Think of that as the kitty’s way of saying : “Hmmph!” He’s probably proud of his “catch” and prefers to enjoy it for awhile. Mouth “feel” is important to cats and the ball simulates a juicy mouse.
I think I figured out what the huffing means…it is a dirty name in cat language. I huffed back at him today and he gave me an incredulous look, pinned his ears back, cocked his tail, reared up, smacked me on the side of my head then sauntered off, swishing his tail.
LOL!! Just tried making that noise at the cat curled up on the computer desk (in front of the screen, natch), and all she did was open her eyes and glare at me for waking her up from her nap! So it must be dirty pre-teen cat slang my older indoor kitties haven’t heard of. Either that or they’re just so blase that it doesn’t faze them at all. Big brother did just wander in, though whether that was to investigate or just to make sure his sister wasn’t getting all the attention I’ll never know. Now he’s just looking at me… with the cat equivalent of a teenager rolling their eyes. Jeez, I’m so embarrasing. : P
They’re used to me talking to them with all kinds of kitty noises, btw, so the novelty of having humans speak pidgin “kitty” has looong since worn off.
Cool-nice to know I’m not alone in my cat-speak looniness. It works though DARN it! I have caught more scared escaped kittens by doing the mama kitty call. It’s much easier to find a feral kitten if it comes out of it’s hiding place first!
And some of my cats teach me new kitty-words. I think it’s fun! My teenage daughter isn’t impressed much by my genius, though. One day she’ll realize what a brilliant thing it is, right? LOL
Quiet huffs can be a sign of greeting but louder ones are more of a threat I think, like hissing. Your cat’s response made me laugh—it’s like learning another language and accidentally calling someone a word you didn’t intend to.
I have a cat who gives me a very big hiss if I scold her for stealing the other cats treats at treat time. Then she stalks off and glowers at me from the corner. If I hiss at her she hisses back at me and it can go on ad infintum like two kids going yuh-huh and uh-uh. It cracks me up and if I laugh then I get an extra big hiss and she leaves the room. Another cat really tries to make word sounds. It is crazy—my favorite example: She wants to go outside and I say “No-no Tiny, you can’t go outside” and she makes a noise that sounds like a whiny little kid saying “why not?” and I tell her “b/c you can’t go outside by yourself, there’s bad things and snakes and mommy has to go to work” and she practically says “Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease?” and I say “I said NO” and she’ll beg a few more times and eventually sit there staring out the window muttering to herself. It is incredible the ability certain cats have to model human tone and inflection. I love my cats with all my heart and I am so glad that I got into this cat rescue business. I have learned so much from the cats I’ve had come thru my house and even more from the ones people didn’t want. I like dogs and birds and other animals too but so far I have only found this level of communication with my cats. Perhaps I just haven’t learned dog speak and bird speak yet!
My daughter would probably prefer I limit my inter-species communication to the cats—thats more than enough for her. I can just imagine if she came home to find me barking and chirping too (well, I DO do that ....uh-oh!) Now that I have officially confirmed I am a bona-fide crazy cat lady its time to turn this thing off! P.S. Ilove my daughter every bit as much as my cats but they keep me company more than she does! ha ha! And they aren’t embarrassed of me (much)LOL
