Kitty Communication

For the last two days, our largest cat, Wicket, has been meowing almost non-stop. Not just normal meows, but low, deep wails that sound like all is lost. The food bowl was full. I looked him over, and didn’t see any injuries, he didn’t act like he was tender anywhere I touched him. We considered making a vet appointment, but what would we tell them? That he meows a lot? We’ve had cats that did that anyway. For all we knew, he was just going through a phase. I was still thinking about calling the vet when I figured it out.

The cats have two water sources, one in the kitchen, and one in the upstairs hallway. About a year ago we replaced the downstairs bowl with an electric fountain-style bowl. Then, a couple of days ago, we replaced the upstairs one with a similar device. Apparently, Wicket is afraid of them. He didn’t complain when we replaced the one in the kitchen, because he still had the one upstairs.

Anyway, this morning, Wicket meowed at me the entire time I was in the shower. When I got out, he stood in the hallway, next to the newer fountain bowl, gesturing at the bowl with his nose. This cat would be good at charades. On a hunch, I pulled the old water bowl out and filled it. He lapped up water for the next fifteen minutes. I’m pretty sure the poor idiot had gone two days without drinking any water. He hasn’t complained since.

Just something to keep in mind I guess, if you use fountain bowls.

The cats are pretty good at body language, though. Kara sleeps on my bed every night. In fact, she has different favorite spots that are dependent on which of my usual sleeping positions I’m currently in. If I’m on one side she might curl up behind my knees, in another position she sleeps under my elbow, and so on. Sometimes I have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Kara accompanies me, almost as if she’s making sure I don’t get lost. Once I get back to bed, she curls up and falls asleep with me again.

One night I got up, but Kara was too just comfortable to follow. So she delegated the task to Wicket, who was at the foot of the bed. In the dim light of my alarm clock I saw her look at Wicket, then make a “you’re up” gesture with her chin. On her command, Wicket got up and escorted me to the bathroom and back. It’s the one and only time he’s done that, and I’m 100% positive he did it under Kara’s orders.