Originally posted by Kalleh: I think communication with animals is fascinating. I've always thought they understand a whole lot more than we realize.
I suspect that some animals do discern meanings, but most understand tone, posture, and scent more. What I took away from Ms Cheeseiron's (Brie+fer) study is that animals, like humans, identify with a specific group, and "accent" is an identifier.
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -J. Krishnamurti
We have a $3600 stray cat that arrived in an icer storm about fifteen years ago. She has the most unruly coat I've ever seen on a cat, spiky and comes off in clumps when she licks. About two years after her arrival, she got very sick. The vet x-rayed her and found a MASSIVE hairball blocking her intestines. She was such a doll we spent $1800 for an operation to remove the hairball. Tkhe doctor warned us that it might recur and so she should be shaved about four times a year. We thought he was crazy. Shave a CAT?
Six months later, same problem. By then the cat was like a child to my wife, so another $1800. After that she got shaved regularly -- and actually enjoys it. The grooner says she's the only cat she can trim without sedation.
So a bit later, the cat got a thyroid problem. We had to give her a spill twice a day. Ordinarily, if you try catching a cat to force open its mouth and stuff a pill in on a regular basis it will cause the cat to run every time it sees you. Not her. Every AM and PM at 7, she sits on her cushion and waits. If we forget or are late, she gets up and comes looking for us. The fact she gets a treat might have something to do with it but how does she know the time so perfectly?
We've also noticed that every cat has its own sleeping area where it can be found daily. However, on the day one is to go to the vet, somehow at the appointed time, that cat and no other will disappear and hide. We try to avoid signaling our intentions but they go before we start to look for them every time.
I had a friend who lived in LA. The next door neighbor's dog got under their fence and mauled their cat. Of course the neighbor was at fault, so they offered to pay for the vet bills. Little did they know that they had to fly in a special vet from NY to care for the cat. The cost was more than $10,000. Glad it wasn't my dog!
Cats can be smart, even though we don't realize it. Some of you remember Morgan, who started this board with us. She had a cat that knew each night it was fed at 11 pm. He would begin to nudge as soon at that time hit. If the time changed to daylight saving's time, it would take him a few days to get used to it.
I watched a PBS video, "A Murder of Crows," the other day. Research show that crows are some of the most intelligent animals in the world. They can recognize people and remember them for 2 years.
It was a couple years ago that I learned from first-hand experience that crows could recognize individual people. One day at work I walked out to the parking lot to my car. As I approached a crow starting making an awful noise. Other crows joined in. I got what I needed from my car and went back into the building. I figured that the crow was just protecting a nearby nest. Later in the day whenever I stepped outside the crows would start cawing again. They would fly to nearby phone or power lines and continue to scold me. One time I went outside and was walking along when a crow swooped down and bonked me on the head with a wing. Maybe Hitchcock was right.
