4 ms·

It’s not surprising that cats are smart. Many things are... but humans oddly assume that anything that cannot speak their language is not smart unless tested an

by blunte 7y ago

It’s not surprising that cats are smart. Many things are... but humans oddly assume that anything that cannot speak their language is not smart unless tested and proven so. As for the dogs vs cats, my experience with both tells me that dogs often seek human approval and attention. Cats only seek attention (or food or petting), when they want it. So testing cats would also be a test of human patience and persistence.

clairity 7y ago
yes, trying to understand cat and dog communications is half the fun of having them as companions. both of my cats have meows i can understand by sound and context, whether it's hunger, attention-seeking, calling for help, etc., but each has individual tendencies. for instance, my older one uses short fast meows to wake me up to feed him, while the 9-month-old meows her disappointment when i disrupt her play by picking her up. she also tries to talk to me, watching me with her curious eyes to see if i understand her. =)
- topspin 7y ago
  One of my cats understood a small vocabulary. I first noticed it when I mentioned "catnip" in a sentence and she got excited. She learned a number of words during her life, mostly - but not all - food related. She had no problem picking them out of a sentence, so we learned to avoid saying certain words when not appropriate.
  - cm2012 7y ago
    It's funny when I ask my wife if she's hungry and the cats chime in.
    - blunte 7y ago
      That's really funny!
danharaj 7y ago
Cats are more like roommates, dogs are more like children. Roughly, in my experience.
iamatworknow 7y ago
>humans oddly assume that anything that cannot speak their language is not smart unless tested and proven so I remember when I was a kid I would watch an old Jiminy Cricket cartoon every now and then that repeatedly claimed humans were the only animal that can think and reason. I also grew up with cats and dogs and wondered why this cartoon would say something that seemed so intuitively wrong. Here's the cartoon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irlkxki41PA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irlkxki41PA

by blunte 7y ago

clairity 7y ago

yes, trying to understand cat and dog communications is half the fun of having them as companions. both of my cats have meows i can understand by sound and context, whether it's hunger, attention-seeking, calling for help, etc., but each has individual tendencies. for instance, my older one uses short fast meows to wake me up to feed him, while the 9-month-old meows her disappointment when i disrupt her play by picking her up. she also tries to talk to me, watching me with her curious eyes to see if i understand her. =)

topspin 7y ago
One of my cats understood a small vocabulary. I first noticed it when I mentioned "catnip" in a sentence and she got excited. She learned a number of words during her life, mostly - but not all - food related. She had no problem picking them out of a sentence, so we learned to avoid saying certain words when not appropriate.
- cm2012 7y ago
  It's funny when I ask my wife if she's hungry and the cats chime in.
  - blunte 7y ago
    That's really funny!

danharaj 7y ago

Cats are more like roommates, dogs are more like children. Roughly, in my experience.

iamatworknow 7y ago

>humans oddly assume that anything that cannot speak their language is not smart unless tested and proven so I remember when I was a kid I would watch an old Jiminy Cricket cartoon every now and then that repeatedly claimed humans were the only animal that can think and reason. I also grew up with cats and dogs and wondered why this cartoon would say something that seemed so intuitively wrong. Here's the cartoon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irlkxki41PA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irlkxki41PA