:)

[Video accompanied]