Helping humans recognise a silent meow

 

Some of us are louder than others. My Siamese friend, Miss Foo, used to meow non stop very loudly. I found it irritating.

Then there are the strong and silent types like Mr Spangles (in the video). Mr Spangles didn't chat. He purred but he didn't meow like I do. He used to do a silent meow.

Dumb humans often miss that silent meow. It means the same as an ordinary meow (forget the non stop Siamese wail, for a moment). It is a silent way of getting attention.

Obviously in the video, Mr Spangles was pointing out that his food bowl was empty. Any dumb human would understand that.

But would a dumb human notice In the first place? That is the problem with being a silent type.

How are we going to teach humans to pay attention to us? 

 

• The playlist of what cats are saying is on my Youtube channel under Celia's name is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMH0Q-3hEcw&list=PLnwXtI1uuo884ABEOTorPYZNnIeTh04pV 

Helping humans recognise subtle cat bullying. 2.

 In my efforts to educate dumb humans, I am adding another video here showing subtle ways one cat can bully another. The ginger cat is stopping the resident tortoiseshell entering through a cat flap on the right. 

How is this done? Not by direct aggression. But by the power of the eye. Staring is a way that one can intimidates the other. 

But does the resident human recognise what is going on? Most humans do not. In this case the human was an exception.

She installed two cat flaps. The ginger cat could not be in two places at once. 

• The playlist of what cats are saying is on my Youtube channel under Celia's name is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMH0Q-3hEcw&list=PLnwXtI1uuo884ABEOTorPYZNnIeTh04pV

Helping humans recognise subtle cat bullying. 1.

Dumb humans often don't notice when one of us is bullying another cat. They don't recognise what is going on. 

So to help them, I am posting this this video showing a ginger cat bullying a tortoiseshell. What he is doing is pushing the tortoiseshell away from the owner who has the video.

There's no feline violence involved. Just a movement between the tortoiseshell and her human.

This is subtle bullying. The tortoiseshell needs her human to recognise this and see if she can help the cats avoid each other.

Seperate feeding bowls, three litter trays in three different locations, two cat flaps, lots of cat beds - so that the tortoiseshell can always get to what she wants.

And the owner should think of time spent with the tortoiseshell, when the ginger is not in the room and cannot interrupt. 

 

• The playlist of what cats are saying is on my Youtube channel under Celia's name is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMH0Q-3hEcw&list=PLnwXtI1uuo884ABEOTorPYZNnIeTh04pV

Head lowers and moves forward... "maybe a mouse?'

When I see something that really really interests me, my head goes forward and lower. Something small and moving makes me do this, because it might just be a mouse. 

This isn't just an idle gaze, it is an intensely involved look. Sometimes if the object is high up, then the head looks high up too but it often moves lower than my shoulder first. Like the photo above. 

It is a quick instinctive movement which most dumb humans don't notice. Or if they do notice it, they don't really take it in.

But watch me! If I am sitting looking idly out of the window, and something important catches my eye, this is what I do. That something usually arouses my hunting instinct, but it occasionally happens if the something is an unexpected kitten. See that on my Youtube channel below. 

(Yes, I know it says it is Celia's channel but it is obviously mine because there are so many cats in it.)

• The playlist of what cats are saying is on my Youtube channel under Celia's name is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMH0Q-3hEcw&list=PLnwXtI1uuo884ABEOTorPYZNnIeTh04pV

 

Flank rubbing ... I'm friendly, notice me.

When we are friendly, and when we want your attention, we sometimes rub round human legs. It's the bit of human that we can reach if the human is standing.

We are likely to do this, just before our human puts down our food and when we are hungry. It's a way of making sure dumb humans remember we are here and we need feeding.

Even really stupid humans usually get this particular message.

I also like rubbing the side of my body round my human's legs when she is on the lavatory, the human litter tray. She is stuck there, so she can't really do something silly like picking me up.

Tabby starts a flank rub

We also do a flank rub between feline friends. Just a gentle pressure starting at the shoulder then moving the rest of the body against the other feline.

Sometimes this ends in a tail wrap. 

• The playlist of what cats are saying is on my Youtube channel under Celia's name is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMH0Q-3hEcw&list=PLnwXtI1uuo884ABEOTorPYZNnIeTh04pV