I enjoy communicating. I enjoy words. They're rather addictive. I appreciate people who use words well. I used to joke I chose my friends for their ability to tell a good story. Communication is vital to my well being. Nothing distresses me faster than feeling I am not making myself understood. In our house even the cats find it necessary to communicate well.
Of our 2 cats Kirby is the less needy but he is intelligent & high strung. I was not impressed, though hardly surprised, to find Kirby outside at midnight Friday night, having refused to come for all callers because he was waiting for us. Before we were even out of the car he was crying because cats only call when they lose visual contact with other members of their pack & Kirby knows perfectly well I can't see him in the dark.
It is Kirby who is my escape artist. Marlow would never dream of doing the wicked things Kirby does. It is not unusual at bedtime to find Kirby has found some crack or cranny to escape through & needing to be hunted up outside. This poses some difficulties because, as my son succintly pointed out, our neighbours do not need to be woken at midnight by me bellowing, Kiiiiiir~beeeeeeee at the top of my lungs. Consequentially my cats come to a long fluting whistle ~ which confuses the neighbourhood dogs no end; they aren't a terribly bright batch.
The thing is Kirby is rarely all that close to home & he answers my whistle with a loud, joyful yowling that plainly says: Here I am. I'm coming! Wait for me! I'm coming! Where are you?
I whistle as softly as possible but if I pause too long there is a frantic yodelling yowling of Where have you gone? I can't hear you!
And last night as I stood patiently in the middle of the road waiting for my demented cat to find me as he padded towards me with little chirriping calls & delighted exclamations telling me plainly how pleased he was that I'd remembered he came to bed with me, that I had come looking for him, that he had found me again & we were together [yes, he really says all that ~ & more. He's a very intelligent cat] I thought how like prayer it all was. We call out to God & he answers us patiently, directing us all the way home.
I love lessons from my cats!
7 comments:
I would love to hear the "yodeling yowling" - they're so fortunate to have an owner/mama who understands them.
Our schnauzers communicate well too. Edith says "ohdearohdearohdear" a lot, and also "ALERT! ALERT! Movement in the front quadrant!" when she sees a squirrel hundreds of yards away through the living room window. Mildred, whose character is more questionable, mutters things like "I'm going first, I'm going to steal your bone, Mom and Dad like me better," and such.
There's nothing better than communicating with the animals you love, Ganeida. God bless your week, friend.
I live in suburbia which means calling out to Charlie can be a little embarrassing as all the neighbours can hear me. Sometimes she just ignores me as she is busy – then arrives 10 mins later and gives the door a mighty bang to let me know that I need to come and let her in, other times I hear her call out to say that she is coming. Ruby is an indoor cat so this isn’t a problem – however she has started to meow at me in the evening whilst I am cooking dinner – she has a tiny delicate meow that isn’t very loud, it’s very sweet. I think it means “I am so pleased you are home with me, I have missed you all day” . This is followed by a big hug
The dogs on the other hand are never sutle about their messages, they make loud noises whenever they want something. And if we are late, they will tell us that we are late "hurry up, come on, what is keeping you".
How do people live without pets.
JUlie: Ah yes, the lady with the Halleluia Hounds was always going to *get* this post! ☺
JO: No, dogs aren't subtle.I have always had *chatty cats* but Kiby talks more even than the Siamese I had. He is extraordinarily vocal. His normal voice is very soft & delicate but when he is calling on his way home & can't see me he ups the anti. Lucky neighbours! ;D
Only since we've had our 'little grey man' can I appreciate the lesson. :)
Like owner like pet eh? ;)
You need to publish your books one day!
What do the islanders call you, Ganeida? The cat Lady would be one suitable title. It is years since I owned a cat but yes, we communicated well. He and my little pup would leap on the bed each morning.....just before my alarm went off. I never really figured it out but somehow they knew it was going to go off!
I love both dogs and cats but Hubby is a dog only man.
I would say that he has you trained well.
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