Do you talk to your pets?

[watervole]

Are there any pet owners who don't talk to their pets?

I am firmly convinced that animals (with the exception of dogs and some very smart parrots) do not understand any words of English. I find it laughable when little old ladies explain that they have told their cats not to catch birds.

None the less, every night, when I turn out the lounge light, I say 'Goodnight' to the budgie. If he's flying free (we let him out about once a week) then I chat to him up on top of the curtain rail and tell him he's a lovely bird.

I always chat briefly to dogs when introduced to them. I have been known to say 'hello' to cats I pass in the road if they come up to me. I don't believe they understand a single word of it, but I still do it.

I have also been known to talk to cuddly toys and I am perfectly certain that I am not alone in this.

We're an incredibly social species. Company is terribly important to us. That's why many hospitals now have authorised dogs or cats, as they know that the patients benefit from being able to stroke them and talk to them.

Our relationships with animals say a lot about our relationships with people. In at least one country (Canada, I think) people who abuse animals have a note made to the child-protection people. There is a strong link between those who hurt domestic animals and those who hurt children.

So, I guess it makes a kind of sense that we talk to animals. We keep pets becasue their company is good for us. They provide us with love and affection. It's natural for us to talk to those we love. It's a relationship and for many people without family it's the most important relationship in their life.

Comments

[snowgrouse.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I know they don't understand the actual words but then dogs can understand what certain vocalisations mean when you've trained them, cats can recognise their names (not that they care, though) and so on... I knew a couple where the guy was American and the woman was Finnish and their dog could only understand terms like "stay" and "sit" in Finnish, never in English. Which was kind of tricky when they broke up and the bloke took the dog with him to the US...

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

Well, we're the only animal that really uses language to communicate, so I know Spike doesn't understand my words in the way another human would. Nevertheless, he's become freakishly good at understanding what I'm trying to tell him - I don't need to stick to previously-trained "commands" or even speak in short sentences; sometimes I don't need to speak at all. But then Border Collies were bred to be good communicators - you don't work sheep successfully without being able to both divine their intentions and convey yours to them.

Squish is another matter entirely. But he's very cute and it makes him happy when I talk to him, so what the hey...

[paranoidangel]

I am firmly convinced that animals do not understand any words of English.

Which is handy because it means you can talk complete crap to them. I think depending on the intelligence of the species they understand some words (like 'no') or at least the sound of your voice (ie whether you're telling them off or not).

We talk to the fish (who know that means they're going to get fed - or hope they are because they're greedy) and the stick insects.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

When my middle one started playgroup and I no longer had a pushchair to dump the shopping in, I used a trolley and found I talked to that in the absence of small child.

[sugoll.livejournal.com]

I talk to cats, but not necessarily in English: I purr, I *brrpt!*, and I narrow my eyes and nuzzle them. All things that cats say to me, apparently in greetings.

By and large, cats don't meow unless they're pushed, or they've learned that it's the only thing to which the humans react. Or they're Siamese. :-)

I was amused to hear one theory that cats leave dead animals not as tokens of affection or anything like that, but because they think we're crap cats that evidently can't hunt and fend for ourselves...

[fifitrix.livejournal.com]

we're crap cats that evidently can't hunt and fend for ourselves...
Yes - I've always thought of it as their contribution to the house food cos we obviously don't provide enough rather than as a present. That might be because Grace would eat 10 meals a day if we let her and so in her opinion there can never be enough food.

Or they're Siamese. :-)
Well quite. Mara does "talk". I don't always understand her, but I quite clearly get "Bitch! you left me with these weird people all on my own" (meaning my family - she's never been to the cat hotel) when I get home from being away.

I do talk to her alot but also do the "make cat noises and nuzzle" thing back to her cos that's what she does to me. Seems to work.