Communicate With Your Animals

My mother was in some ways a woman of the times. She hauled water from a well to feed and clean her children, as well as her home. She also made her own bread and jams from the local berries we picked. She also put up preserves for the winter and grew her own vegetables.

Just outside our backdoor was my mother’s vegetable garden, and the shed where she had to take the wood from for the big kitchen stove. Daily, my mother would come out of the house to complete her chores, and to this present time and I can clearly recall a blue jay bird that used to squawk at her. It was not just idle chat on the blue jay’s part. He would squawk, my mother would respond, and it always appeared as if he could completely understand what she was saying.

My siblings and I took it for granted that my mother could easily communicate with our fine feathered friends, and we assumed other people could do this as well.

The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different ~ Hippocrates

If our family cat or dog got sick, my mother would always ask the particular animal what was wrong. We had never even heard about veterinarians at that time, and fully doubt there was any even remotely close to where we lived in a small rural town in New Brunswick, Canada. So, you had to take care of our animals’ medical needs yourself. My mother believed the logical place to start was with the animal itself.

Our neighbor had a horse named Dan, which he let out into the pasture land connected to our property. There was a poor excuse for a fence to keep the horse on his own side. Because it was somewhat less than sturdy, Dan would just step over it when my mother would call him. She somehow knew he liked the potato peelings she threw out. Even if she had no food for him some days, she would call, and he would come. He also appeared to understand all the conversations she would have with him.

We therefore never hesitated to have conversations with our own animals too, and we accepted that they would be able to interpret the words we spoke.

When my own cat was sick recently, I immediately let him know I knew he was in pain. I had no idea what the cure would be, so I was going to take him to a vet, who probably knew more than I did what the best treatment would be. But I let my cat know that it would be completely up to him to decide if he was comfortable with the vet I had chosen for him. Fortunately, he was completely open to my first suggestion and the rest was relatively easy.

Each day I go for an hour’s walk and one of my greatest pleasures is not only meeting all the people that I come across on my trek, but also the dogs that are out there doing their daily ritual. On one particular day, I saw a lady coming along pushing a stroller, with what I assumed would have a child inside. Well, to my pleasant surprise it turned out that she had a lively, big pussycat in the stroller instead.

You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, ‘My God, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that!’ ~ Dave Barry

At once it became apparent that the poor creature was in a lot of stress and I immediately asked the cat what was wrong. Before the animal had a chance to reply, his owner told me she was on her way to the vet. She had found a lump on the cat’s body and was absolutely petrified that it was going to receive the worst news.

Normally, my first reaction would be to address the cat, but I felt in this case there was no decision to be made, except to ask the owner if she explained to her precious pet what was happening. She quickly responded that she had not, so I then asked her permission to not only to speak to the very anxious animal, but also to have a look myself to see what the problem might be. She was more than happy to comply.

Once I could see there was no darkness around the lump, it became clear the little fellow was going to be okay, and as soon as it was explained to him where his mistress was taking him and why, and that the outcome was going to be favorable, the cat settled down immediately. But it was somewhat more challenging to get the owner to relax about her precious cargo. She wanted to know how I knew the cat was going to be fine. I tried to assure her as best I could, but she was still in a state of confusion. I did not concern myself too much, since the cat was calm now. And that is all that really mattered.

Before I continued on my walk, I asked the owner of this wonderful cat to consider letting him know what was going on, and her plans were, the next time something like this happened. That way the cat would not have so much anxiety over circumstances he knew nothing about. She agreed.

Yes, we can communicate with animals. They are more open and receptive than we might give them credit for. They can be a lot like humans in that regard. So, go ahead, trust not only yourself, but also those amazing pets that have come into your life to give you unconditional love and joy. Let them clearly know what is happening, and your plans on how to rectify it, and they will not only be grateful, but will admire your new found ability to communicate with them.