Wild (and Sometimes Crazy) Wednesday – How We Communicate With Our Cat

If you’ve had cats in your life for very long—I mean, if you have really connected with one or more cats, you’ve probably established a form of communication with them.

When my daughters were young, they used to marvel at how I seemed to understand cat-speak. I knew when one of our cats was hungry, when they wanted outside, to curl up in my lap, to play, or whatever. I’m sure that you understand and respond to your cats’ requests too. You might actually take your abilities to communicate with your cat for granted. Most likely, you haven’t given this much thought unless someone else has brought it to your attention.

Just how do cats communicate? Let me count the ways. They use their voice. Think about it—a cat can make a wide variety of sounds. They meow, mew, chirp, growl, howl, yowl, chatter, and hiss. And they purr—our favorite kitty sound. And then there’s body language. An astute cat person can tell when a cat is frightened, worried, timid, angry, agitated, aggressive, playful, or relaxed. His body language, eyes, and action says a lot.