Pets need conversations

I hope you soon recover. I talk to my dog all the time. She probably thinks I’m batty and wouldn’t be wrong there, but definitely enjoys all aspects of human company.

My cat Harley Catfish loves conversation. He's accustomed to this from kittenhood. He also answers with a trill every time I call his name. It sounds like 'Yes?' or a 'Hmmm?' When displeased he turns his back to me, a clear sign that I have not pleased him! Oh, I could go on all day!

We usually say "hello" to our cats when they come in. If they arrive without us noticing they announce their arrival by miaowing in a distinctly "hello" tone, right down to the 2 syllables.

Best companion animal I ever had was a stone-deaf cat. You could “vent” at him to your hearts content! and he just starred at you, adoringly.
He loved any kind of conversation.
Get better soon.

My cat always says"hello" when she comes near me and of course I answer her.She must think that I am deliberately ignoring her now .
She is also vocal when she requests (demands!) treats,getting a door opened for her etc She is a rescue cat and certainly knows her place ie top boss.

I always talk to my cat. We have very long conversations if he starts answering me The charity Dogs On The Streets has a volunteer who reads to the dogs they are looking after. The dogs love it.

I always talk to my cat Thomas. Tell him see you soon when I go out. Always fuss and kiss him goodnight and tell him I love him when I go to bed and see you in the morning. He purrs.
Our dear Daisy-May used to talk back to us. Say something to her she used to say Mwa back to us. We miss her, she was so amusing.

Mine stopped purring when I came back from holiday a few weeks ago.
Took lots of stroking and talking to by me, for 3 days, before it purred again.

I had started to wonder if it was actually ill.

My cat, Phoebe, and I are very chatty together. Phoebe was a rescue kitten and was only 5 weeks old when I got her. I became "mummy" and had to get a bottle-feeding kit from the vet.

I talk to her all day long and she has various different meows to answer. Friends smile at how chatty she is. She will always say hello, even in the middle of the night, and if I don't answer, she'll turn up the volume until I do.

She has different meows for different requests - to open the door, for food, etc. She is very bossy when she wants me to play, or to close up downstairs and go up to bed with her. We have our routines I love her to bits and couldn't have got through the pandemic and lockdowns without her.

I agree I always talk to all my pets I tell them mummy’s going out now she won’t be long etc, I think everyone needs conversations

I'm always talking to my rescue dog. The conversations are very one sided ut the tail wags say it all. If I tell her she is a good girl her tail goes like a helicopter propeller.

I used to talk to all my cats - my absolute favourite was my Mr Cooper, and he loved being spoken to. Now, I talk to any animal I meet.

I used to talk to Wiggy a lot. Sometimes she replied. Cockatiels do chat a bit.
I miss her now she's in bird heaven.

avitorl

If you ever wonder if your pet appreciates you chatting to them ,or think you are really talking to yourself,I can now say that my cat relies on our daily conversations.
This week I have had a chest infection and have lost my voice.My cat is upset with me and I assume it is because I can't talk to her.She has not slept on my bed for the last 3 nights and has slept in the spare room instead.
I am still stroking and petting her but that is obviously not good enough for her!

She may not want to catch what you've got - we know how canny cats are

Of course I talk to my cat and all my previous cats as well as ones I meet in the street. I talk to nice dogs I meet too.
How lovely to hear about those dogs being read to. That's a volunteer job I'd like!

We have conversations with our cat and he manages to convey exactly what he wants (demands).

I seem to have been forgiven for not talking to my cat. She sat on my knee to watch Eurovision and then came to sleep on my bed last night.
She also had more Dreamies than usual which may have helped.Treats speak louder than words!

Dogs certainly understand a lot of “words” and can attach meaning to them. So our last little dog understood all words you would expect like, dinner, bed, cat, drink, treat, walk, etc but also words like park, swim - all our family Christian names (he would get excited), mention holiday and he would get excited. In the car we would tell him when a motor bike was coming and he would jump up to look out of the window (no idea why he liked them) baa-lambs, moo-cows and gi-gee. “Paws up?” Asking if he wanted help to get on chair etc - if so he would put his front paws onto the chair and I would heave up his rear end. Loads more.

So that is why you must constantly talk to your animal sharing your home - they understand so much.

When he got deaf, we devised different hand signals which he cottoned onto very quickly indeed. And so although very much more limited we still continued to communicate

Dogs recognise certain words for sure. ‘Breakfast time’ has my spaniel running to sit by her bowl. Good dog equals eye contact and waggy tail
Obedience work - words like sit, down, stay, on your bed, wait, fetch, come, find it, etc all effective with my two, even the giddy young lab.
Dogs thrive on contact with their people.

Both my Cats talk to us. One announces her arrival in a room, the other just sees me, has a "chat" rolling over as if I have been away for months.

I had an incredible dog,cross Border Collie/Bearded Collie,he used to help with housework . I would leave dusters,brushes,sprays etc at the bottom of the stairs and tell him which he had to bring upstairs for me. He got it right every time.
At Christmas time he had his own Christmas stocking under the tree which he would bring to us when we told him to.He would be given a treat from it and then return it to it's place underneath the tree until he was told to bring it again.I'm amazed he never just helped himself to it's contents.
I think I've read that dogs have an understanding of about 240 words.
If I asked him for a cuddle he would press his head onto my chest so that I could put my arms around him.I have so many happy memories of him.

Septimia

We usually say "hello" to our cats when they come in. If they arrive without us noticing they announce their arrival by miaowing in a distinctly "hello" tone, right down to the 2 syllables.

Our cat does this too!, it is so obviously 'Hello' she shouts to announce her arrival - I love it.

I've always talked to our dogs and cats since I was a child. I've no doubt that some people thought that I was a bit daft but the pets didn't mind it.

My dad, a farmer, used to talk to his cows. When they were inside all day during winter he would walk into the shippon (milking shed) of a morning and say "Morning ladies, its raining cats and dogs out there, be thankful you're here and dry" and other such rubbish.
My brothers laughed at him, but he persisted, saying contented cows gave more milk.
So I talked to them too (when no-one was watching).