How to understand a cat and communicate with it: a dictionary-translator of cat sounds and tail gestures

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How often do you say “meow” to your cat? Recent studies by Hungarian scientists have shown that cat owners meow quite often when communicating with their pets - unlike dog lovers, who somehow never think of barking at dogs ;).

But meowing does not mean being able to “speak” like a cat. The cats themselves rarely talk to each other (unless there is a reason to hiss or growl at an intruder). They use their “meow” and “purr” only to communicate with people. By observing our reaction to sounds, cats learn to get what they want.

And cat language itself is a complex combination of sounds, facial expressions, posture, position of the tail and ears.

Photo: “Handsome talkative cat” by DanJLove / CC BY-NC 2.0

Do cats understand human speech?

Cats have lived next to humans for several thousand years, but we still have not fully learned to understand them.

Most cat owners are interested in the question of whether cats understand human speech.
Numerous studies show that pets can understand human speech (up to approximately 100 words), but we are not talking about complete understanding.
Cats only remember individual words, but what they perceive best is the intonation with which these words were spoken. Cats are also good at remembering their name.

Animals clearly sense by their voice when the owner is angry or joyful, sad or angry. Cats behave in accordance with the intonations they hear.

If the owner is angry with the cat, then he stops the unwanted act, and if he affectionately calls him to him, then he goes into his arms.

Brought a dead mouse into the house

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Wrong translation. She hints that she is poorly fed, or deliberately annoys everyone. In fact. She teaches you how to eat right. This is how the parental instinct manifests itself: wild cats carry half-dead mice and sparrows to the kittens so that they get used to nutritious food and learn to finish off the prey. The cat's family in the absence of kittens is you. And the parental instinct sometimes turns on in such a strange way. Praise her and float the carcass away. Seeing that accustoming you to a diet is a hopeless matter, the animal will lag behind.

How does a cat communicate with its owner?

Many cat owners are interested in the question of how to understand a cat. To do this, tailed pets have all sorts of body movements, as well as many sounds. They may use purrs, hisses, soft or loud meows, and other sounds.

In addition, cats communicate with people by extending their claws, turning their ears or head, scratching, biting or rolling on their back. Purring is a sign of pleasure, happiness and calmness. It is possible that your kitty needs food, attention or affection.

Living with a cat, the owner will easily begin to notice the difference between the cat's purring. This often depends on the time of day or where the cat is when she purrs.

A growl or hiss indicates that the cat is determined to protect its interests and desires to the last.

How to understand the behavior of cats if your pets want to tell you something using gestures or behavioral patterns? Cat owners know very well that tails are the most expressive and emotional organs of their pets.

Thanks to the movements of the tail, animals clearly demonstrate their desires or mood.
Waving the tip of its tail - a cat shows everyone around that it is very interested in something.
Waving its tail indicates that the pet is very worried.
If a cat holds its tail up, it means that the pet is very surprised or in a fighting mood.
But a drooping tail is a symptom of depression or a sign of fatigue.

In the case when a cat clamps its tail between its hind legs, this is a manifestation of fear or fright. A relaxed and motionless cat's tail expresses that the pet is in a great mood.

The arched back and the fur standing on end demonstrates a threat. This is how the cat wants to appear larger than he really is. Most often, a cat scares a dog with this look. If she keeps her head straight, then she is not afraid of her opponent.

Dictionary of cats

Observation of animals made it possible to translate the following expressions from cat into Russian.

“Ha” means that the cat is extremely dissatisfied. There is a high probability that he used an obscene word.
“Mr-mr” - when you hear this, you can rejoice. The cat is immensely glad to see you and wants to be in yours - a rather mysterious expression, since you can never know exactly what to expect. In this way they are trying to invite people to follow them, but for what purpose?
“Mnggg” - everyone knows when after work you come into the house with packages, and your pet is in a hurry to meet you. Or when you opened the refrigerator in the kitchen. This sound means that the cat has smelled food and is looking forward to being given something tasty. This also expresses gratitude for taking care of him.
“Mrrrnnaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu exists he is glad that they took the time to play with him or feed him. But more could have been done. This is how they express their desire to continue eating or their desire to play again.
“Mrrrnnooooo” - at this moment the inner fighter for justice plays in the cat, who is indignant that the owner acted in this way. Literally means: “I do not agree with your decision.”
“Mrrrnnaaooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo The cat demands to give him what he wants, but at the same time uses the word “please”. At this moment it is worth fulfilling his demands, otherwise he will demand more seriously.
“Maaaoooo” (probably an expression of French origin, since the stress must be on the last syllable) - everything was calm, when suddenly strange things began to happen. There is noise all around or even worse (a new pet has appeared in the house). He is perplexed and asks what happened.
“Maaaoooo” - the pet was fed deliciously, but why so little? “I want more chicken!”
“Mmngaaow” - the cat is extremely indignant at how someone could allow him to be treated this way. Probably, if the pet had the powers of a king, this phrase would sound like “head off your shoulders.”
“Pffft” means that the pet is afraid. It is often accompanied by the same pursing of the ears, which makes all cat owners simply blur in emotion. It is at this moment that you want to take animals in your arms and protect them.
“Oooooh” - it’s harmful for cats to leave only when they feel afraid. And in this case, she came back again. A new guest came to the house, the cat came out to investigate the situation, examined the stranger, sniffed it and hurries to tell him that he doesn’t like him.
"Vvwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaancearyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to attack. At this moment it is worth saving your legs from the cat at any cost.
“Hrrrr” - your actions have pissed off the cat. He warns of an imminent attack. But you have a chance to improve the situation. For example, delicious food. This expression is less categorical than the previous one.
“Rough purr” - the cat likes to be shown kindness and affection. He communicates his love and asks you to continue petting him.

Signs of cat love

How to understand that a cat loves you? Feline behavior experts believe that pets truly love their owners and enjoy being with them.

Below are signs that indicate your indoor cat has a strong attachment to you:

The pet rubs against your legs or arms. This is the main sign that he has accepted you into his inner circle;
The cat simply follows the owner's heels;
Your pet kneads its front paws on your stomach or shoulder;
He shows his belly to the owner, and this is the main sign of pleasure and complete trust.

Licking the owner’s ears or hair also speaks of a cat’s love. This type of “care” is an undeniable manifestation of warm feelings for the owner.

Tramples your stomach with his front paws

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Wrong translation. Looks like she's about to dig a hole. Now someone will get hurt, and it won't be me! In fact. Trampling is a sign of hot cat love. This is infantile behavior; kittens massage their mother’s belly in such a way that there is no interruption in milk supply. A cat can also butt you on the forehead, which means that the animal is happy and your life together is wonderful. At least for her.

Other signs of cat favor

Cats often hide from strangers or even hiss at them, but they treat their own people more kindly. The cat's slowly closing eyes, the desire to play with the owner, and the location next to him on the sofa speak about a cat's trust and love. They understand very well who is their friend.

“Cat translator” – how does it work?

“Cat Translator” is an Android-based program that can be downloaded from the Internet and installed on a smartphone.
The application is a kind of speech synthesizer, which is based on many years of development by felinologists. Don’t forget that communicating with a cat using an app is more of a game between two interested parties, a person and a pet. To fully decipher messages, you need to take into account not only the sounds made by the cat, but also postures, gestures, and facial expressions.

The “cat translator” contains a huge library of sounds made by furry predators, and the pet reacts to them. The application analyzes the human voice (timbre, intonation, tonality), automatically selects the “words” of the cat’s language and reproduces them for the animal.

The translator contains various options for meowing, there is quick access to recordings of screams and purrs, which greatly facilitates communication with your pet.

The program has a simple, user-friendly interface and a large number of settings. When you open the application, you just need to select one of the animal voices, turn on the record button and say a phrase; the program synthesizes the phrase in “cat language” and voices it to the animal.

Be sure to read:

How cats are euthanized in veterinary clinics, can you do it yourself at home?

Pros of the program:

A huge library of sounds made by male and female animals.
Simple controls, user-friendly interface, voice input.
Possibility of free downloading.

Minuses:

The application is a game for entertainment and not a full-fledged translator.
Recorded animal voices can cause aggression on the part of your pet.
The full version is available only in a paid version.

How to determine if a cat is sick

It is necessary to learn to distinguish a sick cat from a healthy one. This will help to provide her with feasible and timely assistance, and, if necessary, tell the veterinarian about the symptoms of the disease and the pet’s behavior. How can you tell if your cat is sick?

When communicating with a pet, you should regularly check its teeth and gums, ears, and the condition of its eyes and skin.
A serious sign of ill health is a cat losing weight.
Another important symptom of visiting a veterinarian is a change in your pet’s behavior.

If the cat has become lethargic and apathetic, gets tired quickly, and also has an impaired appetite, then these are sure signs to visit a veterinary clinic with your pet.

In principle, any disturbance in the pet’s diet should alert the owner. The cat may start eating more or less - most likely she has health problems. She may also not eat at all for several days - then you need to urgently take her for a consultation with a veterinarian.

You also need to pay attention to whether the cat takes care of itself.
After all, they are very clean animals and love to lick their fur.
Therefore, if your pet does not pay attention to grooming, then he probably does not feel completely healthy.

Research on cats' moods, feelings and emotions is much inferior to that of dogs, but their quantity and quality has been steadily increasing over the last decade. And although these observations are only at the beginning of their journey, they already demonstrate that the ability of cats to communicate with humans is a very complex and multifaceted thing.

To figure out whether cats understand people, you need to learn to master their language. This will allow you to establish the most trusting emotions with your pet. Respectful and close relationships in return for respect and love.

Sits with his back, gets up, walks around and sits with his back again

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Wrong translation. She completely forgot about me. Pull her tail or something... Actually. If a cat stubbornly turns its back but does not lift its tail, it is offended by the lack of attention and wants you to persuade it to communicate. And if the analogy with some other mammal in the house seemed scary, here’s something else for you: when a cat gets up to walk and sits back down again, she wants you to notice her. The next stage of attracting attention is the contents of the tray scattered around the house.