# Does your cat understand words..?



## Xanti (Nov 4, 2008)

Monty always snuggles up to me when I'm watching tv in the evenings.

I'll talk to him and can see his ears go back, so know he's listening even though he pretends to be asleep 

In the middle of this one sided conversation I will sometimes say: I wonder if Monty would like a treat..he then jumps off the couch, wide awake and runs to the kitchen..it is sooo funny.

Do your cats understand certain words?


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Sinatra knows "treat" too!!


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Definitely! my cats understand "mousies", "want treats?", "want catnip?", "squirrel", "cat", "dog", "birdies", "bugs", "are you hungry?", "bad" and "good" and "sit". Also husband's and granddaughter's name, and who knows what else...some words have to be spelled out!


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Yes. Mow knows some words. Stuff like 'please move', 'rumblies in tumblies', 'Daddy's home!', 'Birds?', 'Commere', and 'come in!' (which means someone is at the door and Mow has to be meercat in the hallway until he's sure it isn't my ex).


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Haha! What does rumblies in tumblies mean?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

It comes from Winnie the Pooh's 1966 movie.


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## Xanti (Nov 4, 2008)

They are so clever  I think they understand a lot more than we know, they just have selective hearing


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Muffs understands "treat" and "no". 

Abby understands "treat", but is under the misguided impression that "no" means "it's ok to keep doing what I'm doing as long as Mom doesn't get up".


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

I'm sure mine do, but so far the only word they seem to have any interest in reacting to is "food." 

They probably do know what "no" means but like to pretend that they don't of course!


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

susan said:


> abby ........is under the misguided impression that "no" means "it's ok to keep doing what i'm doing as long as mom doesn't get up".


lmao!


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## sephi (May 9, 2010)

nazzy and sephi understand "NO", "FOOD" , "SNACK" " COME HERE" VERY WELL,
when i take them out for walk, when is time to come in i say lets get some snack and they walk to the the door and enter the home!!


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

MowMow, that clip was so cute!


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

Susan said:


> Abby understands "treat", but is under the misguided impression that "no" means "it's ok to keep doing what I'm doing as long as Mom doesn't get up".


Haha, Alice has that selective "no" hearing as well. She probably thinks her name is "Alice No" by now, and my getting up is the only way she knows she's done wrong. 

All of the girls know the word "tasties" (our word for 'treats'), "off" (it just depends if they want to listen or not), "sit", "come", and their names. Both Samantha and Alice know "shake" as well. They understand a variety of other words too, I think...Alice and Samantha especially seem to pick up on words very quickly.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Unfortunately I must report that my cats don't seem to know anything as far as language goes. They aren't really food motivated, and I think that's where a lot of word learning originates from. One of my cats loves to be brushed so when I say "do you want a brushing?" he gets excited, but I pin that down to my voice, not my words.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Yup...treat, wanna eat?, down (off the counter), no, their names and a bunch more.

I read (I think it was in Think Like a Cat) that cats have the ability to comprehend a vocabulary of 20-30 words.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Cali understands _no_. Unfortunately, the human-to-cat translation is _That's so cute - please keep doing it until I get up and walk towards you....._


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## Luvkitties (Jan 22, 2009)

Patch has selective hearing. I'm sure he understands me when I tell him "no", "stop chewing that", "come here"... he just doesn't care. 

Treize understands his name, he always comes when I say "come here" and he reacts to a few gestures as well. He definitely knows when I'm talking about "chicken"... I need to start spelling that word instead of saying it!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Some of my fosters were very bright and know word commands. Most of my cats respond to the tone of my voice and they all think Im taking just to them.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Sinatra responds to the tone of my voice also. I use a baby voice with him and he will come when he hears it. I use a different one for Nutty too but she ignores me most of the time.


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## s_mitters (Feb 16, 2006)

Smitt will come running when we say, "We've got boogers out here!" 
This translates to him that there is something worth taking a look at just outside the window. It could be a leaf, snow, small rodent or his girlfriend, Ms. Bunny. 

We can say the word "Feather" or spell it. This translates to Smitt that I will get his feather-on-a-stick out of the drawer and we will play.

If we want to know if he is sleepy, we ask him, "Are you seepers?". He will respond with several sleepy blinks.

The list goes on. He is a smart cat. It's scary.


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## Jan Rebecca (Oct 14, 2010)

Tuffy sure knows the word 'treat' cuz when I ask him if he wants one - he runs to the cupboard I keep them in and begs.


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## bluegoo06 (Nov 24, 2010)

Not sure what my cats actually understand. But they come on command to thier name or a few finger clicks. Very handy to have them come when called.


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## Jess041 (Jul 6, 2009)

I'm sure Lexi understands quite a few words/phrases I say, like treat, toy, no, down, come here. I also thinks she understands what I mean by the tone I use, like when I say her name when she's in trouble, her ears go sideways like, "oops!" Also, I tend to talk in a higher-pitched voice when I'm saying exciting things like, "do you want a treat?" so even if she doesn't know I'm getting her a treat, she knows something good is going to happen! She doesn't give the same response as my dogs do, and she's not very vocal, but she does run over to me. She probably wishes I wouldn't talk to her in a high-pitched/baby voice.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Miu understood 'NO' very early on. It was quite eerie. I didn't even purposely teach her. Perhaps it was the tone of my voice. I did teach her 'We gotta go-go' which means to leave the room. 'Here' is for when she counter-surfs and I say that while pointing to the barstool. She understands all her nicknames like 'Mau, Meowmie, Maozers'.

For now, I think Jack just understands his name. His back was facing me and when I said 'Jack Jack', his ears would rotate around to pick up my words. Haha. I'm teaching him 'Go'. It's worked real good when he tries to go for Miu's food. I show him his bowl and use it to gesture towards his room while saying 'Go, Jack'. I tried to teach him 'Scratches', but so far, he's shown no recognition for the word. Sigh. I'll keep at it.


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## Comadreja144 (Dec 23, 2010)

Xanti said:


> Monty always snuggles up to me when I'm watching tv in the evenings.
> 
> I'll talk to him and can see his ears go back, so know he's listening even though he pretends to be asleep
> 
> ...


Sailor Jerry (Jer/JerJer or Jercat for short) knows his name and nicknames. My neighbors cat (more like kitten actually) ran smack into him and he chased it and was starting a fight when I came out side and called his name and he stoped dead in his tracks and looked at me then I told him to come in and eat and he trotted over to me. 
Whenever something startles him, he'll stop eatting and ill tell him its ok and to keep eating and he does. 
If hes in a bad mood, Ill call him mean kitty and he goes and sits by the door like he is going to leave. 
If i can't find him I will call him and he comes.
He gets more excited over food than treats so I guess thats why he hasnt picked it up yet.

One thing that I thought was funny: three days before halloween I couldnt find a tail (i was going to be a werewolf) and I was sitting on the patio feeding Jer and stroking him and complaining to my best friend on the phone about how i lacked my tail. She and I went out and I couldnt find anything. I got home and on the patio Sailor Jerry had left me a present. My best friend loves cats and kept telling me that one day he would start brining me his left overs as a sign of approval. He had slaughtered a squirrel destroying almost all of it, except the tail and head. The head was in the grass by the edge of the patio but the tail was laid very gently and in perfect condition- right infront of the sliding glass door. Coincidence..?


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## Comadreja144 (Dec 23, 2010)

marie73 said:


> Cali understands _no_. Unfortunately, the human-to-cat translation is _That's so cute - please keep doing it until I get up and walk towards you....._


Sailor Jerry doesnt do anything that needs me to say "No"

Kahlua, Tequila and Mojito do though. Therefore, I can safely say that the human-to-dog *and* the human-to-ferret translation are also "_That's so cute - please keep doing it until I get up and walk towards you..._"


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## karate0kat (Jul 23, 2010)

Vala seems to understand the word food. 

Also, this morning, I was talking to her as I was getting ready to go out. Just sort of rambling on, as I do. I turned around and noticed she'd wondered off and was nowhere in sight. So I was sort of calling around "where are you" all sing songy. Not really looking for her hard, just kind of glancing around. And I see her tail sticking out from under the bed. So I told her "I see you! I see your tail sticking out." _Immediately_ her tail disappeared further under the bed. 

I don't really think she understood me, but I laughed at the timing of that for a good ten minutes this morning.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

LOL. That's great Vala!

When Mow wants to play he gets to yowling and running around. If I stand up to chase him he crouches in the middle of the floor and of course I can see him.... he's in the middle of the carpet but I'll walk around saying out loud "Where is MowMOw? Where can MowMOw be? I hope he doesn't jump out and scare me!" When I get close he pounces at me and runs off pleased with himself. I can't decide if he's trying to amuse me or if he really thinks I cant see him (or just doesn't care).

I'm pretty sure they understand way more than we give them credit for.


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## Miss Kitty (Dec 22, 2010)

My cat comes when called, so she knows her name. She also knows what, "Miss Kitty, get DOWN!" means because she'll look me in the eyes, meow, and get down off of what she was standing on.


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

I'm pretty sure my cats know their names and when I'm talking to them individually.

This thread makes me think of John and Arianwen. I miss his posts.


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