Cats may not understand human language, as we do. But they are very good with patterns, and perhaps that's the same thing. When I ask, "Do you want to go out?", they will go to the backdoor and wait, or the window if I'm upstairs. When I ask, "Do you want to eat?", they will go to their food bowl if they're hungry; otherwise, they'll ignore me. If I ask, "Do you want to play?", they will get in a position to play, which usually means the Da Bird. It helps when the emphasis is on the last word: OUT, EAT, PLAY, and if I simply use the last word, such as "Out?", it will get the same reaction. The question inflection helps too, because I get a different reaction if I say, "Get OUT of the refrigerator!". The cat won't necessarily get out of the refrigerator but neither does she take it as an invitation to go outdoors.
@Steve North, I believe so. I'm only speaking from having dogs around from childhood to adulthood you can't help but notice how they react to human behaviors e.g. facial expressions, hand gestures, voice tones, etc. They could always win me over when they put their tails between their hind legs after being scolded. I never really thought about until this discussion. Our dogs were not professionally trained in commands but they responded well to the limited commands we/I gave.
Neither is our dog professionally trained.. Just what we have done with her.. She does understand several words and reacts to them.. Very obedient.. We have a 6 pound 7 year old Pomeranian that NEVER barks unless there is a reason like someone at the door, someone in our driveway, a wild animal (bear) on our property, wants to go potty, or if we play with her.. Totally spoiled of course and we just love her to bits.. Couldn't imagine life without her..
I think anyone who has owned and loved a dog is very aware that they understand plenty of words. For our little Harry, we had to spell out words like "bath" so he wouldn't go hide under the bed.
That is exactly what I had to do with Chipper, too ! He actively listened to every word I said, and if he didn’t understand all of it, he sure did understand most of it. Pretty sure that he could also read my mind. Why else would a dog hide under the bed when you only THOUGHT about giving him a bath ?
Cutie would know when she was going to the vet and this cat, who was always front and center, would disappear. At first, I thought she figured it out when she saw me getting the carrier ready, but she didn't hide when it was one of the other cats who was going to the vet, so I couldn't figure out how she knew when it was going to be her. I even tried readying the carrier in the library, which is separated from the rest of the house by a door and an exterior wall, and she'd still figure it out. I had to call and reschedule one appointment because I couldn't find her. The vet thought that was pretty funny. About a half-hour after the appointment was supposed to have been, she shows up as if she had nothing to worry about. I really don't know how she figured that out, but she pretty reliably did. Usually, I could find her after a search but I don't where she hid that time that I couldn't.
Radar knows when has done bad. If I ask. Do you want outside..he dances around in a circle...then if he goes to front bathroom and lays or sits...he wants out. I feed him. 4:30pm..if I don't , he will come find me and them sit and stare until its ready. If he wants up in recliner....he tries to jump up...if he can't he will turn around for you to pick him up...and gives a hop to help you.
Life without a pet is quite boring.. Either a dog or cat brings so much love into the house.. I just can't imagine life without a pet in the house.. We have had dogs and cats and now we have a 6 pound Pomeranian that simply loves us and we love it.. Her name is Sheeba and she acts just like the Queen of Sheeba..
Our little Pom was also named Sheba, and she acted like she was the Queen of Sheba. She and Chipper were best buddies and we loved her dearly, but one day, she went out side of the back door, and I followed her out, but she was gone. We think that there had to have been a coyote or even a hawk just outside that grabbed her as she went out, because we hunted for days and never found so much as a tuft of hair. Sheba used to run and bark when she heard the doorbell ring. She did that even when the doorbell was on television, and there used to be some commercial that had a ringing doorbell in it, and that always set her to barking. Even now, when I hear a television doorbell, I think of little Sheba.
Yvonne... I am really sorry about your dear Sheba... I can feel what you are experiencing as I love my Sheeba to death..
So glad you are here! One of my favorite outings in a small Japanese restaurant in our town. We hosted Japanese exchange students several times and one taught us to make our own California rolls. (although that is not what they called them ; ) Ari got oh (spelling?)