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I have a cat who does not speak cat. He thinks growling and hissing are part of a normal conversation. Other cats seem to recognize this, and ignore his growlin

I have a cat who does not speak cat. He thinks growling and hissing are part of a normal conversation. Other cats seem to recognize this, and ignore his growling. He doesn't bite, he licks things. If you're interested in cat genetics, I once read a great book called "Cats are Not Peas."

candiddevmike 3y ago
I wonder if you have a neurodivergent cat? It's interesting that the other cats ignore his behavior, any other kinds of notable interactions between them?
- growingkittens 3y ago
  He is definitely something. Here is a short history: - He was brought to me at 6 days old with two head injuries (dog crates are not great for kittens). - He was half the size of his littermates. Kittens reach certain milestones by 8 weeks. He took 16 weeks to reach those milestones. - He could not latch in order to nurse. I think he has a congenital deformation. His tongue hangs out a lot. - Since his mom rejected him, he was raised as a "singleton," or a kitten without littermates. These kittens always turn out with an odd habit or two. I have notable facts, although they involve human interactions: - His licking is compulsive. If you put your hand near him or touch him, he has to lick. - He likes to be pet, but the licking instinct overwhelms everything else. I pet him on the back of his head so he can't see my hand and he can ignore it easier. - I ask him if he wants to be pet with a hand signal. This is because he didn't like being touched until I started petting the back of his head. Then he realized he liked it. - He couldn't jump higher than six inches for the first year of his life. - If you make loud sniffing noises near him, he starts sniffing too. Does he recognize that my nose is a nose? Who knows.
dehrmann 3y ago
Cats mostly meow at humans, not cats.
- atombender 3y ago
  If you watch recordings of cameras attached to cats, you will see that this isn't the case. Cats ofter "talk" to each other with all sorts of little meows.
- catlover76 3y ago
  I have seen this repeated as fact in various writings about cats a few times, and it is quite false. My family has been feeding generations of stray cats in our backyard for like 8 years, and they do meow at each other, sometimes (though not usually, admittedly) back and forth in what is quite probably a full-on conversation. Their social bonds are far more complex than most people would think, and they even have politics.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
pvaldes 3y ago
This can signal a source of pain or discomfort. Check If your cat licks its pawns or articulations too often. Specially if is an old cat
- growingkittens 3y ago
  I actually watched him learn to make growling noises as a kitten! He surprised himself (and me), then did it again. He was resting at the time. See this comment for more of his history: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38146535 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38146535
  - pvaldes 3y ago
    ok, interesting history. I wonder if the compulsive licking or the loud sniffing is a way to cope with a deficient smell sense so he uses the taste instead. I'm just speculating. If there is a malformation in the jaw with a hanging tongue maybe the nose was affected also?. You could suspect that the cat has problems to smell if it does not react to a hidden catweed bag or hidden food.

candiddevmike 3y ago

I wonder if you have a neurodivergent cat? It's interesting that the other cats ignore his behavior, any other kinds of notable interactions between them?

growingkittens 3y ago
He is definitely something. Here is a short history: - He was brought to me at 6 days old with two head injuries (dog crates are not great for kittens). - He was half the size of his littermates. Kittens reach certain milestones by 8 weeks. He took 16 weeks to reach those milestones. - He could not latch in order to nurse. I think he has a congenital deformation. His tongue hangs out a lot. - Since his mom rejected him, he was raised as a "singleton," or a kitten without littermates. These kittens always turn out with an odd habit or two. I have notable facts, although they involve human interactions: - His licking is compulsive. If you put your hand near him or touch him, he has to lick. - He likes to be pet, but the licking instinct overwhelms everything else. I pet him on the back of his head so he can't see my hand and he can ignore it easier. - I ask him if he wants to be pet with a hand signal. This is because he didn't like being touched until I started petting the back of his head. Then he realized he liked it. - He couldn't jump higher than six inches for the first year of his life. - If you make loud sniffing noises near him, he starts sniffing too. Does he recognize that my nose is a nose? Who knows.

dehrmann 3y ago

Cats mostly meow at humans, not cats.

atombender 3y ago
If you watch recordings of cameras attached to cats, you will see that this isn't the case. Cats ofter "talk" to each other with all sorts of little meows.
catlover76 3y ago
I have seen this repeated as fact in various writings about cats a few times, and it is quite false. My family has been feeding generations of stray cats in our backyard for like 8 years, and they do meow at each other, sometimes (though not usually, admittedly) back and forth in what is quite probably a full-on conversation. Their social bonds are far more complex than most people would think, and they even have politics.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

pvaldes 3y ago

This can signal a source of pain or discomfort. Check If your cat licks its pawns or articulations too often. Specially if is an old cat

growingkittens 3y ago
I actually watched him learn to make growling noises as a kitten! He surprised himself (and me), then did it again. He was resting at the time. See this comment for more of his history: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38146535 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38146535
- pvaldes 3y ago
  ok, interesting history. I wonder if the compulsive licking or the loud sniffing is a way to cope with a deficient smell sense so he uses the taste instead. I'm just speculating. If there is a malformation in the jaw with a hanging tongue maybe the nose was affected also?. You could suspect that the cat has problems to smell if it does not react to a hidden catweed bag or hidden food.