Wild (and Sometimes Crazy) Wednesday – Does Your Cat Get It?

When you talk to your cat, does she understand? Does she know by the words or the gestures that it’s time to eat? Sophie actually seems to figure it out by what’s on TV. She stares at the TV sometimes in the late afternoon and if she sees Judge Judy, she continues her nap or playing or whatever. If it’s the news, shestarts bugging us for dinner.

Both cats recognize their name when we say it—whether we’re addressing the cat or talking about them. Is it the actual word they understand or do we give each name a little different tone or cadence? Experts say that cats can actually understand 25-30 words.

Olivia seems to understand a lot of words, but she’ll react most exuberantly to “Play!” A couple of days ago she was bumping up against me, pawing at me, mewing. Finally I said, “Olivia, do you want to play?” She leaped off my desk and tore out of the room. I followed and found her looking at her favorite rubber bouncy ball in anticipation. She loves chasing that ball up and down the uncarpeted hallway.

The one word the cats either don’t get or are too stubborn to respond to is “NO” as in “stop clawing the sofa,” or “leave that plant alone.”