Sometimes when Jack watched his dog's expressive face he was convinced Trevor had profound thoughts he wanted to communicate to his human companions. Tonight he was looking at Jack with a particularly intense expression and seemed unusually agitated.
Jack felt he was on the verge of a major communication breakthrough. Trevor really needed to express something important and after months of living together, Jack was sure they could communicate telepathically if he just concentrated. "Yes, what is it, boy?" he coaxed as Trevor shot him an anguished look and paced impatiently between Jack's chair and the back door.
In exasperation, Trevor finally relieved himself on the kitchen floor and resumed his peaceful nap by the fireplace.
Our pets do have important things to tell us, but it's probably not going to be the cure for cancer. A little common sense can usually help us interpret their messages.
My first rabbit, Esther, taught me most of the essential rabbit vocabulary in a few short weeks:
Lilith and Eve spoke essentially the same language except Eve used the nose butt to the ankle signal to alert me to an empty food dish. Since Eve's death, Lilith and her brand new companion have been engaged in heated political debate over dominance and territorial claims that I haven't quite deciphered yet.
Ears communicate as well as listen. Laid back ears in a rabbit usually mean a relaxed bunny, but in a dog, cat, or horse they more likely indicate fear or anger. Ears out to the side or laid back can also be a display of submissiveness. Perky ears show alertness, and forward-pointing ears show intense interest or curiosity.
If a dog is displaying stiffly forward-pointing ears, he's probably signaling a dangerous state of mind, especially if his ear signals are accompanied by a show of teeth, bristling fur, and snarls.
When a mother cat wants her kittens to follow her, she holds her tail up high like a tour guide gathering her tour group behind her. A vertical tail indicates a friendly, confident state of mind. A cat who crooks her vertical tail into an upside down "U" is inviting her companion to "catch me if you can" in felinese.
Dogs indulge in heavy tail wagging as well
as tail signaling. In Mondo Canine, Elma Williams describes the
canine repertoire of tail wags succinctly:
"There is the wide sweep of expectancy, or the more vigorous
movement of greeting. Or, tail under tummy, a subterranean waggle
which can be pleasure tinged with guilt or fear."
Every dog owner who's ever come home to find a pile of rubble where their new couch once stood is familiar with this last tail of woe.
A quickly twitching cat tail is not a happy sign. The cat to which it is attached is feeling annoyed, nervous, distress or displeasure. Ignore this signal at your peril.
Even the subtle rabbit gives himself away with his tiny cottonball tail. It will waggle with excitement in anticipation of a lively game of tag or flatten out contentedly during a relaxing massage. No mischievous deed or thought stays hidden for long. Esther's deadpan face told no tales, but her waggling tail just couldn't keep a secret.
In The Dog's Mind, Bruce Fogle lists five basic dog sounds:
Wolves whine as they greet each other and to show curiosity. Their howling repertoire can express loneliness, alarm, celebration or just a check on their friends' whereabouts.
Cat vocalizations encompass a wide range of meows, meow-yowls, meow-purrs, screams, shouts, growls, hisses, cough-barks, and caterwauling to convey many shade of meaning.
The mysterious purr has been the subject of centuries of research, speculation, and observation but we still haven't really figured out where it comes from and what it means. Generally, we interpret it as a sign of contentment and pleasure, but cats also purr when they're frightened, seriously injured and even throughout labor in some cases. In A Cat Is Watching, Roger Caras speculates that the purr indicates profundity. The cat is expressing a profound state of whatever he is experiencing.
Whatever it means, it seems to be some kind of communication, because cats purr only when another cat, person or significant other is present. Cats have also been known to purr louder when they're near someone they know is hard of hearing. And maybe that's a clue to what communicating with our animal companions is all about. We don't all speak the same language, but sometimes just the act of communicating has its own meaning.
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