Conference misery::feline

    I'm not sure how long it takes for a kitten/cat to know his/her name. 
    Some never seem to respond, and other look at you as soon as you talk
    to them.  Our newest, Devin seems to recognize his name, but I'm not
    sure if he really does, or is just responding to my voice.  The others
    do know their names, and Misty (almost) always comes when I call her. 
    Sometimes when I say their name, just the ears turn toward to sound,
    and if I say another name there is no reaction.
    
    Try calling Shilo (I like that name) when he is close to you, and when
    he looks at you give him a kitty treat.  That way he will associate
    the word Shilo with food and you.
    
    Good luck.
    
    Steffi                                         

       
       COME when you are CALLED???
    
       Recognize a NAME???
    
       Are you SERIOUS???
    
    
       Do you realize that Paragraph 4, Section 2, Chapter 14 of "The Kitty
    Manual", (1990 edition) SPECIFICALLY prohibits the acknowledgement
    and/or obedience to any sort of SUMMONS by a "real" cat's human
    servants! It is beneath the DIGNITY of a REAL feline to be controlled
    in such a manner!!
    
    
       Signed:
       Garfield and friends worldwide.....
    
    

    You know the old saying:
    
       "You're nobody till you've been ignored by a cat!"
    
    Yonee

    
    I think cats recognizing their names and responding when you call
    are two different issues. With our three, if the three of them are 
    in the room and we call a name, only the right one looks up. 
    With Ziba no matter where she is she will come when she's called. 
    The kids say she is realy a golden retriever stuck in a cats body ;-)
    out Keesha will come when you call her name but it might take a while. 
    Racheal comes to her name but takes her time. I *know* our cats 
    know the difference between their names...
    
    Shaw

    
    All 6 of mine know their names, and only one won't come every
    time you call! (8

    It took Carly a good 6-8 months before she realized that was her name.
    Whenever I reprimanded her for doing something bad, or when I come
    home at night and she greets me by the door, or when I want to show
    her something (a big bird outside the window), I call to her like 
    a human. By repeating the name over and over when they are around,
    talking to them, giving them treats when they come, you will eventually
    train your cat to know their name. As for her multitude of "nicknames"
    that have flown out of my mouth at the strangest times, this, I don't
    think she equates with herself.
    
    Although, she somehow picked up the word, "ummy yummy" as meaning,
    "want a really good treat?" these two words will get her out of
    whatever hiding place she is in!
    

    
    
    	All three of mine know their names but Sasha's the only
    	one who will move when I ask her to by name..... =)
    

    
    I've been meaning for some time now to bring up this subject but never
    got around to it, because of how long it's taking my own kittens to
    appear to recognize their names.  Rocky seems to have gotten it fairly
    quickly - he looks up and usually comes when I call his name, and he
    seems to understand "no" and "num nums".  Robin and Blueberry are a
    little more independent in this regard.  I don't recall how long it
    took Merlin to learn his (nick)name(s) (it was 18 years ago!), but
    until recently he always came when called, even when he wasn't the
    only cat around.  Lately he seems to assume that when I call him the
    kittens are probably there too, and he can't be bothered.
    
    Still, it's taken Rocky about four months to learn his name, so I
    wouldn't be too disappointed about it taking more than a few weeks ...
    
    len.
    

    I think mine recognize my tone of voice more than their actual name. 
    They all seem to know when I am addressing them.  Taja is
    affectionately known as meatball or meaty, and when I call him that he
    immediately responds.  Same with Herbie, who will respond to Furbie in
    a high pitched tone, and Kelsey, who is mostly called Foamy.  I think
    it is the "ee" sound that makes them respond though.
    
    One of the neatest things Taja has done is learn my nightly routine.  I
    exercise up in the loft, and he likes to go up there with me and watch
    me jog on the trampoline (because I swing his feather toy around for an
    upper body workout!!).  Every night he will run up the stairs to the
    loft and meow at me to come up with him and start my routine.  If he is
    sleeping and he hears me turn on the music (his cue that I'm going to
    exercise), he immediately wakes up and trots upstairs to find me.
    
    

    
    
    	Jebb came to me from the Pat Brody Shelter and knew his name
    	right away - he comes to it and will meowr in response when
    	you call him. 
    
    	Whitney on the other hand ..... she's convinced her name is 
    	"food". It's the only thing (other than the can opener) that 
    	she'll respond to!
    
    	   Heidi

    Ebony knows her name and will usually come when called.  Except of
    course when I'm looking for her, then it doesn't matter how many times
    I call, she won't come, unless of course I have the treat can or the
    brush in my hand, then she shows up out of nowhere.
    
    - Lauri
    

    It's also how you say it.  I noticed that whenever I call any of our
    five little ones by their name, I say it in a particular way that is
    reserved for that kitty only.  For example, I say Mocha with totally
    different voice inflections and tonality than I say Chowder or Joe.
    I reckoned that the kitties picked up on this more than they did the
    actual name itself.
    
    When all of them were in the same room together, I put this idea to the
    test.  First I called each of them by name with a monotone sound.
    There were a couple of ear movements, but by one whose name was not
    being called at the time.  Then I tried calling them in the normal way
    I say each name -- instant recognition, turned heads and ears, each
    ignoring the name that was not theirs.
    
    Not only did I learn something about our cats, I learned something about
    myself, that is, I treat my kitties as unique individuals even more
    so than I had thought before.  They had it already sorted out.  And I
    hadn't quite realized what I had been doing all along.
    
    Carl

    The Hon. Colonel Sebastian Moran, DROFFC, knows his name. He requires
    that I use it only in accepted contexts. Such as ,"Sebastian, I have
    some turkey for you." Circumstances such as "Sebastian, get away from
    my needlepoint right now." are unacceptable and are therefore ignored.
    If I just say "Sebastian" he opens an eye on the off chance I have
    turkey in my hand. The word "no" is obviously a dog word and cannot
    possibly apply to him. 
    
    Sari

    It took Ninja about a month to recognize the sound as being ment
    for her.  She also knows what NO means, not that she takes any
    notice of anyone saying it.  
    
    All of my cats know their names.  None of them respond unless they 
    feel like it.  You can stand beside them and yell, you could beat them 
    over the head with a 2 X 4 and they would not move a hair to respond.  
    Those same cats, when they want to, will turn their heads and even come 
    when I call their names.  But only when THEY want to.

    I know most of my cats know their names...but I am also a 
    believe it's not really the name they know...but the tone of
    the voice.   I also have different pitches for each cat...and
    I know my little Abby will respond to Abby, Habiby, Habib as long
    as I use the same tone!!!  
    
    Do they come when I call...only if they want to!!
    
    Sandy

    
    I think Carl and Sandy are on to something - it's clear now (in
    restrospect of course) that I too articulate each name with different
    enough inflection that they could be responding to that rather than
    the name itself.
    
    len.
    

       AHHH!! I think some of you are beginning to understand what "The
    Kitty Manual" really says!
    
       It does NOT prohibit a Feline from UNDERSTANDING that the word is
    their name...the prohibition lies more in the acknowledgement of it on
    a regular basis. The requirement is to confuse the human in as many
    ways as possible.
    
       
       My Peppurr knows HER name, but she also knows "MEW!" and will come
    to that, and she ALWAYS hears the sound of the cabinet door opening
    where she knows here food is kept... 
    
    
         Actually, a big part of the FUN of cats is the uncertainty that
    they constantly present... Pepp does some things that cause us to
    simply stop and break-up laughing. It's a PANIC to see her and my
    miniature Beagle playing with each other....and BOTH the cat and dog
    will instigate the contest...
    
      JMcD

	My cats know certain things..........

	If I call them when the weather is fine, they don't know their names.

	If I call them when the weather is bad, they do know their names ( well
	they come indoors to sleep in front of a warm fire or on a lap!)

	If I don't call them when I open a can of cat food, they think
	I've called their names, and come along anyway.

	Heather

    Mine both know their names and my Mum's new kitten knows his (he's 4
    months old).
    
    I "trained" mine to come when called by giving them a titbit or a piece
    of ham when they came to me. I don't think this would work with a
    stubborn cat, though.
    I often get both of them turning up if I just call one of them, though.
    
    It says in my cat "bible" that you shouldn't feel despondant if a cat
    doesn't come when called - some will only recognise their names at
    mealtimes.

    
    The call of the can opener coinciding with calling their name(s)
    works well! (8
    

    The call of the can opener works well no matter WHAT you call the
    cat!

       My Peppurr knows what's in both cans and milk cartons! She does get
    a bit confused and somewhat ticked-off when the carton is an orange
    juice holder though...as she comes rubbing against it expecting a
    milk-handout and finds yukky orange juice instead. She also 'talks' to
    ask for food... I sometimes have fun teasing her with the unopened
    can...

    Last night, I tried calling the little ones with nonsense syllables
    spoken with the same voice inflections I reserve for their names.
    Immediate response!  They didn't come, but they turned to look at me.
    
    When I got to Mai Buri (female Siamese Seal Point), she turned to look
    at me with those beautiful blue crossed eyes.  My wife and I both burst
    out laughing -- but then immediately rushed to pet her and tell her
    what a good and loved kitty she was so she wouldn't get her feelings
    hurt.  Mai Buri is one of the sweetest kitties ever, but the looks on
    her face sometimes are quite amusing.
    
    Carl

        Re last..
       That works on dogs too. I always tease my Yellow Lab that way..
    
    "Brandy...Wanna have your head caved in??" "Wanna Beating??" Wanna be
    taken to the pound Brando?"
    
       All of this in a fast, happy sounding tone.... Brandy'll be bouncing
    around in front of me, wagging away, smiley-faced, enthusiasitc...
    
    JM

    re.: .2 and .17
    
    Folks, does this book (Kitty Manual) really exist? I WANT IT!
    
    I have (of course) The Real Cat from Terry Pratchett (in Hungarian only
    [Az igazi macska], I could not become it in English), and with some
    foolish friends we made up the Law Book of the
    
    "Help-Yourself-Association of Strays-and-Alleycats (Lex Meow)"
    
    which contains things like 
    
    "Paragraph Sixteen:
    
     (1) Whatever thing is not nailed down, it belongs to the Association.
    
     (2) Members of the Association are obliged to have pincers.
    
     (3) Alfred Nobel invented Dynamite."
    
    
    
    
    and so on. The Association's title in the Hungarian Original is 
    "K�bor Macsk�k �nseg�lyz� Egylete", in short KM�SE.
    
    (Yes I know I'm a fool...)
    
    Nat
    

      Nat,
    
     I really don't think so...but I have been really seriously considering
    WRITING it! 
    
     We've (a few friends and I who have and like animals--including cats,
    of course) begun to use the terms for situations such as when a kitten
    rubbs up against you, rolls over to have it's belly rubbed, attacks
    your hand, etc... "How did she know how to DO that?"   "Well, I think
    it's in the Kitty Manual if I'm not mistaken"!
    
      Might be looking for input...could be a best seller!!
    
      John Mc