Posted on 05/24/2019 6:20:09 AM PDT by vannrox
TOKYO
We all know that cats love to look down on their human owners with disdain, but we never think they’re actually going to turn their tails up on us and leave, especially when we hold all the bargaining chips as their ever-loving carers who lavish them with pats, warmth, and never-ending bowls of food and water.
Still, despite all our love and affection, there are felines who are desperate to get out there and explore, and with little regard for the feelings of humans, they can be gone for hours, days, or weeks, without even stopping to consider the worry and concern they’re creating back home.
That’s what happened to Japanese Twitter user @charlie0816 recently, when their beloved cat escaped and didn’t return home for two days. However, this story has a happy ending, thanks to the use of an unusual method found on Twitter, which @charlie0816 now wants to share with pet owners around the world.
“My cat escaped two days ago and didn’t return, but somebody on Twitter said, ‘Talking to cats in the neighborhood and saying to them, ‘If you see my cat, please tell it to come home’ is an effective technique.’ So last night, I went to the local convenience store and gave it a try by speaking to the stray cats there, and then this morning our cat returned to the front of our house. Um…is it seriously this effective?”
Skeptics might be quick to jump to conclusions, pointing out that there could be any number of reasons explaining why the cat returned home, and that the timing was just sheer coincidence.
However, what surprised everyone was the number of responses from other people who said they had similar results with their own lost pets after speaking to stray animals in the area, leaving us wondering if this method might really just work.
“My mother did the same thing for a child who lost their cat after just two days of having it. She told the strays the story and the cat returned the next day!”
“I went looking for my cat with a tin of cat food and when a stray crossed my path, I fed and spoke to it and my cat returned within the hour.”
“When I lost my cat, one of the strays passed our house so I asked it if it knew where my cat was. It meowed and then walked slowly towards the storehouse and meowed in front of it. Then I heard my cat meowing back from inside!”
“Our cat disappeared on the day we moved into our new place and was missing for a week. I asked a stray for its help and the next day the stray came back with my cat. I was dumbfounded!”
”Our dog disappeared so I asked a pet cat to help find it, and then a few minutes later it came back with our dog. I was freaked out and impressed at the same time!”
These were just a small sample of dozens of testimonies attesting to the effectiveness of talking to cats when searching for lost animals. Could it really be just a coincidence in all these cases? Or do pets only seek to return when they fear they might be losing their human servants to feline competition in the neighborhood?
We may never get the answers to these mysteries, but if you do find yourself looking for a lost animal in future, this might just be a method worth trying out. After all, cats do seem to know – and see – a lot more than we do, and sometimes when we talk to them they even talk back, proving that they really can understand our verbal cues!
there are no strays permitted in our area.
the cat ladies are in firm control.
Exactly. Thankfully Charlie happened upon a stray who spoke Japanese. I mean, what are the odds of that?
Similarly, with cats, the act of looking for them (and talking to other cats along the way) can make your hiding cat aware of you. Our cat loves to play 'hide and seek'. There are times when we know she's in the house, but we can't find her. Generally, shortly after we make a point of looking for her, she shows up a bit later.
“Does it really surprise anyone that a feline might have jealous tendencies?”
The owner of a cat might not know where that cat is but the Cat knows where it is and quite possibly that cat is keeping an eye on you even though it is out and about. When that cat sees you talking to other cats or feeding other cats it could very well get jealous and return home to curry your favor once again.
Very interesting.
Polydactyl
My daughter has a cat with eight-each in the front and seven in the back, including dew claws. That adds up to 30 toes.
She walks funny.
Like a comment above said. It could be it leaves a scent trail and your cat can then find you.
Your cat may find other cats to hang with while lost. Oh wait what’s they smell? It’s my owner... Follow it home.
“This is sort of like burying a statue of St. Joseph in the yard when you’re trying to sell your home.”
After our last experience trying to sell our home I opted to bury the real estate agent in the front yard...the house sold in three days.
“After our last experience trying to sell our home I opted to bury the real estate agent in the front yard...the house sold in three days.”
Maybe the funniest thing I have ever heard. Definitely strikes a cord with me, retired but sold RE for thirty years. LOL. Can’t tell you the many times clients buried St. Joseph in their yard, and still didn’t sell. I never factored that it could have been me.
LOL
That's it in a nutshell. They pick their "projects" with extreme self-interest. But I can say that I've had too many supernatural, ESP-like things happen with cats to dismiss this story entirely.
“This weird trick...”
“It may be that by the time you’re ready to bury a statue or talk to neighborhood feral cats you’ll try just about anything and sometimes it works.”
Talking to cats and expecting a result? People are just bat$hit crazy lately. We’re due for a really large culling of the herd, and definitely deserve it for not controlling the crazies.
I think my little guy has 27 toes, including some that do not have bones. He walks funny, too.
Heck, what would it hurt to try?
It’s a silly notion, but people
believe in sillier ones.
Well ah... cat people are known to be crazy!
OR, maybe cats can only understand Japanese..........Stranger things have happened, but not many.
Very interesting. My cats often know what I and DH said, either to them or to each other. If I said the word “Nori” one cat would come running. Many examples.
I'd say answer #2. ;o)
Our senior kitty (16+) is the same only we think she has an excuse as she may just be deaf now.
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