Does my cat understand what I'm saying? Do cats have their own language?

Question

I talk to my son (my cat, Pluto) as if he's a baby. Sometimes I feel like he's asking me for something, by when he meows, but half the time I don't know what he wants.

Answer 1

I think of my cats as my sons too. I just call them 'my boys'. (Inca, Prancer, and Edelweiss)
Obviously cats can't sound out human words so they do kind of have their own unique language which you learn over time. Oh course, the exact same meow can mean a million different things. My cat, Inca, goes up to the fridge and meows when he wants fed kitty milk and when he sees the milk in my hands, his tail starts to shake/wiggle with excitement sometimes.

I've told Inca since I found him when he was 4 weeks old that "Everyone loves Inca" and 'not to worry if other cats act upset they just need a little love because my Inca is an angel' and he has never hissed at another cat or done anything bad like that in his life! It makes me wonder. Even when other cats try to attack him and be mean, the majority of time he just walks away or does simply nothing at all. He has only maybe once or twice done anything in self defense. When i tell him I love him, which I always do when I am petting him or kissing him, he smiles at me and puts his nose up slightly.

With Edelweiss, I've always told him that he is very special and I am sure that he knows it, he gets spoiled too.

Some of my cats were taught the word "back" by my step dad because they always tried to run into other parts of the house when they weren't suppose to. Moonstripe knows to come to her name or "here kitty". Inca comes when I call him, Kuddles, the dog, or when i whistle though, lol. Kuddles only lifts her head to her name, and yep, that is all she does, lol. No coming to me.

Oh, and they can understand a person's actions. Prancer was stuck in the breeze-way when a tornado went through our yard. Instead of hiding in the kitty house, he watched up from the window all go to the basement and he stayed up their the whole time which means that he really -saw- the tornado! My poor baby! So he figured out how to get into the basement through the basement window in the breeze-way when ever a storm passes. He also runs for the basement door during a storm if I let him in the house.

I know you can teach cats various words, not to say, just to reccognize ;)

Sorry, didn't mean to write a book.

Answer 2

Well, cats generally dont understand what you're saying, they understand concepts of certain things for instance, if i call my cat, and i have his medicine for his eye in my hand, he runs like hell, and hides. But if i even hold his cat food can without making a noise, he will run towards me.

He follows my car down the road to my driveway when i come home, so i can let him inside.

He refuses to go into the bathroom, at any time, because he fears a 'bath', which he knows that word pretty well.

But cats do understand your intentions, if you intend to do something they will understand. the day before i took my cat to the vet, he avoided me, as soon as we got back from the vet, he was fine again, same thing happened with his check up 2 weeks later.

They just know that something is up, or if you want something from them. It's good to have good comunication with your pets, bjust because they are 'animals' dont make them any stupider than people, communication, and having thumbs, seems to be the only differance than me ;) they have more class than most of us :)

Answer 3

He probably associates the tone of your voice and your body language with actions that you do at the same time. For instance, if you raise the pitch your voice at the end of a sentence, like when you ask a question, he'll know that you're probably about to feed him (Are you hungry? Yes? Does Pluto want some food, hmmm?). This will often make him meow and rub against your leg. Other than that, cats probably don't understand a word you're saying. Dogs are better at understanding commands, but again, I think it has more to do with tone of voice than actual words.

Answer 4

Yes, cats can understand quite a few words.

And, you're right! Meows generally are a request/command. Rather its, "I want more food!" or "Give me some attention!", a meows main purpose is to inform you of what the kitty wants at that exact moment.

A Cat's main form of communication is body language. And most of that is expressed through the tail.

Reading about these behaviors, and simply watching your cat will better help you understand what he wants.

Pluto will probably purr if you've done what he wanted to be done.

Answer 5

Animals respond to vocal commands and body language. Dogs can be trained to respond to hand signals, cats and other animals are not quite so good. The animal tries to communicate with you too but since we have no common parameters, we can't understand the other's wants or needs. Baby humans are the same but slowly we begin to communicate whereas with animals we can't. I am not mocking you or being scornful but think about this...we expect our pets to instantly learn our language when even a child needs years to be able to express himself. But as with children, you will reach a point where both you and your pet will understand each other without a word needed.

Answer 6

Sometimes our cats(Shadow and Kitty) do seem to be able to understand what we're saying! We talk to both our cats and often they sit and watch us like they know what they're being told. Other times they walk away like they just aren't interested or are tired of hearing the same old story over and over again! They do meow or mew back at us like they have something to say. We can't always understand them but after awhile they do get their point across to us! We pet them and thank them for listening or talking back to us!

Answer 7

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They learn to understand very simple things like No and Down, and to recognize their own names. Now you have noticed her tail movements pay lots of attention to them and you may be able to see how she uses them to express her feelings. You can learn a lot about how they feel by watching their body language.eg lashing of the tail usually means anger. Holding the tail upright means alert attention and can be a greeting to you. Waving just the tip shows interest. And the more you respond to them the more they will communicate to you. Our old tabby has many different mews that mean different things - he even has a little chirrup that seems to mean Thank you when we open a door or give him his supper. He has very sharp short cry for when he's desperate for his meal. When we took in a stray some years ago he had just one plain mew. After several years of being listened to and talked to he has branched out a bit and is now doing the Thank You chirrup. We should not make the mistake of thinking that because an animal has the wrong kind of vocal chords for speech he is therefore not intelligent. Scientists used to think this. Alert pet owners never have!

Answer 8

Pluto IS talking to you!!!! It always depends on the way he flicks his tail. The way he's doing stuff with his tail can mean he's either curious or...well...anything! You can probably find more information on the web. I have two dogs and one of my dogs (a Shih Tzu named Forte) will jump up once and nibble my finger lightly if he wants a bite to eat. I don't know if cats have different meows for different wants or needs, but it's worth a shot to find out!!!! Good luck with everything!

Answer 9

Cats can understand quite a bit, simple commands, and the moods of their owners. Cat language varies, as some cats have a wide vocabulary and others barely "talk" at all.

Answer 10

Usually they either want down if you are holding them, or they want food or they want to go out. I dont think they necisarilly have their own language but i thing the tone they use is like their language. like you you here a cat fight w/ another cat... you can tell they are fighting and saying to back off. but i dont think they have individual meows for a word.