Posted on 08/11/2007 10:25:00 AM PDT by DancesWithCats
Ever want to know what your cat is trying to tell you? By listening to their meow and following the clues of body language it is easy to figure out what your cat is trying to tell you. The pitch, volume and amount of meowing offer the keys to unlocking the message you are being sent. Responding to your cats meows in a consistent way will help your cat know exactly how to tell you things. For starters here are the most common cat meows translated for us human care givers.
One short meow Translated : "Hello", "see me", and "hi" Explanation: A short meow is a just your cat saying "Hi" and making sure you see her.
(Excerpt) Read more at esecret.org ...
I notice that they didn't include the tail wagging. Kitties can be very vigorous tail waggers. I have one cat that smacks me in the face with her tail (well a couple of them will do that) by climbing up on the bathroom sink while I'm ... occupied. And another whose tail she treats like an accessory, waving it about with sheer pride at the size of it (G.G.). Kitties. Can't live with 'em can't live without 'em! LOVE 'EM!
They need another chapter on the tail wagging. There’s when my cat is lying peacefully, but wagging the end of her tail. Usually that means, “I am resting, but I am fully aware of things going on around me.”
I have another little female cat that does something with her tail that I call “twizzling”. She backs up to something and then her tail will twist & jerk quickly. She usually does this when she wants to get my attention (usually wanting a little half & half while I’m fixing my coffee - I know it’s not good for her, but I pour her a few drops because she loves it so much). She never meows, so I guess she uses her tail to communicate more.
Some cats never make a sound - others, like my big orange tomcat - ‘talk’ constantly. I have 12 cats & they each have their own special personality.
Meow means “feed me”... meooowww means “feed me”... Meeeeooowwww means “feed me”.. purrrrrrrrr means “feed me”... roooooooewow means “feed me NOW”
I've taken precautions--they spend a lot of time on a deck that can't be reached from the ground where their beds, shelter and food is. They love the outdoors, particularly in warm weather, and discourage vermin and snakes.
Felt a little guilty until I read about the shocking number of cats recently euthenized at my local shelter--mine are shelter rescues--and am content that they have a pretty good cat life, after all. Food, shelter, family, medical care...and if they don't wander too far from home (and the family dog who looks after them and pretends he doesn't), they'll be safe.
The leader of our herd is a dominant queen who is convinced her mission in life is to keep the other kitties in their place. She had to go on a diet because she had bullied the other kitties into letting her eat first, which meant she would eat it all. If you disturbed her she would look up at you with kibble falling out of her mouth and a crazed expression on her face. She looked very much like a vampire caught in mid-feed.
Her meow always means food.Food, food, food. Sometimes it means coffee.
I know exactly what you mean. I live outside of the city limits in a wooded area on a dead end street. We are surrounded by woods & not much traffic. I used to let my cats outside - but one day my neighbor complained that one of my cats was hanging from her bird feeder!
I would love to let mine out - taking care of them is really a full-time job (in addition to the other REAL full-time job I have). But my husband helps me with them & I love taking care of all of my pets. I haven’t gotten mine declawed either, because I hope to be able to let them out someday when I move further out in the country. I’ve been wanting to screen and put a roof over my deck so that I can let them out there, but I just don’t have the money to do that right now.
I read somewhere that the average cat’s lifespan is 2 years. My oldest cat is 17 & I have another one that is 16. My youngest is now 3 - so they have all beat the odds. Having a home, where they can be fed and sheltered and given love - that’s a great life for a cat.
People that like animals have a kind heart :)
OHMIGOODNESS are they adorable!! You are such a blessing to this world to have taken them in! God sees and rewards such generosity and kindness, you can bet! (when I was a child, my dad stopped the car once because a cardboard box was IN the middle of the Sunrise Highway ... when he moved it, it meowed very small and quiet! yeah. Somebody deliberately left that baby to be flattened ... we brought it home with us and she lived a very good long life!). Some people have a special circle in Hell just reserved for them. I hate them.
Daffy thanks for the link to this English-Kitty Dictionary!
And this year I hired a handyman to build a kitty exercise pen that they can go safely out into from our screened in patio. They spend hours and hours climbing on the shelving, feeling the wind in their fur, watching the birds, rolling in the grass yet they are safe as safe can be. I love it! And so do they! It was just a very simple 10X10 box all screened in with a door on it and 1/2 sandbox, 1/2 grassy area. Well worth the $300. I paid for the labor and I think the materials were another $200. I bought the materials last year before I broke my hip and would have built it myself but for the stupid hip. I still have yet to paint it but 112 degrees outside is just not conducive to This Old House activity! In the fall I'll paint it and carpet the shelves. I'll add a kitty tree too to it. they just love it.
I like the idea of an outdoor pen. What did you enclose it with - screen or chicken wire or something? My cats would love that.
Here's a little screen cleaner for ya! [sound on!] *;-D
!
Bookmarked
Meow means “I’m bored”... meooowww means “I’m really bored”... Meeeeooowwww means “I’m really really bored”...
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