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Feline Language...

JoeEllison

Cuddly Like a Koala Bear
JoeEllison
Joined
Jul 7, 2007
Messages
7,270
Has anyone done any serious research into what exactly cats are saying? I swear my cat is trying to have a serious discussion with me, but the language barrier is getting in the way.:D
 
I know exactly what you mean, but I'm not aware of any research.

Yesterday I collected my cat from the cattery after the holiday. I had filled up his food and water bowls fresh before I set off, so he had everything he could have desired as soon as he came out of the cat carrier. Nevertheless he insisted on starting a long conversation with me, about who knows what.

Long time ago, I hit a cat with my car when driving home from choir practice late at night. I got into the house upset, and picked up Rolfe (my then cat, who pretty much could talk) and told him all. I swear that cat gave me the cold shoulder for about three days after that.

Rolfe.
 
I fear some of what we think we witness is actually in our heads. Meaningful vocal communication seems to be limited to such erudite topics as;

Wanting food.
Wanting to go out, come in, go out (etc)
Wanting affection.
Acknowledging affection (one of mine yips when you stroke her).
Warning off (the old hiss/yowl).
No, seriously (loud shriek)
Pain/fear (low meow - horrible to hear :( )

Otherwise it mostly seems to be physical (ears, eyes, posture etc), or woo (imagined by doting baby-syndrome owners, made up by "facilitators" etc). This seems pretty good gen, and Cornell seem to have looked into it too.

ETA- This is a breakdown of the identified noises in the repertoire.

As with even primates, there's no evidence of language per se, but definitely some vocal communication (as any cat owner will tell you as per my own list above).
 
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Rolfe said:
Yesterday I collected my cat from the cattery after the holiday. I had filled up his food and water bowls fresh before I set off, so he had everything he could have desired as soon as he came out of the cat carrier. Nevertheless he insisted on starting a long conversation with me, about who knows what.
Click to expand...

Taking a wild guess....

"Where the [I have no idea if I allowed to post stars or not so if I am then stars if not a mild cuss word] have you been and what were you playing at putting my in the [as above] cattery?!"
 
Well, he knew what was up as soon as he saw the suitcases being packed.

And this cattery was much nicer (as well as a bit cheaper) than the last one, and he (as usual) clung to the netting of the pen when it was time to go, so I fail to see the substance of his complaint.

Rolfe.
 
*woof*

I speak it with an accent.

I have had some pretty meaningful if onesided communications with my retard (his original name was aristotle, Retard suited him better) most of the communication I perceived was non verbal,
Claws in the groin means you should stay put, I'm comfortable
Licking your Eyelid, "wake up it's 0500 time to feed me"
Shredding my Toilet paper, "I need more shiny things"

Desmond Morris lists that although the Cats Voice is complex and an average Domestic Cat uses two simultaneous generated sounds for each type of communication, there are many many "words" but they roughly fall into 7 meanings, the tonal words differing depending on whether they are talking to You, a Friendly Cat, a Strange cat, a stranger, a threat, a kitten, or potential lunch.

the 7 groups are I am angry, I am Frightened, I am in pain, I want attention (No Rule8 sherlock.), come with me, I am inoffensive, and I want to sink my teeth into you.

I know that when I had 3 cats, I could identify what was going on with which cat and what/who it was planning to pounce on or groom.

=^..^=
 
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I just got a cat. He's a very beautiful grey cat, a mix of russian blue and plain old street cat, that some [censored] abandoned. He's three months old, give or take. He has the very apt name of Gandalf the Grey, gold-green eyes, and a very sweet disposition. He meows rarely and mostly -I think- when he's frustrated about something, but other than that I'm still trying to learn what he's trying to say.

Luckily for me, he's very gentle, doesn't scratch, nor bite, nor growl; he just wants food, warmth and to be petted and purrs like an old engine. He likes to lick my nose. But sometimes he'd just be playing and he'd stop and start meowing really loud for some reason, stopping just as abruptly and inexplicably. I'm new at this, so maybe I'm doing something wrong, or right, or nothing at all, I dunno... But I love him to bits. He's the most beautiful wisp of smoke ever. So, if there's a short dictionary cat-human, I'd like to have a peep, just to be sure...
 
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My cats don't meow at each other. I've seen cats snarl at each other when fighting however. (Not my cats luckily!)

I think they mostly communicate with each other through body language and smells/pheromones.

I know there's been research on the pheromones released when humans are afraid. I would assume similar research has been done on the cats' fear pheromones.

My google-fu skills are failing me however, and I was not able to find out if research has been done on (or to prove) that cats release pheromones when feeling other emotions or hunger. Has anybody seen or know about any research in that area? (No need to post about the sex pheromones, I know about those! :) )

Their sense of smell is so strong however, that I think its reasonable to assume that they do release pheromones for a variety of emotions (I'm happy, I'm annoyed, etc.) and physical states (I'm hungry, I just stuffed myself, etc.). It would be an excellant way for them to communicate.

My cats seem to think that meows may mostly be for those poor humans who can't smell and don't even seem to be able to understand body language that well. ;)

But do your cats meow at each other or at other animals?
 
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A good growl when playing is normally a good thing, it normally means I want to sink my teeth ito you/toy (everything = Cat toy) if you end up with your forearm shredded and blind in one eye, then he probably wanted to stop. Often when playing a cat will go absolutely mental with your hand and then happily degenerate into a purring ball of fuzz washing it gently, as long as he knows it is play you are fine.

Retard would pounce at my leg every single time I walked past him, but never the wife's, I encoraged play the missus didn't.

:catfight: *Grrrr pfffft*
=^..^=
 
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Now here's the advantage of having a budgie. She can speak English. Of course, all she can say is "pretty bird," but that's pretty much all she needs to say.
 
LibraryLady said:
Now here's the advantage of having a budgie. She can speak English. Of course, all she can say is "pretty bird," but that's pretty much all she needs to say.
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*licks paw, settles*

How about " I tawt I taw a puddytat, I deed! I deed! taw a puddytat."

*gets distracted by shiny*

=^..^=
 
The cat that modeled for my avatar talks a lot. He has a loud meow he uses when he wants me to take him for a walk (he walks on a leash), a really loud yowl when he is pissed that the loud meow didn't do the trick, a sharp bark (always done when sitting down and glaring at me) which means "why the hell are you sitting on your ass when you could be playing with me", and the loudest purr I've ever heard on any cat. He also makes a huffing sound when he's annoyed at me.

Another of my cats doesn't talk a real lot, but he makes a whirring noise a lot when he's playing by himself and he also makes it when my other dominant cat surprises him, I think it means "oh noes!!1!!!". He will also make a broken (almost crying) meow when you're holding him and he wants to be let loose.
 
Rolfe said:
Well, he knew what was up as soon as he saw the suitcases being packed.

And this cattery was much nicer (as well as a bit cheaper) than the last one, and he (as usual) clung to the netting of the pen when it was time to go, so I fail to see the substance of his complaint.

Rolfe.
Click to expand...

Lets see, different cattery from last time (you might think it is nicer, maybe the other one smelt better), cheaper (thinks you don't love him as much because you spent less) and despite him clearly indicating that he was not ready to return home (maybe he had been working on a cunning plan for world domination that he was due to put into effect that night) you still insisted on dragging him home.

Simple rule, whatever you do, your cat will find a reason to complain about it.
 
So, basically, my cat is saying "Outside! OOOOOUUUUTSIDE! outside?OUTSIDE"
 
Furi said:
A good growl when playing is normally a good thing, it normally means I want to sink my teeth ito you/toy (everything = Cat toy) if you end up with your forearm shredded and blind in one eye, then he probably wanted to stop. Often when playing a cat will go absolutely mental with your hand and then happily degenerate into a purring ball of fuzz washing it gently, as long as he knows it is play you are fine.

Retard would pounce at my leg every single time I walked past him, but never the wife's, I encoraged play the missus didn't.

:catfight: *Grrrr pfffft*
=^..^=
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That's not funny. A few years ago my Ex's nice cat gave me a little nip on the hand, hardly enough to draw blood. Three days later I couldn't lay on my left side because the lymph nodes in my armpit were so sore. I had full-blown cat scratch fever. Thanks to my stout, incredible, strong constitution (and a whole lot of Augmentin) I got over it with no residuals.

However, any time since then I get a little cat bite I immediately scrub the bejeezus out of it with soap and water. A word to the wise...:(
 
Walrus32 said:
That's not funny. A few years ago my Ex's nice cat gave me a little nip on the hand, hardly enough to draw blood. Three days later I couldn't lay on my left side because the lymph nodes in my armpit were so sore. I had full-blown cat scratch fever. Thanks to my stout, incredible, strong constitution (and a whole lot of Augmentin) I got over it with no residuals.

However, any time since then I get a little cat bite I immediately scrub the bejeezus out of it with soap and water. A word to the wise...:(
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I had the exact same thing happen to me right after I got my cat! At its worst, it was painful to lower my arms my lymph glands were sp swollen. My cat never even apologized. :mad:
 
WildCat said:
I had the exact same thing happen to me right after I got my cat! At its worst, it was painful to lower my arms my lymph glands were sp swollen. My cat never even apologized. :mad:
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Why should he? It's not his fault you were in the way of his claws.
 
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