Thursday, March 20, 2008

The Language of Cats: Do we Really Understand Them?

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I wish I had the ability to accurately read our cats' minds. It would make it so much easier if I could just enter into their world for a brief moment in order to  communicate more effectively with them.

Of course anything that I attribute to what they may be thinking is pure speculation. I don't know if I am imagining it, but our mackerel tabby domestic shorthair spay, Lucyfur, appears to be contemplating deeply about something that gives her that "far away" expression on her face. Or she could just be getting ready to nod off for a cat nap. It does get so frustrating at times.

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Our white Oriental Shorthair, Trouble seems to be nervous posing for this photograph. While his tail is in the upright position with a little curve on the top "telling" us that all is right with the world, his facial expression appears to be a bit contrary to his body language.

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This "wistful" facial expression that our other Oriental shorthair kitty is displaying, Hush Puppy, Trouble's brother, appears that he is gazing at me with an abundance of love. The look in his eyes speaks to me tenderly, of his affection.

But what do I know? I can only project my own emotions onto my cats and hope that I am getting it right.  He may be trying to tell me that it is dinner time!

How do you communicate with your kitties? Does their body language really give us access into their minds?  At the very least, we cat lovers can share information between ourselves, and purrhaps it will lend credence to what we suspect our cats may be trying to communicate.

Please leave a comment and let's share so we can be more effective in this important aspect of our feline servitude.

2 comments:

Vicki said...

Since I have more interaction with my dogs than my sons cat, I do know that they dream. My St. Bernard, Elli was asleep on my bed the other day. That's right, on my bed. She was as still as a mouse and all of a sudden, she started wagging her tail. She made a few little noises, but she was sound asleep. I knew she was dreaming about something, and whatever it was, she liked it!

Unknown said...

Seems like they can read our minds better than we can read theirs. Ever notice how they know when there is an impending trip to the vet? How they know you are headed to the pantry to get their food? It sure would be a lot easier if we could read them as well as they can read us.