The idea that housecats are baby-talking at humans when they meow is based on a misunderstanding.
Yes, it’s true that, amongst themselves, adult housecats generally only vocalise to communicate with kittens, but the particular set of vocalisations that adult cats use to communicate with humans is distinct from, and largely non-overlapping with, the set of vocalisations that they use to communicate with kittens.
Your average adult housecat has anywhere from twenty to fifty distinct vocalisations that are basically only used to communicate with humans.
Cats meowing at humans is less baby-talk and more your cat learning a whole second language.
Can confirm. Between themselves, cats usually use body language which is very subtle. Meowing is very unsubtle—- it’s obnoxious, in the cat world. It attracts far too much attention, which isn’t ideal for small predators.
but they know that we don’t get their body language, so they meow instead.
it’s more akin to cats learning a second language which is comprised of yelling.
So it’s like they are learning German
Even cooler, it’s basically a secret code between cat and owner. Studies were conducted where owners would listen to recordings of cats vocalizations and try to determine what the meow meant. Owners could identify what their own cat wanted (food, attention, help) based on the meow they heard, but couldn’t for other cats.
Your cats aren’t just learning a new language, they straight up invent a secret code that only you understand.
i bought a set of watercolour paints on amazon a few days ago and in the product description it said it comes with a “free gift” so i was thinking “cool it’ll probably be like a paintbrush or sth” but the package just arrived and they sent me… a single serving of cat food????
started watching bridgerton and i’m fully losing my mind?? enemies to lovers fake dating historical romance??? with a diverse cast???? whilst orchestral versions of modern pop songs play in the background????? JULIE ANDREWS NARRATES IT?????? sign me the fuck up
gosh does anyone else have a weird little graveyard in their head for friendships of the past?? and every once in a while you just visit it and think about how those people are getting on, knowing you will never see or speak to them again? current mood
consider: teenagers aren’t apathetic about everything they’re just used to you shitting all over whatever they show excitement about
Teen: *gets a job*
“I GOT THE JOB!”
Parents: Well, when I was your age, I already had 5 jobs and was supporting my family
Teen: *gets all A’s*
“I worked really hard!”
Parents: Well, of course you did, this is the expectation, not a celebration.
probably why so many teens take to social media where they can enthusiastically share their interests and achievements and get positive feedback that their parents never gave
A LITTLE LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK
This hit hard
I remember once, when I was in my early 20s, I was an afternoon supervisor at my job, and I worked with mostly teenagers, and the one day this one kid, who was like 15, was bored so I suggested he could clean out the fridge. He did and when he was done I said he did a good job.
After that, this kid was cleaning out the fridge at least once a week, and I was like, “why are you always cleaning the fridge?” Like, I didn’t mind, but it seemed odd. And he said, “one time I cleaned the fridge and you said I did a good job. I wanted to make you proud of me again.”
Literally, I changed the entire way I interacted with teenagers after that. I actually got a package of glitter stars and I would stick them on their nametags when they did a good job, and they loved it.
My manager had commented on how hard these kids work and I said, “they’re starved for positive feedback. They go to school all day then come to work all evening and no one appreciates it because it’s expected of them, but they’re still kids. They need positive feedback from adults in their lives.”
Like, everyone likes feeling appreciated. Everyone likes being complimented and having their efforts be noticed. Another coworker (who was a mother of teenage children), hated that I did this, and said they were too old to be rewarded with stickers, but like… it wasn’t about the stickers. The stickers were just a symbol that their effort was noticed and appreciated. I was just lucky that I learned this at a time when I was still young enough to remember what it was like to be a teenager. I was only 2 years out of highschool at that point and highschool is fucking hard. People forget this as they get older, but ask anyone and almost no one would ever want to go back and do it again, but they expect kids to suck it up because they’re young so they should be able to do school full time, plus homework, and work, and maintain a healthy social life, and sleep, and spend time with family, and do chores and help out at home, and worry about college and relationships and everything else, and then just get shit on all the time and treated like they’re lazy and entitled. And then they wonder why teenagers are apathetic.
