Hilltowns Senior News for Thursday, June 9, 2016
Why don’t we speak cat? (or dog, or ferret?). There are all kinds of studies centering on our attempts to teach other species our language, but almost none about our inability to learn their languages. After all, we are the ones with the big brains, so isn’t it our responsibility?
If we went to a foreign country to live, we would eventually learn at least some of the language, but we have spent tens of thousands of years with animals and have learned very little, communication-wise. The animals have learned to understand our speech to some extent; animals have been “trained” to follow commands in all our various dialects, from Urdu to Chinese, but we, the allegedly smart ones, know almost nothing.
We know some of the reasons why cats can’t speak English: their vocal cords aren’t the same shape, or in the same location in the body, and cats don’t have the breath control necessary to make our sounds. So if we have the “better” vocal cords, why didn’t we learn their sounds?
Chinese and Navajo both use tones and inflections to differentiate words and meanings, and even those of us who didn’t grow up in those societies are capable of picking it up. I asked Pat Jones, a professional speech therapist, who said the question had never come up in her practice, although she is able to understand perfectly when her cat asks a question. I tried calling the Department of Otolaryngology at Albany Medical Center, but haven’t heard back from them.
Cat’s brains are similar to ours. They have frontal lobes, and lots of folds, and have been found to be about 90 percent like ours. They have long and short-term memory. They can remember things for up to 10 years, and their short-term memory is good for 16 hours (Now tell me, what did you have for lunch yesterday?). And 10 years is longer than the expected lifespan of many cats. Older cats can get dementia; it is called Feline Cognitive Disorder, and it can resemble Alzheimer’s in humans.
Their cerebral cortexes, where learning, decision-making and memory lie, have similar lobes. True, cats’ brains are smaller than ours, even proportionally, but brain size isn’t everything. Research has shown that compared to insects, animal brains are not proportionally that much greater in size. An average cat’s brain takes up about .9 percent of their body mass; humans’ equivalent is 2.3 percent. Yet, according to “Scientific American” magazine, a cat’s brain has 1,000 times more data storage than an iPad, and operates a million times faster.
We can learn by just watching a task. Cats usually need to practice rather than just observe. It has been posited that a cat has the sensory-motor intelligence comparable to that of a 2-year-old child. They are aware of objects that are no longer in sight (think peek-a-boo games with grandkids).
So, we have some ideas about why our companions haven’t learned English, but what’s our excuse?
We have made some progress. We can interpret a limited amount of feline body language, and tell the difference between “feed me” and “I’m hurt!” But beyond that, the scientific jury is still out. The two main camps are those who anthropomorphize (mentally interpret animal behavior in human terms), and those who believe that language is the proof that we are superior to animals.
There is evidence that elephants have funerals for their dead, and chimps wage war. A scientist who has been studying prairie dogs for decades has discovered that they have different chirps to warn each other of predators, and not just generic predators.
The chirp for an overweight, tall human in a blue T-shirt is different from the chirp for a thin human wearing green. New threats (like the picture of a big black oval set up by scientists) cause new chirps to be invented, and every alarm chirp results in action suited to that particular type of threat.
So we know animals can communicate with one another; why don’t we understand them? It is possible that we’re not looking at things in the right way. Just because our language is verbal, and has subjects, objects, and verbs doesn’t mean that that is how animals communicate. Harry Harrison, in his novel “West of Eden”, invented a society where giant lizards ruled, and their language was a combination of color changes, posture, and sound. Some animals have a highly developed sense of smell. Why couldn’t their language include olfactory messages?
Human body language is a parallel of the dominant/submissive behavior of many mammals. Humans can only hear in a limited range, and we have discovered that whales “talk” in ranges that we cannot hear. Most animals have specific sounds and behaviors associated with seeking a mate. For some of them, the precise color, sound, and action combination of the male tells the female whether a particular guy is “her type.”
So why can’t I speak cat? I’ve certainly had long enough to learn. I suspect that it’s because I’m just not paying close enough attention, and have never really practiced pronouncing the syllables. I also think that even if I discount or ignore my desire to have a furry friend who is just like me, there is still behavior left over that can’t be explained away. So, along with Simcha and the rest of my crew, I leave you with this thought: Mrrrrow!
Coming up
Talking about other things, the Hilltown Seniors will be meeting this Saturday at the senior center at 10:30 a.m. Bring a dish to share if you are so inclined.
After the Helderberg senior lunch on Tuesday, June 14, there will be a discussion of Medicare Part D provided by Walgreens. The benefits and services provided by the Weatherization Program will be the topic for Tuesday, June 28.
The Albany Guardian Society, in partnership with Capital District Senior Issues Forum, will host a community forum entitled, Aging and the Meaningful Life. The forum will be held on Wednesday, July 13 at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, 440 Whitehall Road, in Albany, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Check-in starts at 8 a.m. and a continental breakfast will be available. This program will explore how seniors come to value the many opportunities for spiritual growth and community engagement that come with aging.
On Tuesday, June 21, the New York statewide Senior Action Council is holding a telephone teach-in on “How to Compare Nursing Homes”. Call 1-800-333-4374 to reserve a place on this call.
June is also Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome Awareness Month, Effective Communications Month (how appropriate!), Georgia Blueberry Month, and Turkey Lovers Month.
The week beginning June 12 is National Flag Week, Worldwide Knit (and crochet) in Public Week, and National Hermit Week.
June 12 is National Jerky Day, and National Peanut Butter Cookie Day. The 14th is National Bourbon Day, and World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Ugliest Dog Day is the 17th, and the 18th is International Sushi Day and National Splurge Day.
Menu
There will be no sushi on the menu for the senior lunch program, because we will be having hot meals. Join your friends for fun, interesting talks, cards, games, and live music by Nancy Frueh on Fridays.
— Monday, June 13, chicken primavera, Italian vegetables, rice, wheat bread, and tropical fruit;
— Tuesday, June 14, meatloaf with tomato gravy, garlic mashed potato, spinach, wheat bread, and sugar cookie; and
— Friday, June 17, baked fish with tomatoes, mushrooms, and peppers, roasted summer squash, rice, wheat roll, and tapioca pudding.
Please call Linda Hodges 24 hours in advance to 872-0940 to reserve lunch, or e-mail her at , or sign up when you come in. Tell us how many are coming, your name, and your telephone number. If you’d just like to come and help out, give Mary Moller a call at 861-6253, or e-mail her at , and put volunteer in the subject line.
Lunches are provided by Helderberg Senior Services, the Albany County Department of Aging, and Senior Services of Albany. The Hilltown Senior Center is located at 1360 Helderberg Trail (Route 443) in Berne.