conversing with cats.

[cactuswatcher]

Sirius is quite a talker for a cat with a wide vocabulary from meow and mrow to yow and ooh. If he was a dog the neighbors would complain about his barking.

We very recently had this conversation.
Me: Hi, Sirius!
S: (agreeable) Mrow!
Me: How are you?
S: (agreeable) Meuw.
Me: Do you know what time it is?
S: (total silence)
ME: I guess that means you don't care what time it is?
S: (agreeable) Meow!

Comments

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Cats really do say meow (and other similar things) only to people, evidently. They yowl at each other, and growl and purr, but my guess is that meow is really what kittens say to theirs mothers, and that cats see us as their moms and so keep that vocalization into adulthood for us.

I definitely don't hear meow from truly feral cats, even when in distress (as in a cat carrier) that makes tamed cats very chatty indeed.

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

Siamese cats tend to be chatty, and Sirius has several traits of Siamese mixes, including being black, having short hair and the tail that sticks up instead of trailing behind.

[anomster.livejournal.com]

I definitely hear "meow" from some of the feral cats I feed at the colony in my neighborhood. But they may not fit your definition of "truly feral." They are being fed instead of (well, probably in addition to) hunting, so maybe that part is like the kitten-mom relationship. And it might depend on each individual cat's history, which we don't know.

[atpolittlebit.livejournal.com]

All of our cats would have told me, in answer to what time it is, that it is time to feed the cat. Each of them speaking only for themself.

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

This is why I ask the cat intellectual questions after he eats. ;o)

[anomster.livejournal.com]

Quizzical, 1 of my previous cats, was very talkative. She often sounded as if she were actually talking in (short) sentences! But she & her sister Runcible had no Siamese ancestry that I know of.

I'm glad you & Sirius are getting along so well! Sounds like you really like having him around.