NationStates Jolt Archive

Does anyone else talk to their pets like they'd talk to a another human, or am I the only one who does that? I talk to Amelia all the time like she could respond to what I ask her, or what I tell her. Most of the time she just looks up at me and then goes about her day, or decides that I need to pet her.

i talk to my pets as if they were very young children.

my favorite question to my cat is "what part of NO dont you understand?"

i talk to my pets as if they were very young children.

my favorite question to my cat is "what part of NO dont you understand?"

My most used line with Amelia is "Stop nibbling on my hand, I'll feed you when I get up."

I talk to my dog like he is a kid. If he does something naughty, then he gets told off and he'll go sulk in his bed. However if he does something good then he gets praise, he wags his tail and if I'm sitting on the sofa he'll jump on it and try lick my face.

Now I miss my dog. I haven't been in the old family home for almost a month now.

I talk to my cats all the time

I talk to my pet. She responds very lovingly, but sometimes she talks in Spanish. I wish I spoke Spanish.

I talk to my pet. She responds very lovingly, but sometimes she talks in Spanish. I wish I spoke Spanish.

points to you, Galloism. points to you.

I speak to all animals, not just my pets. But I don't try and have conversations with them, I just try and interrogate them as to their motives.

points to you, Galloism. points to you.

Yay! *hums the theme song to Who's Line is it Anyway?*

I speak to all animals, not just my pets. But I don't try and have conversations with them, I just try and interrogate them as to their motives.

I've done that before. Cats are the most tight-lipped creatures in the world. I just know they're up to something.

points to you, Galloism. points to you.

I speak to all animals, not just my pets. But I don't try and have conversations with them, I just try and interrogate them as to their motives.

Oh yes. The questions most think of but few dare to ask like:

"Who sent you?"
"What are your plans?"
"Where's the money?"

I've asked my dog but he just stares at me and then sticks out his paw for a handshake. I'll get past his Cute Defence one day.

"i kill you!"

I'll get past his Cute Defence one day.

It's impossible! They are trained in the ancient Shaolin art of cuteness!

I certainly talk to my dog, and, honestly, she kinda does answer fairly often, even if not in words. Admittedly, the questions she gets asked are pretty simple ones, but she still communicates the answers pretty unmistakeably. :)

It's usually: "You stupid cat!"

I live with a Talking Cat. I talk to him all the time. Mostly, I'm answering him. He talks constantly. He only speaks cat, but the language divide has not proven to be a problem. I can figure out pretty easily that 50% of what he says is making demands, and the rest is complaints. We have whole conversations that go like this:

"Meow!"
"Yes, dear."
"Meow!"
"No, dear."
"Meow!"
"Yes, dear."
Etc.

He understands several English words and phrases, including: "You want meat/breakfast?" "Scat." "Don't bite that." "Such a handsome lad, such a goodlooking cat, so perfect..." "Where's that cat?" and, of course, his name.

I am also learning some simple cat phrases and what they mean in English, such a: "Bitch, get out of bed, it's breakfast time." "No way, beyotch, this is MY chair now." "Biiiiiiiiitch, quit wasting time what that stupid human shit and pet me." And "What the hell kind of establishment is this? The service sucks!"

I talk to my cat, but I'm quite mindful of the fact that he is a cat.

I used to have conversations with my cat, before she died last year. Never very long or deep, more like extended greetings. But I used to talk to her, too, tell her things. I've heard it said that pets are like Freudian analysts: you talk, they just listen, and you work things out for yourself.

I talk to my cat, but I'm quite mindful of the fact that he is a cat.
You damn well better be. Can you imagine how badly he'd claw you if you ever treated him like a dog? :p

I respect my cats' intelligence. No, they're not quite as smart as humans (although Ana took all of one day to figure out that the laser pointer causes that bright red dot to appear), but they're more mature than young children and several heads of state.

You damn well better be. Can you imagine how badly he'd claw you if you ever treated him like a dog? :p

Quite right, and deservedly.

The Ad-dressing of Cats
You've read of several kinds of Cat,
And my opinion now is that
You should need no interpreter
to understand their character.
You now have learned enough to see
That Cats are much like you and me
And other people whome we find
Possessed of various types of mind.
For some are sane and some are mad
And some are good and some are bad
And some are better, some are worse -
But all may be described in verse.
You've seen them both at work and games,
And learnt about their proper names,
Their habits and their habitat:
But
How would you ad-dress a Cat?

So first, your memory I'll jog,
And say: A CAT IS NOT A DOG.

Now Dogs pretend they like to fight;
They often bark, more seldom bite;
But yet a Dog is, on the whole,
What you would call a simple soul.
Of course I'm not including Pekes,
And such fantastic canine freaks.
The usual Dog about the Town
Is much inclined to play the clown,
And far from showing too much pride
Is frequently undignified.
He's very easily taken in -
Just chuck him underneath the chin
Or slap his back or shake his paw,
And he will gambol and guffaw.
He's such an easy-going lout,
He'll answer any hail or shout.

Again I must remind you that
A Dog's a Dog - A CAT'S A CAT.

With Cats, some say, one rule is true:
Don't speak till you are spoken to.
Myself, I do not hold with that -
I say, you should ad-dress a Cat.
But always keep in mind that he
Resents familiarity.
I bow, and taking off my hat,
Ad-dress him in this form: O CAT!
But if he is the Cat next door,
Whom I have often met before
(He comes to see me in my flat)
I greet him with an OOPSA CAT!
I've heard them call him James Buz-James -
But we've not got so far as names.
Before a Cat will condescend
To treat you as a trusted friend,
Some little token of esteem
Is needed, like a dish of cream;
And you might now and then supply
Some caviare, or Strassburg Pie,
Some potted grouse, or salmon paste -
He's sure to have his personal taste.
(I know a Cat, who makes a habit
Of eating nothing else but rabbit,
And when he's finished, licks his paws
So's not to waste the onion sauce.)
A Cat's entitled to expect
These evidences of respect.
And so in time you reach your aim,
And finally call him by his NAME.

So this is this, and that is that:
And there's how you AD-DRESS A CAT.

Quite right, and deservedly.
T.S. Eliot
:hail:

I actually follow the advice in that poem and address cats I do not know with "O Cat!" :D

:hail:

I actually follow the advice in that poem and address cats I do not know with "O Cat!" :D

:D Me, too. And my Kate seemed to like the more formal address on occasion, too.

I always talked to my cat (and cats in general) in my regular voice like I would anyone else. But I always talk to my dog (and dogs in general) the way I would a three year old. I always tend to treat cats like equals and dogs like children.

I talk to the snake, the cats, the spiders and, up until she died, the rat. They don't say much, but what they do say is cogent and clear. It usually consists of "pet me", feed me", "don't bother me" and "wtf were you thinking?"

In order to clearly understand my views on animal conversation, you should read Lilian Jackson Braun's "The Cat Who..." series. Essentially, if you converse with your pet as if he or she had at least the intelligence of a university graduate student, you will increase his/her IQ to at least that level. It takes time, but I'm convinced that before I die, one of them will express an abstract thought.

I talk to my cat sometimes, when I see him (I haven't been home since Christmas). I actually think he seems to recognize a few words (here, food, out, no), but maybe its just the tone of voice he recognizes. He doesn't talk back much in any case, since with the occasional exception he's not a very talkative cat most of the time.

I have three cats. One is fat, Kilo. One is neurotic, Bruna. One is fucking insane, named Portishead aka Morty aka Mortis aka Morte aka Muerte aka You Little Bastard.

http://www.imeem.com/selectatruth/music/2UYj_iou/janes-addiction-my-cats-name-is-maceo/

I have three cats. One is fat, Kilo. One is neurotic, Bruna. One is fucking insane, named Portishead aka Morty aka Mortis aka Morte aka Muerte aka You Little Bastard.

http://www.imeem.com/selectatruth/music/2UYj_iou/janes-addiction-my-cats-name-is-maceo/

Do you notice that animals, particularly cats, seem to develop personalities that fit their names?

My cat Bonnie was a prim little prima donna, her brother Clyde is a laid back, good old boy (hence the nickname Bubba). Persephone is, indeed, the Queen of Hell (capitalized, if you please, she is not to be trifled with) and Emma is a fat little flirt. Actually, Persephone's full name is "Persephone, The Queen of Hell, the BiPolar Prozac Cat, AKA Bitch Kitty the Saber-toothed housecat." She is a delight.

Does anyone else talk to their pets like they'd talk to a another human, or am I the only one who does that? I talk to Amelia all the time like she could respond to what I ask her, or what I tell her. Most of the time she just looks up at me and then goes about her day, or decides that I need to pet her.
Yup.
I tells the cat, i tells 'im, "You're a peckerhead. Oscar is a pecker-head."
I say it the same way Cardinal Ximinez says it in the Python sketch at times.
I also tell him to "get the human" and a few other things.
I have these two weasels, whom i call "twerps", and i tell them to "get the cat".
Depending on my mood and what i'm going through, there may be more conversation.

I always talked to our cats when I was living with my parents (haven't got one of my own yet, but I will). And they usually talked back

What they usually said however was what I can assume to be the cat equivalent of "Yes, that's very nice, but where's my food biatch?" or "No, move your arm that way so i can use your stomach as a cushion".

Man you lot are clearly mental!

i was talking to someone elses' bunnies yesterday. "you like that lettuce, don't you? yes, its really tasty lettuce.... om nom nom nom nom..." and so on :$

I talk to my dogs and my cat clearly and concisely as if I was talking to anyone else. They understand most of what I say to them (Dogs and cats are capable of vocabularies that rival an average 2 or 3 year old) and I know from their body language and occasionally the sounds they make what they want.

I talk to my cat all the time.

One of my favourite phrases to her is when I leave her alone in the house:

"You're in charge now. Don't trash the joint."

I just told her I'm writing about her. She's lying in front of the heater (winter is almost here) and twitched her ears just to enough to let me know she heard.

I just told her I'm writing about her. She's lying in front of the heater (winter is almost here) and twitched her ears just to enough to let me know she heard.

We used to use our cat to find where all the hot water pipes in the house were. It's uncanny how they seek out the warmest, most comfortable spot to sit.

Of course half the time that spot is on you :D

I talk to my cats constantly. Just another step on the road to crazy-cat-lady-ville.

Sure I talk to my dog. When I do, she wags her tail, indicating she enjoys the attention which is good for her heart.

Do you notice that animals, particularly cats, seem to develop personalities that fit their names?

My cat Bonnie was a prim little prima donna, her brother Clyde is a laid back, good old boy (hence the nickname Bubba). Persephone is, indeed, the Queen of Hell (capitalized, if you please, she is not to be trifled with) and Emma is a fat little flirt. Actually, Persephone's full name is "Persephone, The Queen of Hell, the BiPolar Prozac Cat, AKA Bitch Kitty the Saber-toothed housecat." She is a delight.

That is very true... but Kilo is not my fault. He was named that before we got him a few months ago.

My most used line with Amelia is "Stop nibbling on my hand, I'll feed you when I get up."

Sounds like an ex of mine. :p



I talk to them all the time, but I speak differently to different pets.

yes... I talk to my pets.

I talk to my pets. The rabbit ignored me and continued his path of destruction. The snake listened, but inevitably grew bored and wandered off. The dog never wanted to hear abuot MY day, it was always about HIS day. The cat would listen, but make it clear that he was only listening to be polite... and possibly to be fed. The dragons pay close attention to everything I say, because they will one day use it against me, and I get the feeling that the spider never understood me at all.

Since posting here could be considered "Talking" I guess I do.

I talk to the dogs constantly, if for no other reason than they seem to be listening. That, and they occasionally need to be kept focused on what they should be doing.

Man you lot are clearly mental!

clearly... untill you realize what I keep for pets...

If I talk to one of my pets I feel guilty and I have to go around the house and talk to all of them.