Cat Communications

We have cats. A lot of them now.

It all started with a feral colony cared for by a neighbor who moved away. We took over the colony and eventually managed to get most of them trapped, neutered and released before we moved here full time in 2012. The problem was that we weren't able to trap all of them, so there were still a few fertile females and a couple of males, as well as unneutered males in the neighborhood, so the colony kept expanding and now numbers about 25 - 30. 

Ms. Ché, bless her heart, is the local Cat Lady, so we now and then collect strays, and from time to time people come by to drop off kittens or older cats, too. 25 - 30 is the maximum we can handle at any given time, and if there are more the surplus is either run off, voluntarily leave, or in some cases, dies off. Kittens, for example, have a rough time of it among the feral colony, and maybe only one or often none will survive from a litter. We've tried trapping the few unneutered cats, but they're wise to it now, and they are not cooperative. So we just have to deal with the situation as it is.

Ms. Ché, bless her heart, has taken to domesticating some of the ferals, which means some of them become house cats. Too many of them in my view, but she sees them all as potential companion animals, and enjoys the whole process of domestication. The cats seem to like it too.

One of the things that's happened is that all of the domesticated ones have learned basic communications with us. They not only understand and use some spoken language, some are quite adept at using other forms of cross species communication.

For example, several years ago we hung a set of red plastic Christmas bells by the front door as part of our decorations. There is a table by the front door as well to hold packages and such, and one of the domesticated ferals we call Woolly Bear (due to her resemblance to a giant caterpillar) one day sat on the table by the front door and casually batted at the bells with her front paw. This caused us to wonder what was going on at the door -- "who is that at the door?" -- and one of us (I don't remember who) went to check. 

Wooly Bear was on the table when we opened the door, and she promptly came in. Hmm. A day or so later, one of the black cats, probably Tubby, batted at the bells, and we went to check, and sure enough, he was on the table and came in when we opened the door. 

A day or so later, the other black cat, Ash, tried it and sure enough, when we went to the door to check, he was on the table and came in when we opened the door.

Now five or six of the cats routinely rattle the Christmas bells when they want to come in. And a few who know how to work the bells will actually do it for others who want to come in but don't know how to -- or don't want to -- ring the bells themselves.

We got a yak bell from the Dharma Store in Santa Fe before the Covid shut everything down, and we put it up outside thinking it would ring better than the plastic bells, but the cats wouldn't touch it. In fact, instead, some tried to ring the doorbell, but they weren't strong enough to push the button. They tried, though. 

We put the plastic bells back up and put the yak bell inside by the front door at cat height and told those who wanted to go out to ring it. Sure enough, Tubby learned to do it right away. Then the one we call Kitten learned. And Woolly Bear. No others have so far learned the yak bell trick, but we are sure that some will one day.

Tubby also starts "touching" things when he wants something -- like food or attention -- going around the house touching or knocking over various objects. We've tried training him away from doing it, but he knows it will get our attention, so he keeps on, much to our chagrin.

All of the indoor (domesticated) cats know their names, but what's remarkable is that many know one another's names. That's right. If you call one, the others who know one another's names (not all do) will look toward the one you're calling or even go so far as to point out where that one is.

This winter, we have too many cats in the house which I sometimes become annoyed about. As any cat owner knows, they can be very destructive. Having so many in the house means it's a constant duty and struggle to clean up after them and protect anything you don't want broken or destroyed. Much of what they do that makes people annoyed with them is territorial. Scratching the furniture or peeing/spraying where you don't want them to is marking territory and instinctive with cats. They will do it regardless of what you want. 

Cats seem to think that people are just strange, big, cat-ish creatures that need to be trained in proper cat-ish behavior. They like snuggling with people at night, sleeping in piles with their people. They're very happy to do the same with one another -- but usually only if they are related to their sleeping companions. In some ways, they seem to think that their people are their relations. I don't know how that works, but it seems to be universal among the feline species. Some form of cat-adoption, perhaps. Sometimes they curl up with non-related cats, but it's not typical.

Cats are very social. They are not solitary by nature. And their social hierarchies are very strict. There is almost always an Alpha male and an Alpha female, and they sometimes mate -- though not always. The Alpha female is in charge of the colony as a whole; the other females are subservient to her. The younger cats of both sexes take instruction from her. She's looked up to by them.

The Alpha male is the guardian of the colony, deciding who can be a colony member and running off any interlopers in concert with the Alpha female. They decide how many colony members there can be. Cats can count, you know. The Alpha male fights territorial fights with strangers and sometimes is badly injured. If he is badly injured or infrequently killed in these fights, another male becomes the Alpha. As Alphas, they physically bulk up. An Alpha cat is usually quite a bit larger than other adult members of the colony and thus is usually easily identifiable.

Cats vary in intelligence. Some are not so bright at all while others are simply brilliant. Some are vocal; most are not. Some seem to use human language; whether they are actually trying to say things in English or not, I don't know.

Ms. Ché believes that cats actually use a form of telepathy in communicating with one another and with humans. She says they communicate this way by inserting mental pictures in one another's and your brain, but how they do it she doesn't know. Nor do I. But it may be true. They can also tell time very accurately without a clock and they can do it in the dark.

There's a lot more about cat communications, but I'll leave it here for now.