"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...

"Spider" wrote in message
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Also, by the time they're outdoors, they've already learned words like
'hurt' and 'dangerous' and, obviously 'stay' and 'leave'.

And how, exactly, did you accomplish this? If I could do any of this, then
training my cats to avoid cars would be duck soup.........


Hi Bill,

Cats are very clever. They may have some difficulty learning English (or
American), but they are experts at reading body language; that's how they
communicate and read each others' behaviour. Hopefully, it is not difficult
for you to see that, after word and behavioural repetition, cats can learn
to understand what we mean.

For instance, if I'm scratched by my kitten when playing (or play-fighting),
I say "Ouch, that hurt, Cheetah". I emphasize the 'hurt', lick my hand
(cats lick their paws when injured, so it's behaviour they understand), and
look more pained than I really am. I will then say "Gentle. Don't hurt
your person". Yes, all my cats have understood the word 'gentle', too. It
is very helpful when kitty is in mid needle-claw kneading prior to snoozing
on my lap! :~) I often say "Gentle paws, Panther" when that furry minx is
making a blood bath of my lower limbs. She understands and obeys.
Occasionally, she gets so carried away that she hurts me again, but a
repetition quickly calms her.

They gradually learn quite complex language. My first beloved cat,
Tiggypuss, used to beg for scraps while I was cooking. Sometimes, I
couldn't offer him something, so I would say "No, you wouldn't like it,
Tiggy". Because, previously, if he was purring over a favourite dinner, I
would say "Dear puss, you like that, don't you?", he'd clearly learned what
'like' meant and seemed to understand the negative. This became clearer to
me when, once, he backed off as I offered him a tasty treat he'd never had
before. I simply said "Try it .. you'll like it". He looked at me with
such a warm look of recognition and purred heartily, even before he started
tucking into it.

It is very clear to me that they learn some of our words. Tiggypuss learned
the word 'naughty' quite early in life due to his mischievious nature. One
day, when he was sadly mewing because he'd lost a toy under a cupboard, I
pulled the cupboard out to help him and said "It's not here, Tiggy". He
immediately flinched and became wide-eyed and anxious. He thought I'd said
'naughty' (rather than 'not here')! This was *my* big learning curve; after
that, I selected training words much more carefully.

I hope you now see how cats learn words for training and for repeated
behaviour situations. Most cat owners I talk to say their cats understand
at least some of their words/instructions. Cats are immensely clever;
patience, empathy and willingness simply make it easier for both sides. Try
it, and remember to share that duck soup with your cats :~).

Spider