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How to Talk to Your Cat

Communicating with your cat is not simply a parlor trick you can perform to amuse your dinner guests. It's an important part of training your cat and reinforcing your bond with her.

Teaching your cat simple commands like "DOWN" and "NO!" will make her a better pet, while words like "Treats!" and "Dinner!" will help her associate you with something pleasurable.

Cats rarely vocalize with other cats (other than to hiss and growl at trespassers); they reserve verbal interaction for humans.

Feline language is a complex mix of facial expression, tail position, ear position and other forms of body language in addition to scent and sound. Cats learn to make demands of us by observing which of their sounds cause which human responses.

Understanding Your Cat

Some cats (like the Oriental breeds) are vocal and have extensive vocabularies. Other cats scarcely "speak" at all, or have a one-size-fits-all yowl that covers all the bases.

Whether your cat is vocal or not, she will be fluent in body language, a key component of her interactions with you and other animals. By tuning in to both her body and her voice, you can learn to differentiate between "Feed me" and "HELP! Timmy's in the well!"

The following vocalizations are fairly common to most cats:

• Short meow: "Hey, how ya doin'?"
• Multiple meows: "I'm so happy to see you! Where've you been? I missed you!"
• Mid-pitch meow: A plea for something, usually dinner, treats, or to be let outside.
• Drawn-out mrrraaaaaoooow: "Did you forget to feed me, you idiot? I want dinner NOW!" or similar demand.
• Low pitched mraaooww: "You are so lame. The service around here sucks," or similar complaint.
• High-pitch RRRROWW!: "OUCH!!! YOU STEPPED ON MY TAIL YOU IMBECILE!"
• Purr: Most often a sign of contentedness, but can also be used when in pain or afraid -- an instinctual response to hide weakness from predators.
• Hiss: "Steer clear. I'm angry and I'm not afraid to draw blood."
• Clicking sounds: Cats who are tracking prey will make a distinctive clicking sound.

Most Cats Use the Following Gestures to Communicate:

The Tail:

• Tail straight up or straight up with a curl at the end: Happy.
• Tail twitching: Excited or anxious.
• Tail vibrating: Very excited to see you.
• Tail fur sticks straight up while the tail curls in the shape of an N: Extreme aggression.
• Tail fur sticks straight up but the tail is held low: Aggression or frightened.
• Tail held low and tucked under the rear: Frightened.

Eyes:

• Dilated pupils: Very playful or excited. It can also indicate aggression.
• Slowly blinking eyes: Affection, the equivalent of blowing a kiss.

Head:

• Ears pinned back: Fear, anxiety, aggression
• Tongue flicking: Worry, apprehension
• Rubbing head, flank and tail against a person or animal: Greeting ritual, ownership claim
• Head-butting: Friendliness, affection
• Face sniffing: Confirming identity
• Wet nose kiss: Affection
• Licking: The penultimate sign of affection. Or an indication that you need to clean up after a sardine snack.

Helping Your Cat Understand You

As you communicate with your cat, the words you use are less important than how you say them and the body language that accompanies them. If you say "DOWN!" or "NO!" in the same tone you use for, "Good Kitty! Here's a treat," you'll confuse your cat and she'll misinterpret what you're saying. Consistency is the key to successful communication with your cat.

To correct behavior, use a loud, firm, authoritative voice, and use this same tone consistently in conjunction with body language. For example, when ordering your cat "down," make a stern face, and use one of your hands to point down.

For praise, or when calling your cat to dinner or offering treats, use a higher-pitched "happy" voice, smile, and beckon with your hand.

If your cat is begging for attention when you are trying to work or accomplish some other task, you will need to say "NO!" firmly, and gently push the cat away without showing affection. Cats don't have much respect for the human's personal space and will try repeatedly to invade it, so you may need to repeat the NO-push combination several times before Fluffy gives up and leaves you alone. If you say "no" and pet your cat instead of pushing her away, she will interpret your actions as a welcome signal.

Most cats will also respond to a sharp hissing or spitting sound as a "no" command when they are doing something seriously wrong and need to be stopped.

If you consistently use the same voice, facial expressions and hand gestures, most cats will have no trouble understanding what you say. The more you communicate with your cat, the better the two of you will become at understanding each other.

http://www.catster.com/

7 Tips for Success You Can Use Right Away

If you stay consistent in your efforts to achieve your life goals, you will be successful. When you’re successful, you feel great inside and you transmit that positive energy to others.

Apply these strategies for success and pursue the sweet life you want:

1. Find a mentor.

To help you in your quest to get ahead in your career, refine specific skills, or get in the best shape of your life, seek out someone who’s done it before. Ask for their counsel.

• Learn from someone who’s been there and continues to excel. Take them out for coffee and pick their brain. Have your specific questions in hand. Listen to what they say.

2. Care less about what others think of you.

Care less about what others think of you and more about how you feel about yourself. When you react to what others think of you, it hampers your own sense of self. Instead, listen to your heart. Recognize that what you want for yourself is more important than what someone else wants for you. Go after your own dreams.

3. Be clear about your life goals.

Nothing can derail your efforts for success like being unsure about what you want. To get clarity on your goals, journal about where you want to be physically and spiritually in the next year, three years, five years, and ten years.

• Looking ahead will lead you to see what steps to take to reach the success you’re seeking.

4. Surround yourself with positive people.

If you have friends who rarely work, complain frequently about their career, or make unhealthy life choices, they are likely bringing negativity into your life.

• When you hang out with those who are upbeat, interested in making a difference, and committed to personal achievement, you’ll find yourself modeling their feelings and behaviors. Practicing their way of living will put you on the road to success.

5. Embrace your failures.

Rather than fearing and loathing the mistakes you’ve made, take them in, study them, and find the lessons in them.

• Understanding and accepting your errors will provide you with the information you require to succeed the next time.

6. Each day, take a step closer to your goals.

One of the best ways to keep your goals in mind is to infuse aspects of them into your daily life. If you want to save $10,000 for a trip to Europe, at the end of each day, place all your change in your money jar. You can literally watch your goal come to fruition. Add a $10 or a $20 dollar bill at the end of each week.

• When you do something daily to work towards a goal, it becomes an important aspect of your routine existence. You’ll feel happier, more in control, and increasingly confident.

7. Use a pros and cons list to make quick decisions.

If you’ve ever been unsure about a decision, you’ll appreciate learning to jot down a quick pros and cons list. Weighing out the positives and negatives of your issue can lead you in a positive direction.

• Rather than staying in a state of confusion and uncertainty, use this method to attain better control over what vexes you.

Regardless of where you are in life, you can get closer to achieving your goals by applying these useful tips. Use your inner strength to create dramatic personal growth within yourself. Start today.

http://healthpositiveinfo.com/

10 Reasons to have an Attitude of Gratitude

1.  Being in Gratitude has positive side effects.

Positive emotions make you feel good and offer a sense of comfort. When we take a few moments to express our appreciation inwardly or to another, immediately we begin to feel happier, more relaxed, more optimistic.

2.  Feelings of gratitude provide shortcuts to miracles.

Negative thoughts and feelings create an interruption in the natural flow of life. But, when you are feeling positive and grateful you accelerate what it is that you desire. Consciously appreciating what you already have is the shortcut to manifestation and the secret to personal fulfillment.

3. Thoughts of gratitude flood your body with immune-boosting endorphins.

Studies also provide evidence that a positive, appreciative attitude enhances the body’s healing system and general health. When you hold feelings of thankfulness for at least 15 to 20 seconds, beneficial physiological changes take place in your body. Levels of the stress hormones cortisol and norepinephrine decrease, producing a cascade of beneficial metabolic changes. Coronary arteries relax, thus increasing blood supply to your heart. And your breathing becomes deeper, raising the oxygen level of your tissues.

4. Feeling grateful happens at the speed of thought.

Thoughts create things. If you are feeling and thinking positive thoughts, you create positive situations. You draw positive people to you. Like attracts like.

5. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

Feelings of gratitude turn what you have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast or a house into a home. Gratitude makes sense of your past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

6. Feelings of gratitude give you a natural high.

Grateful people tend to be more optimistic, a characteristic that researchers say boosts the immune system. Studies indicate that daily gratitude exercises result in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. Grateful people experience less depression and stress, are more likely to help others, exercise regularly and tend to make more progress toward personal goals. People who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved.

7. Gratitude provides an immediate sense of wellbeing.

Gratitude, it turns out, can help us better manage stress. Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress.

8. Feeling grateful is the main cause of “Sustained Joy.”

Focusing on the gifts one has been given is an antidote to envy, resentment, regret and other negative states that undermine long-term happiness. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.

9. The more you give, the more you receive.

You always get more of whatever you appreciate. When you express love, gratitude and sincere appreciation, you naturally expand. Consciously appreciating what you already have is the short-cut to manifestation and the secret to personal fulfillment. The more you assist others, the more you will assist yourself.

10. When you are genuinely thankful anger and fear disappear.

One of the incredible truths about gratitude is that it is impossible to feel both the positive emotion of thankfulness and a negative emotion such as anger or fear at the same time.

To Practice Gratitude:

• Be lavish in your gratefulness.
• Make gratitude a daily ritual.
• Be thankful for whatever forces you to deal with your own strong emotions.
• Set aside time each day to do nothing much except be grateful.

Focus on what is working in your life and what IS right in the world. It doesn’t matter how small or seemingly insignificant it may be. Before long you will notice that more things will fall into place with little or no effort on your part. Gratitude is a wonderful tool to use to feel good fast.

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” ~ Cicero

http://healthpositiveinfo.com/

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