Have you ever wondered if a cat understands you when you speak to them and if so how much do they understand? My experience with my cat Henry might make you think.
My cat Henry was a rescue cat from the Cats Protection in Swindon where I was living at the time.
He was at a Fosterer in a pen with about four or five others, and as soon as I went in he came over and as I crouched down he jumped on my lap. The Fosterer said “be careful he bites; we call him Mr Nasty.”
He was fine until I stroked him down his back when he turned and tried to bite me. He was perfectly fine when I stroked him anywhere else. I said I would think about it as I liked him but was concerned about his nasty streak.
During the next week I could not find any reason not to have him, thinking that the nasty streak might have been due to previous owners or a bad experience, so I decided that I would have him and see if I could help him out of the habit.
When I got him home, he was the same; as soon as I touched his back he went for me. On further inspection I found that his poor back was red raw with small blisters. No wonder he went for people he must have been in agony!
The Vet explained he had a nasty flea allergy and he was riddled with them. After several sessions of gently Hibiscrub and some flea spray he never suffered again and Mr Nasty became Mr Nice!
Due to the flea allergy, I religiously applied the flea treatment each month and it became a ritual. I would sit on a stool in the kitchen and hold him with one hand while trying to pull back the fur and apply the fluid. He of course resisted, as the smell and the wet on the neck didn’t suit him! I always talked to him and told him it was for his own good and the resistance was never that great and it got to a point where I didn’t really have to hold him.
Sometimes as soon as I got the treatment out, he would jump off my lap and go into the living room and would sit looking at me. I then would get up pick him up and start again without any further resistance.
Then one day for no particular reason, instead of going to pick him up I thought that I would try talking to him. So I sat where I was and told him that he need the treatment, as without it he would be uncomfortable. I said “I know you don’t like it but it is good for you.” I was speaking for no more that a minute or two and without any hand or head gestures, and what happened next absolutely amazed me.
He walked back over to me, jumped up on my lap and turned around and sat in the usual position so I could apply the treatment. He gave the usual I don’t like this I’m grumpy growl but sat there until I said, “all done off you go”, when he jumped off and back into the living room.
I had a cat flap which he used but on occasions he would sit at the open door looking at the garden, so when I wanted to close the door, the usual routine would be that I would gently close the door until he chose in or out. But after the incident with the flea treatment I thought I would try another test. So the next time this happened I stood behind him and talked to him, “Right then chap, I want to close the door, and you need to make your mind up, in or out” Sometimes I would say that its going to rain so why not stay in and so on. Each time I made a conscious effort not to move the door to encourage a reaction and on each occasion he made the decision himself, sometimes in and sometimes out.
I know that this is not scientific and could possibly be other factors and I am one of the most sceptical of people, however I am now convinced that cats understand so much more than many people realise, so a simple “Don’t go near the road” or “Don’t go near the cars” will have a beneficial effect on the cat and even if I am completely wrong what harm can it do?
Not the best images of him but it was a very early digital camera with a pretty rubbish resolution.
