Communicating with Your Animals

Once upon a time a young girl of about 10 years old started what has become a lifetime of observing the behavior of house pets and animals in general. That young girl is now a 50-something year old grandmother; she is me. In my 50 or so years there have been a zoo's worth of animals in my life. The smallest amount at any one time was one animal, the most is 10 animals all under the same roof.

In my lifetime I have had four dogs, four birds, two hermit crabs, two rabbits, one horse, numerous fish and way too many cats to even mention. The amount of cats varies. My first dog wasn't really mine as much as he was my family's. His name was Chipper and he was a cocker spaniel. He didn't like people, especially the mailman. He also went after other neighborhood dogs bigger or smaller than him, he didn't care. Ultimately Chipper's life was taken away by an encounter with a neighborhood German Sheperd.

When I mention communicating with animals, it isn't so much about talking to them as it is listening to them and reading their signs. Currently I have four cats, two boys (neutered) and two girls (spayed). Our boys names are Harley and Nermal. Our girls are Felina and Thomasina. The boys love to be outside, the girls are mostly indoor cats. They very seldom venture outside because there is some big "boogie" kitty that only they can see. When they are outside, they stay right by the back door and beg to ge let in. Once they're in the house, they're okay.

But, the two boys are different. I open and close the back door dozens of times during the day just letting the boys in and out. We can't put a "doggie" door in the door, it isn't designed for one. Besides, through the years opening and closing the door has just become a habit with me. I don't let it bother me. If Harley is on the inside of the door, he sits at it looking outside, likewise if he is outside, he sits by the door and stares inside. Harley came to us via our youngest daughter. She had acquired him from a friend, but because he was left alone a lot he was starting to chew through electrical wires. My daughter was working two jobs which meant Harley was on his own. I couldn't let him chew through some wire that could kill him, so I agreed to take him.

Nermal mysteriously appeared under our deck one day. He was a little kitten and very wild. He wouldn't let anyone near him, except Harley. He would follow Harley around but never came inside the house and never let us pick him up. One day, Harley came in through an open window and Nermal followed him in. Our son happened to be near the window and grabbed Nermal. Through the next week we took turns holding and talking to him and, eventually he became "semi-tame". He acts pretty weird, but Nermal lets us know what he wants.

Our cat feeder is one of those continuous feed type and as the food gets low in the bowl part--Nermal swipes his paws through the food to let food down from the feeder. He is the only cat who knows how to do that.
The other cats will come and look at me, meowing so I'll find out what their problem is. Ditto the waterer. If the larger container is empty, Nermal will bang the container against the wall in an attempt to dislodge it, thereby letting us know it needs refilling.

If he needs to be let out, he will go to whatever door, meows and stretches way up the wall. Likewise when he wants to be picked up. He will stand at my feet and stretch himeself 3/4 the up my leg so I'll pick him up, hug him, tell him he's a good kitty and scratch his ears. Nermal also enjoys picking fights with Harley and Felina. He will get a "wild" look in his eye and start looking for Harley or Felina. I try to intercept him when he's doing that and just lead him outside. He doesn't fight with Thomasina--he likes to play with her. He brings me "presents" of dead birds, insects and even snakes. I'm not afraid of snakes but I'm always intrigued as to where he got that particular "present."

Felina is our "scardey" cat. She spooks easily. She came to us when an elderly lady was going into a nursing home and couldn't take her cat with her. She was left at the vet clinic, my husband had gone out there with another of our cats and spied Felina in a cage needing a home. He called me and said there is a gorgeous cat that needs a home and should we take her? Well, I couldn't say no. She was an adult cat when we got her. It took a few months for her to acclimate into our household. Sometimes she still thinks of herself as an outsider and just keeps to herself. Every once in awhile she will come up to someone and ask for a hug or have her ears scratched.

Thomasina is a small long-haired Siamese looking kitty. She has pretty, lightly crossed blue eyes and she thinks she is a princess. She follows me around the house and will sit and watch me while I'm knitting or crocheting. If I'm typing on the computer she is in the room with me. When I'm in the kitchen, she sits on a chair and watches what I'm doing. She had shown up at the front door of my mom's house. My mom heard a mewing and followed the sound to her front door. She called me and said she had something to show me. I hung up the phone turned around to my daughter and said, "I bet she has a cat or a kitten." Was I right or was I right?

We noticed a little bump on her belly so we took her to the vet and discovered she had a hernia. Right away she was costing some bucks. When the herenia was repaired, she was also spayed. She isn't a real big kitty, a small to medium sized cat who, for some reason--post surgery--can't meow. When she tries to meow it comes out more like a hiss. She greets me in the morning when I get up and let's me know that the two boys are on the outside of the door and they need to be let in. The two boys are let in, they eat a little bit then they let me know it's time for them to go back outside to play.

Our bird is a cockatiel who thinks she's an eagle. When one of the cats comes near her cage, her spike feathers come up on the top of her head and she spreads her wings. This is her pathetic attempt at looking like a big, bad birdie. She whistles the "wit wew" whistle and can say "pretty birdie." She used to say "Annie, come here." but because we don't say it that much anymore she has forgotten how to say it. I keep wondering if she will ever learn to say "Shut-up, Chrissy." We are constantly saying that to her. If there are people in the living room and we are all visiting, the bird will start in whistling and trying to talk over the noise. We have had her the longest of any of our current animals. In January of 2010 she will be 14 years old. The first thing the cats have to learn when they are brought to the house is to leave the bird alone. There have been a few times when Chrissy has pecked a kitty's paw, so they do learn to just walk the other way and realize she isn't worth the trouble she would cause.

When people ask me what kind of "decor" I have in my house I just respond with "it is kid and animal friendly." My carpeting is low pile, industrial carpeting in a neutral color that my husband calls "native dirt." I just want something that isn't a hassle to take care of. Our "hardwoods" are a laminate that holds up really well. In my young growing up years I couldn't touch very many items in my grandma's house, it was a hands off place. I decided that my children and, ultimately, my grandchildren can't be replaced so who cares if my couch is used as a cat scratch post? I certainly don't. If and when I decide to not have animals or kids around I will replace the furniture, until then I'm sticking with what I have.