Story: Topper (RB) on my radio

My 12 days at home will be over in the morning so it's back up at 4:00AM
assuming I don't smash the alarm. It's nice when I have time off as I can
enjoy more time on a few technical forums and Usenet. As I return to my
normal schedule I give you this small story.

About twelve years ago, before Zak came to live with me I had my 13 year
old black and white (with pink trim) cat Topper. While Zak talks a lot
Topper actually seemed to say something. He had sounds for a dozen or more
different things that I could decipher. At the time I was active in my
ham radio hobby and would talk on a regular basis to a group of misfits
many of whom I meet in person while traveling up and down the east coast.
I still ran my business then and had much more free time than today
(another story).

One day I was in the middle of describing something to the group when
Topper walked into the room and said meof-urp rowr. Without lifting my
foot of the pedal that operates the transmitter I said "what?". When he
repeated himself I said "someone is coming up the driveway? Now most of
these guys knew I lived in a basement apartment and used the back door to
the house so random people did not end up at my door. They chuckled at my
trying to pull their legs and as I started to defend myself they all heard
my doorbell ring. After that all they could talk about was how Topper
could talk! A day or two later it got even stranger when I found topper in
the room standing on the transmit pedal and "speaking" loudly! I turned
the transmitter off real fast! To my knowledge he never got a reply from
anyone.


Andy

I so relate, Miss Violette had sounds for the things she was interested in
discussing, food, out and dirty litter box being at the top of the list, Now
tiger can say pounce and milk and talks all the time, Lee
Outsider wrote in message
. ..

My 12 days at home will be over in the morning so it's back up at 4:00AM
assuming I don't smash the alarm. It's nice when I have time off as I can
enjoy more time on a few technical forums and Usenet. As I return to my
normal schedule I give you this small story.

About twelve years ago, before Zak came to live with me I had my 13 year
old black and white (with pink trim) cat Topper. While Zak talks a lot
Topper actually seemed to say something. He had sounds for a dozen or
more
different things that I could decipher. At the time I was active in my
ham radio hobby and would talk on a regular basis to a group of misfits
many of whom I meet in person while traveling up and down the east coast.
I still ran my business then and had much more free time than today
(another story).

One day I was in the middle of describing something to the group when
Topper walked into the room and said meof-urp rowr. Without lifting my
foot of the pedal that operates the transmitter I said "what?". When he
repeated himself I said "someone is coming up the driveway? Now most of
these guys knew I lived in a basement apartment and used the back door to
the house so random people did not end up at my door. They chuckled at my
trying to pull their legs and as I started to defend myself they all heard
my doorbell ring. After that all they could talk about was how Topper
could talk! A day or two later it got even stranger when I found topper
in
the room standing on the transmit pedal and "speaking" loudly! I turned
the transmitter off real fast! To my knowledge he never got a reply from
anyone.


Andy

Outsider wrote:
snip
A day or two later it got even stranger when I found topper in
the room standing on the transmit pedal and "speaking" loudly! I turned
the transmitter off real fast! To my knowledge he never got a reply from
anyone.

Great story! What a smart kitty!

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

Marina wrote:

Outsider wrote:

A day or two later it got even stranger when I found topper in
the room standing on the transmit pedal and "speaking" loudly! I
turned the transmitter off real fast! To my knowledge he never
got a reply from anyone.

Great story! What a smart kitty!

My thoughts, too. I also wonder what some of the recipients on the other
end thought of the transmissions of meowing kitty sounds?

Joyce

wrote in news:459a0dc0$0$80083
:

Marina wrote:

Outsider wrote:

A day or two later it got even stranger when I found topper in
the room standing on the transmit pedal and "speaking" loudly! I
turned the transmitter off real fast! To my knowledge he never
got a reply from anyone.

Great story! What a smart kitty!

My thoughts, too. I also wonder what some of the recipients on the other
end thought of the transmissions of meowing kitty sounds?

Joyce


None of my friends heard it at the time. If he got an answer from anyone
else he never let on.

" wrote in
:

On Tue, 02 Jan 2007 08:04:54 +0200, Marina
wrote:

Outsider wrote:
snip
A day or two later it got even stranger when I found topper in
the room standing on the transmit pedal and "speaking" loudly! I
turned the transmitter off real fast! To my knowledge he never got
a reply from anyone.

Great story! What a smart kitty!

Cute! Did Topper ever get a "Mew-SL" from the other ops?

I never saw any but maybe he had them sent to a post box I did not know
about! How funny would that have been!





(For the non-hams here, a "QSL" is a ham radio Q code to confirm
receipt of transmission. Often exchanged via snail-mail as colorful
postcards with the station callsign, time, date, operating frequency
and mode among other items related to the transmission exchange. If
you have a lot of them on display, it's "wallpaper".

73's


73!

On Tue, 02 Jan 2007 02:53:56 GMT, Outsider
wrote:


My 12 days at home will be over in the morning so it's back up at 4:00AM
assuming I don't smash the alarm. It's nice when I have time off as I can
enjoy more time on a few technical forums and Usenet. As I return to my
normal schedule I give you this small story.

About twelve years ago, before Zak came to live with me I had my 13 year
old black and white (with pink trim) cat Topper. While Zak talks a lot
Topper actually seemed to say something. He had sounds for a dozen or more
different things that I could decipher. At the time I was active in my
ham radio hobby and would talk on a regular basis to a group of misfits
many of whom I meet in person while traveling up and down the east coast.
I still ran my business then and had much more free time than today
(another story).

One day I was in the middle of describing something to the group when
Topper walked into the room and said meof-urp rowr. Without lifting my
foot of the pedal that operates the transmitter I said "what?". When he
repeated himself I said "someone is coming up the driveway? Now most of
these guys knew I lived in a basement apartment and used the back door to
the house so random people did not end up at my door. They chuckled at my
trying to pull their legs and as I started to defend myself they all heard
my doorbell ring. After that all they could talk about was how Topper
could talk! A day or two later it got even stranger when I found topper in
the room standing on the transmit pedal and "speaking" loudly! I turned
the transmitter off real fast! To my knowledge he never got a reply from
anyone.


Andy

Topper sounds like he was a real character and very intelligent. I
wish I could have met him.

--
CATherine

"Stormmee" wrote in message
...
I so relate, Miss Violette had sounds for the things she was interested in
discussing, food, out and dirty litter box being at the top of the list,
Now
tiger can say pounce and milk and talks all the time, Lee


Mike's cat, Qui Gun Kit, makes a certain kind of rusty mew with a flourish
at the end when I call for Mike. He also has a mew for inquiries, certain
noises for various friends and family, and a paw in the air greeting for his
mom. He's very communicative, though he doesn't make a lot of noises,
generally.

The other cats also have certain sounds and body language that they make.
Huey sounds like a really strange Kewpie doll cut off short when he's
feeling insecure and wants someone to talk to him. Tanada has a sort of mew
noise that she makes when she wants to let me know that she is not pleased
and I'd better correct the situation right now. QC has a trill that she
uses to let me know that she wants to be loved on. Sonya has a trill that
she used for Qui Gun, but she rarely uses it now. I suspect that they no
longer remember that she was/is his momcat.

Pam S. Momcat to seven of the little stinkers

Outsider wrote:

My 12 days at home will be over in the morning so it's back up at 4:00AM
assuming I don't smash the alarm. It's nice when I have time off as I can
enjoy more time on a few technical forums and Usenet. As I return to my
normal schedule I give you this small story.

About twelve years ago, before Zak came to live with me I had my 13 year
old black and white (with pink trim) cat Topper. While Zak talks a lot
Topper actually seemed to say something. He had sounds for a dozen or more
different things that I could decipher. At the time I was active in my
ham radio hobby and would talk on a regular basis to a group of misfits
many of whom I meet in person while traveling up and down the east coast.
I still ran my business then and had much more free time than today
(another story).

One day I was in the middle of describing something to the group when
Topper walked into the room and said meof-urp rowr. Without lifting my
foot of the pedal that operates the transmitter I said "what?". When he
repeated himself I said "someone is coming up the driveway? Now most of
these guys knew I lived in a basement apartment and used the back door to
the house so random people did not end up at my door. They chuckled at my
trying to pull their legs and as I started to defend myself they all heard
my doorbell ring. After that all they could talk about was how Topper
could talk! A day or two later it got even stranger when I found topper in
the room standing on the transmit pedal and "speaking" loudly! I turned
the transmitter off real fast! To my knowledge he never got a reply from
anyone.


Andy

What a nice story!
Best wishes,
Polonca and Soncek

tanada wrote:
He's very communicative, though he doesn't make a lot of noises,
generally.

The prettiest cat in Christendom our Lady Isis (RB) did have a huge
vocabulary which she regularly exercised sometimes rather loudly (we
used to say "Speak up Issi they can't hear you in Birmingham"-
seriously I once heard her through the front door...that's the one
downstairs..)

She used to hold enormously long chats with anyone who was passing
by..she'd go "mrrrow" and I would say back "Mrrow" or my version of it
and she'd reply and I'd reply and this would go on for ages...

I was never quite sure whether she was imparting the wisdom of ages to
me/telling me the lottery numbers for next week or quite possibly
thinking "Can't this woman speak a word of cat properly?"

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs.