General cat stuff

[kutubira]

Hi people.

I and Sakız have so much going on right now, and we both have our own problems and it's funny, we are trying to deal with them in our own ways. I'm going to open a new thread about the most pressing issue right now, but I have some more general questions. I don't expect to get answers to all of them, but here are my questions:

1- How much human can cats talk? I have grown fond of Sakız and it's hard to describe. She has the ability to put a smile on my face just by passing through my thoughts. I miss her when I'm at the school/work. I can tell she feels the same, but I'm not sure if she can tell that I love her. Do cats know our body language, particularly our facial language? My angry, happy, sad and satisfied moments... Do they mean something to her?

2- How can I communicate that I love her? I think she kinda feels that, but I want to be able to "say" this to her. 

3- Clicker training. I bought a clicker, and some treats. She got the idea of the training; she knows a click means something nice is on the way. But I'm not sure how to start to this. What is the easiest thing to teach her? And sometimes she doesn't want the treat, she wants the clicker. She finds where I'm holding the clicker and goes for it. How do I prevent this?

4- Is wet food bad for cats?

I'm sorry that I had to ask many questions in one thread, but I did not want to open 5 separate threads.

 

[thesighrye]

Well, I can help you answer these a little bit!

As a cat lover, I'm sure you've heard of Jackson Galaxy...if not, look up his stuff! He's brilliant. One way that a cat and a human can communicate trust/love is the slow blink. You look your kitty in the eye, and if they shut their eyes slightly and relax them (usually almost a full blink) it means they do not perceive you as a threat and also means "I love you!" He says in one of his videos that a way to say it back is to relax your face and do the slow blink, and they're very likely to return it!

Also, wet food is WONDERFUL for cats. I just recently took my Bellatrix to her first vet's visit, and he described that an all dry food diet is almost like putting a plate of cookies in front of a human every day. It's mostly all carbs. Kitties need meat in their diet, and as there are plenty of people who advocate for the all raw diet, I do not nor can I afford it. 50 cent cans of Friskies and Fancy Feast is JUST fine They get the protein that they need and also a good portion of their water this way, too. I actually add water to her wet food to ensure she is drinking enough!

Also, cats know emotions. Think of this...if you were to yell at her, would her ears go back and would she look scared? Or, if you were to coo at her and speak lovingly, would she relax and rub up against you? My point.

Can't offer too much on the clicker training, sorry! Perhaps there will be another contributor who knows about that. Never done it before.

Hope I helped? Happy Caturday! =^.^=

 

[catspaw66]

To your second question @kutubira, I can say just tell her you love her. I have no problem telling my ladies how pretty and sweet and soft they are. I do it even if I am on the telephone. I know some people would call me a "poofster" for doing so, but I don't care.

Pet her, brush her, play with her, give her treats, let her sleep with you if she wants to and she will know you love her.

Let me point you to some on-site articles. www.thecatsite.com/atype/43/Cat_Behavior  This section is on behavior, but there are sections on care, health, breeds and several other topics.