Your cats' vocabulary (or what they understand)?

"JHBennett" wrote

Ah...... not that dogs are smarter than cats, but I
doubt a cat would have sufficient body mass to pull off a stunt like that.
Naturally, somebody will prove me wrong ;-)

Well, Frank opens doors that aren't too heavy for him. He can even open
doors that open inwards, i.e. you have to pull the door toward yourself
while you press down the handle. I don't quite understand how he can do
that, but I've seen the result. Fortunately, my balcony door is heavy, and
the handle has to be pushed *up* while opening it, and he hasn't figured
that out ... yet.

--
Marina

My big boy Cosmo likes, for some reason, to open EVERY cupboard door in
the kitchen.

Sometimes in a nice quiet house, late at night, I will hear "thump ...
thump ... thump ..." and I'll know it's him. And sure enough, when I
get up in the A.M., every lower door in the kitchen is open.

And I've seen him stand up on his hind legs, with both front paws on
one of the drawers in the bathroom, and walk back, sliding the drawer
open, then inspect what's inside.

He's such a wierdo (I say that with love).

JR


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"Seanette Blaylock" wrote in
message ...
"JHBennett" had some very interesting things to say
about Your cats' vocabulary (or what they understand)?:

For comparison, I've read somewhere that dogs usually have a vocabulary
of
about 67 (why they didn't just say 70, I don't know) words and phrases
they
understand. I do think it most interesting what they will come up with,
but
do remember that we're a very important part of their lives, and what
they
do, most of the time, is observe our actions and behavior. I recall
watching a video of a cat who had learned to turn the lights on and off,
by
jumping up to the switch on the wall, however, the most astounding stunt
performed by a pet I've seen was the tape of a dog who had learned to let
itself out of the house, by the front door, and get back in. Something
had
arroused the owner's suspicions and he set up his home video to see what
was
going on, while he was at work. The tape caught the dog opening the
front
door, leaving it adjar, then opening the outside storm door. Some time
later, the dog returned, opened the storm door, came inside, and pushed
the
front door closed. Ah...... not that dogs are smarter than cats, but I
doubt a cat would have sufficient body mass to pull off a stunt like
that.
Naturally, somebody will prove me wrong ;-)

Both DH and I have caught Felix in the act of opening the sliding
screen door to the patio [naturally, he doesn't close it after himself
:-)]. He hasn't taken to opening the glass door yet, we think because
it's too heavy for him and there aren't any good paw holds. :-)

That's neat! Depending on how much of a project you want to make of it, it
wouldn't be all that difficult to rig something along the base of the glass
door he could push against. Epoxy comes to mind, with a short, *L* shaped
piece of metal, about chest high. Weight of the door, while a factor, would
be less important than friction. So, if you can get enough lubricant on the
wheels so it glides easily, he might be able to pull it off. Next part of
the project would be to teach him to close it behind him. Kind of makes you
wonder what they'd be doing, if they had an opposing thumb, doesn't it?
Cheers,
Jack

On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 05:05:32 -0400, "lrulan"
wrote:

Jazz knows a lot of words:

breakfast soup (or lunch or dinner) sends him running to the kitchen meowing
all the way
Go wee-wees for Mama (he stands still so I can pick him up and put him in
the litterbox where he either goes or jumps right back out)
Where's daddy (he look at the front door to see if Daddy's come home)
cookies, snackies, treats (makes him run to the kitchen and sit in front of
his food bowl)
kisses (offers the top of his head to be smooched or gives me big, wet
sloppy licks)
brushes the tiffies (he stands still so I can pick him up and bring him to
the bathroom to brush his teeth)
and tons of other phrases

I think it's the constant repetition that makes them aware of what the words
mean. I think Jazz is sick and tired of hearing some of them g
Jazz's mama

Princess (Siamese RB) understood almost everything I said to her. One
night she was sitting about five feet from me and I told her how
beautiful she was. Then I said "You really are a beautiful girl --
you have such dainty little feet". She looked at me, raised her right
paw and looked at it for a few seconds, then put it down. Amused, I
said "yes, you have really beautiful feet". At this point she raised
her paw again,looked at it for a second then started to tenderly lick
it. MLB

"John Rahn" wrote in message
...
My big boy Cosmo likes, for some reason, to open EVERY cupboard door in
the kitchen.

Sometimes in a nice quiet house, late at night, I will hear "thump ...
thump ... thump ..." and I'll know it's him. And sure enough, when I
get up in the A.M., every lower door in the kitchen is open.

And I've seen him stand up on his hind legs, with both front paws on
one of the drawers in the bathroom, and walk back, sliding the drawer
open, then inspect what's inside.

He's such a wierdo (I say that with love).

JR
John, I'm not sure "big boy" is an adequate description. That critter has
to be huge and strong to pull that kind of stunt off. My guess is the reach
to a drawer would be something on the order of 26 inches, presuming a
standard counter height of 31 inches. Then, to pull it open? Best not
cross him, buddy.
Jack

My cats know a few phrases. If I ask if they want to go out, they will go to the
door to be let out on the porch. They are only indoor cats. Of course they know is
it time to eat. They will come if called name. The funniest one is when there are
birds at the feeder and I want then to see them. I call them and act all excited and
tell they to come quick and I will ask what's out there. They will run into the
dining room and jump up on the chest by the window to look out.

Ann

John Rahn wrote:

Just wondering how many have felines that understand how many words and
phrases.

Of course, all of mine know the phrase "Are you guys getting HUNGRY?".
I LOVE to whisper that when they are all napping - it's an instant
stampede into the kitchen.

Cosmo seems to have a large understanding vocabulary ... if I ask him
"You want to go open the back door?" he FLIES into the bedroom so I can
open the sliding door so he can look out and sniff the air. Or when my
sister pulls up and I tell him "Kim is here to see you." he goes nuts
'cause he just loves her. He understands quite a bit. Or when I get him
a new toy I will tell him "Hey Cos, I got somethin' for ya." he knows
what that means and runs out to see what it is. He enjoys sitting in a
room full of people and listen intently to what everyone is saying.

My Dusty cat goes crazy if I ask her "Where is your toy?" She
immediately starts talking back to me and looks for it. Sometimes she
will find it and bring it to me. Or in the morning I will tell her "You
be a good girl." and she knows that means I am leaving, and she runs to
stand in front of the door to argue with me about going out. Lately she
really seems to be picking up the phrase "Get 'em." She will actually
chase the boys when I tell her that (is that wrong?).

And Oreo ... well ... Oreo is still very much the adolescent male. If
he was human he'd be one of those 14 year old boys with feet that are
too big that he's always tripping over, and starting every sentence
with "Duh....". But he's coming around. He seems to be a very sharp
cat. Cosmo is teaching him a lot. Just gotta work with him some more.

Who else has 'understanding' cats?

John R.

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"JHBennett" had some very interesting things to say
about Your cats' vocabulary (or what they understand)?:

Both DH and I have caught Felix in the act of opening the sliding
screen door to the patio [naturally, he doesn't close it after himself
:-)]. He hasn't taken to opening the glass door yet, we think because
it's too heavy for him and there aren't any good paw holds. :-)
That's neat! Depending on how much of a project you want to make of it, it
wouldn't be all that difficult to rig something along the base of the glass
door he could push against. Epoxy comes to mind, with a short, *L* shaped
piece of metal, about chest high. Weight of the door, while a factor, would
be less important than friction. So, if you can get enough lubricant on the
wheels so it glides easily, he might be able to pull it off. Next part of
the project would be to teach him to close it behind him. Kind of makes you
wonder what they'd be doing, if they had an opposing thumb, doesn't it?

I don't think the management would go for that kind of mod to the
door. :-)

--
Seanette Blaylock
"You attribute perfect rationality to the whole of humanity, which has
to be one of the most misguided assumptions ever." - Alan Krueger in NANAE
[make obvious correction to address to send e-mail]

"John Rahn" wrote in message
...
Just wondering how many have felines that understand how many words and
phrases.

Of course, all of mine know the phrase "Are you guys getting HUNGRY?".
I LOVE to whisper that when they are all napping - it's an instant
stampede into the kitchen.

Cosmo seems to have a large understanding vocabulary ... if I ask him
"You want to go open the back door?" he FLIES into the bedroom so I can
open the sliding door so he can look out and sniff the air. Or when my
sister pulls up and I tell him "Kim is here to see you." he goes nuts
'cause he just loves her. He understands quite a bit. Or when I get him
a new toy I will tell him "Hey Cos, I got somethin' for ya." he knows
what that means and runs out to see what it is. He enjoys sitting in a
room full of people and listen intently to what everyone is saying.

My Dusty cat goes crazy if I ask her "Where is your toy?" She
immediately starts talking back to me and looks for it. Sometimes she
will find it and bring it to me. Or in the morning I will tell her "You
be a good girl." and she knows that means I am leaving, and she runs to
stand in front of the door to argue with me about going out. Lately she
really seems to be picking up the phrase "Get 'em." She will actually
chase the boys when I tell her that (is that wrong?).

And Oreo ... well ... Oreo is still very much the adolescent male. If
he was human he'd be one of those 14 year old boys with feet that are
too big that he's always tripping over, and starting every sentence
with "Duh....". But he's coming around. He seems to be a very sharp
cat. Cosmo is teaching him a lot. Just gotta work with him some more.

Who else has 'understanding' cats?

John R.


my guys understand a lot of what I say to them - if not the words, the tone
of my voice. They definitely know such words and phrases as "fishy,"
"brush," "catnip," "want to play?" and the ever-popular "here kitty kitty!"
Brenda

No ... no ... no ... it was the bottom drawer of the bathroom cabinet.
And it rolls very easily. Actually I think he did it accidentally - but
maybe not!?!?!?


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"John Rahn" wrote
My big boy Cosmo likes, for some reason, to open EVERY cupboard door in
the kitchen.

Sometimes in a nice quiet house, late at night, I will hear "thump ...
thump ... thump ..." and I'll know it's him. And sure enough, when I
get up in the A.M., every lower door in the kitchen is open.

And I've seen him stand up on his hind legs, with both front paws on
one of the drawers in the bathroom, and walk back, sliding the drawer
open, then inspect what's inside.

He's such a wierdo (I say that with love).


Oh, yes, we have the No Doors Shall Remain Closed rule here, too. Not just
cupboards, but closets and room doors have to be at leats ajar for Frank to
be happy.

--
Marina