Japanese sword schools have secret techniques that are not available to the general public. I don’t have a sword school, but I do have a secret technique for making a cat happy. It won’t be a secret anymore, after I write this.
The other night Robbie the cat was relaxing on the floor. I sat down by her, gave her a few pets, and then, moved by some new impulse, began to tell her a story. I won’t repeat that story here; only a cat would appreciate it. But I hadn’t gone a full minute into it when she started to purr to beat the band. And kept purring right to the end (“…but I am happy to say it grew back”).
Did Robbie understand the story, word for word? No way to tell. Or did she just like the idea of daddy talking to her? Search me. Cats (and dogs, too) are awful smart. Animals that are around people all the time get kind of peoply. My iguana sincerely believed he was one of us.
We always talk to our pets. Like they were other people, family members. You’d be surprised how much they seem to understand.
You might want to watch what you say on the phone, if your cat is listening.
AND complain and cuss and promise and make excuses etc. etc. etc. Furthermore, they tend to make more sense in their non-verbal responses than most humans.
My cat Henry always gave me a noisy argument when I ordered him to stop grabbing the pieces in my Strat-O-Matic game.
The vision that created in my head makes me smile. You are quite correct about the peopliness (new word).
It’s always fun to coin new words.
Well, of course I talk to my cat. To do otherwise would be standoffish. He especially likes to hear me explain to him how gorgeous his ears are, how beautiful his eyelashes are, how magnificent his nose is, etc., etc., and what a DEAR little boy he is. He squinches his eyes and purrs like crazy, especially when I reach the “he is the DEAREST boy” part. Oh, and when I leave the house, I always tell him where I’m going, how long I’ll be gone, and the fact that when I get home we’ll have something to EAT.
But I have to admit that much of my “talking to my cat” is an excuse for talking to myself. It’s as good an excuse as any, right? 🙂
You can’t tell me our cats don’t understand they’re being talked to. Well, you can, but I won’t believe you.
I talk to my cat all the time. She seems to enjoy the attention, and I usually get some interesting feline sounds in way of response.
Your cat Robbie looks very beautiful! 😸