Many people who have good friends that are cat lovers tend to struggle with why they get so attached to these felines. But one of the things that non cat people have trouble understanding is the ability to communicate with cats. To most people, they like to compare how cats react to humans to the way dog react to humans. This is a huge mistake because these two animals could not be any more different. Most importantly, cats and dogs have different makeups emotionally.
It is because of their unique emotions that kitties require a different style of communication. In most cases, people are either tuned to cats or they are not – that is just the way things are. But there are certain things you can do to enhance and improve how you communicate with your felines. Let us examine 6 tips that allow you to talk to your cat more easily.
Listen to your Kitty
The first step to good communication in general requires that one be a good listener first. This applies to cats as well in the form of learning to read your kitty’s body language – which is how you listen to them. When you do this, you learn their particular stimuli. How do they react to seeing a squirrel or bird outside their window? Do they use the same body language when interacting with you? When you learn to listen to cats, it is all about intuition and sight than it is actual hearing.
Start Giving your Kitty Love Blinks
Cats often communicate comfort to you with what is called a “half blink”, which is where they close their eyelids halfway indicating relaxation. This is a good thing by the way. You can return the love by giving them a love blink. When you are at a distance, slowly close your eyes and then slowly open them again. Cat behaviorists tell us that it is the speed of the blink that tells them “I love you”. If you do this when your kitty is relaxed, then there is good chance that they will repeat it back to you.
Give your Kitty the “Cat Nose Hand”
If you have been around cats enough, then you already know by now that they tend to greet one another by touching their noses. The cool thing is that you can do this to them and it is in their own language! Simply curl your index finger until it is sort of like a kitty’s nose, and then slowly extend your arm to them. Just make sure that you extend that hand slowly and keep it in front of them where they can see it and are not threatened in any way.
Keep your Voice at a Low Volume
It is no secret that kitties have extremely sensitive hearing, so it is a very good idea to get in the habit of keeping your voice down in their presence. And not only this, they are also sensitive to annoying shrills and shrieking sounds. Your kitty will respond more positively to you when you speak low and relaxed- this is especially true if you kitty is shy.
Be Consistent with your Directions to your Kitty
Yes, people think cat lovers are crazy, but kitties really do understand directions, but you have to be consistent. They recognize words that are used in a consistent context. Also, there are times when you can also use a soothing sound effect like whisper and kissing sounds.
Don’t Freak Out When your Kitty Gets too Rough Sometimes
You have to realize that cats learn to socialize as kittens. And when kittens play and get too rough, they hiss and squeak loudly. This is how they learn to back off a little. You can do the same thing when your kitty bites or scratches too hard. Express that pain verbally to let them know. It is helpful to change the pitch of your voice too. After that, ignore your kitty for a little while.
One last thing to remember is that each kitty has their own personality. The way you communicate with one of your kitties may not work as well with another kitty. So be patient and learn each one – the effort will be well worth it.
