Are there people who don’t talk to their pets?

[BarrelOfOtters]

Inspired by the poster who is wondering if talking to your cat means you are old.

surely everyone talks to their pets?

I have had quite long chats with cats over the years…mostly about food to be fair.

and dogs are excellent listeners.

My ex sil thought I was genuinely insane- one of her pieces of evidence was that the first time she came to my house, I apologised to my cat when I stood on her tail.

Not to apologise would have been rude! 🌹

Talking, serenading, citing stanzas, you name it... I am 34, neurotypical and married, so it is not old age or loneliness. It's just THE RULES.

I talk to the cat a lot- it seems rude to just walk past her. To be fair she does walk off if I try singing to here or saying things like "You're so cute in your furry, furry suit".
Maybe the cat would prefer it if I did not speak to her....

This is such a lovely thread.

I've just got home and me and the cat have had a big cuddle. He purred loudly and proclaimed that he loves his Mama very much and that I 'sniffed nice'

I also talk to random wildlife. "Well, hello little fella" to the toad I came across in my garden yesterday for example. It's also very much obligatory to greet the Queen bumble bees at this time of year.

I think there are, and they’re the same people who moan that their cats are “distant” and “not affectionate” and “only stop by to get food”. I firmly believe that with cats, you get out what you put in.

I like that your cat wears a furry furry suit. Ours wore velvet pyjamas and looked mighty fine in them I must add.

I moved house and switched dog walking route - definitely found my people, all the dog walkers round here greet the dogs as well as the people 😆

I talk to my cats a lot and when we had them, talked to fish, gerbils and hamsters too. I am getting older now but I've been doing it all my life. Mind you, I talk to myself out loud quite a lot too, so maybe I'm just crazy.

Talk to pets? You'd have to be a real weirdo to not talk to your pets. I often get funny looks when I'm chatting away to my horses, and always have conversations with our cats. Not to mention the times I'm getting the cats in late at night and have discussions with them on what time they call this to be coming home, and they're to be earlier in future.

My car can actually say a few words.

If I didn't talk to the cats during the day, I'd have no one to talk to! They do usually ignore me.
I also talk to dogs and cats I meet outside.

😂, ours have voices too and we often will have two way conversations with them 🙈.

I talk to my dog all the time, she’s my favourite family member 😂

If she’s going to be left in the house alone, I make sure she knows how long I’ll be gone and that she’s in charge. When we’re out on walks, I’ll point out a ‘good’ stick to her. Let her know if there’s another dog the same breed as she is.

I ask her if she’s had a good sleep in the mornings, if she’s enjoyed her walk etc. I think I’d be lost without her to talk to 😂

Our lurchers, one sadly passed on, had their own voices in my mind. One was Roger Moore, one was a Mexican accent like Eli Wallach in the 'Dollar' movies.
I was walking through the park with them, chatting and vocalising those voices. And then I realised someone was just behind us. They must have thought I was totally mental.

One of mine helps while I shower by sitting on the towel (warms it, you see).

The other likes to help while I'm on the loo by leaping onto my lap, then swarming up onto my shoulder and washing my face. Distracting, to say the least!

Of course I talk to my dogs, I love them!
I used to tell my beloved border collie to sleep well and that I loved him when I passed him on the landing every night on my way to bed. Never said it to my ex lol.
Ex was a total knob though and that dog was the absolute love of my life!

Don't currently have any pets (which is an unacceptable state of affairs but have lived in rented accommodation all my adult life where pets aren't allowed - DH and I in the process of buying our first house and my god I cannot WAIT to get a dog.....). Had a dog growing up and he was the best dog in the world ever, he was my darling and I still miss him immensely even though we're talking 20 years ago, and obviously I talked to him all the time, who are these weird people?

I assume everyone also has ridiculous nicknames / variations of their pet's name that they call them but probably wouldn't want to be overheard doing so.....

Not talking to a member of your household is just weird.

Btw does anyone else say to a magpie when they see one (I think it's just if you see a lone magpie, because of the "one for sorrow...."): "Good afternoon Mr Magpie how is your wife and family?" Whilst saluting it? Apparently it negates the one for sorrow. Learned that from my DH but assume others do it too and it's not just us?!

We do both talk to the birds in the garden too and the regular visitors all have names.

We're from South Yorkshire but our dog has a very broad Scottish accent. I know this because when we speak to him and I imagine him answering back he does so with a Glaswegian voice. He's also very aggressive with his tone.

I asked my horse why he didn't like me earlier. I could hear myself being whiny and needy 🤣

I don't want to talk to the people who don't talk to their pets!

I have bees, and you HAVE to talk to them, otherwise its the end of days or something. I like to think they were very happy when I told them that DP and I had got engaged, and all about my new job....

Of course! One of my dogs has the absolute best head tilts and listens intently to everything I say. He understands a lot of words and when we started spelling certain words so he couldn't understand them, he now knows the spelled out versions too 😂

Surely everyone talk to their pets? I even talk to my rescue chickens about where to go and what's good to eat. They are very fast learners and take in every word.