Whether you’re a dog lover or a cat person, everyone can agree that animal companions are a significant part of our lives. In fact, there are an estimated 1.5 billion dogs and cats in the world, with around 1 billion being pets. There is no question that mankind loves anything cute and fluffy. However, many people wonder how different our world would be if we could actually communicate with our pets, and if we were able to better understand them.
Believe it or not, there are several ways that we can communicate with our pets thanks to continual modern research and observing natural interactions. Observation is where everything starts. Dogs are an excellent example of straightforward communication through body language, as they can be far more physically direct than cats. Common and well-known behaviors that you may see a dog do include tail wagging, yawning, lying with their belly exposed, and barking. These actions have a wide range of meanings, but most people know that a wagging tail is a sign of happiness or excitement. Dogs are very social animals, so communication is very important to their survival. Canines evolved from living in packs, which explains their symbiotic relationship with humans in the modern world. Based on their behavior, you may better understand what your dog is feeling and how their emotions may escalate or shift with the setting taken into consideration.
When a dog is happy or comfortable, it will feel safe enough to turn its back toward you. This means that the dog trusts you enough that they can settle for not being on watch while they lie down or play. Along the lines of play, happy dogs will be more willing to play, tussle, or fetch, because they associate you with positive mental feedback. Your dog may bound around, roll on the floor, or crouch low as a signal that they want to play in some way.
Alternatively, it’s important to be able to recognize aggressive behavior and signs of anxiety, which can quickly become aggression in dogs. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, “around 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs every year,” and children make up almost half of this number. In order to prevent injuries from animal bites, and especially dogs, it’s crucial to pinpoint shifts in body language that suggest a dog may be nervous or willing to bite someone. Signs of an anxious dog include pacing, constant shaking or trembling, and yawning. These behaviors may or may not escalate into signs of aggression and violence. Dogs with laid-back ears, bared teeth, a tail between their legs, or fur sticking up are dangerous to be approached and should always be treated with caution.
Shifting gears, it’s very important to learn about cat body language too! Whether you own a cat or not, felines are very unpredictable, so it’s valuable to learn as much as you can about their behaviors. Starting with positive body language, cats who have their tails up are most frequently displaying friendly intentions. 
When they are at ease, cats will roll around, turn their backs to someone, lie with their belly up, stretch out freely, rub their face and body up against them (or other surfaces like corners), and have their tail raised in an excited manner. When they’re feeling threatened or uneasy, cats may flick their ears around to better pay attention to their surroundings. Cats with their ears back are a clear sign of aggression, because they’ve stopped trying to locate threats and locked on to whatever they’re looking at.
Cats use their tails primarily as an extension of their bodies to aid in balance. However, cats use them to defend from predators or threats as well. There are many animals in the wild that have behaviors built in to make themselves appear more threatening, too. Cats will fluff up their tails to make their bodies appear larger and therefore scarier.
In tandem, the animal will almost certainly arch its back and fluff up the fur along its spine. This has the same effect as the fluffed tail, as it makes the cat appear larger and more intimidating than it actually is. Cat’s voices are pivotal to pay attention to as well, because they often pair body language with vocal input. For example, growling is a low and rumbling noise that a cat will make to indicate that it feels threatened. There’s a particularly well-known sound called a hiss, which a cat may emit when it’s angry. Yowls, which are louder and more drawn-out meows, are also common. A yowl most often signals distress, but according to PetMD, “cats may also yowl or howl as a warning, so other cats don’t intrude in their territory.”
Felines also have particular and rather strange noises they make to signify positive emotions. While regular meows can be indicative of both happiness and aggression, cats will often greet someone with a meow or meow repetitively in order to ask for something. Along the same lines, cats are synonymous with purring. If the cat is displaying relaxed or positive body language, then the purring that comes along with it is happy or contented breathing. However, cats may also purr if they’re in pain or uncomfortable, which is more evident if/when the animal is tense, hunched up, or acting strangely. If this occurs, you should check the cat over for any causes of pain and consider taking your cat to a veterinarian to be further looked at.
Lastly are the chirps and trills that cats may produce in certain situations. Depending on the context, a cat may make a chirping noise (that literally sounds like a bird’s chirp) to get the attention of another cat, for a mother cat to call her kittens to follow her, or to indicate excitement. If a cat is watching animals out the window — like birds or squirrels — it may chirrup excitedly, with a mix of frustration that they can’t reach their prey. Trills are also a very lighthearted noise that cats emit, and they are used to indicate thanks to their owner(s). A trill is similar to a purr, but is louder and higher-pitched, almost like the cat is about to meow but not producing one.
But why should we understand all of this about cats’ body language and vocal habits? Well, “[it’s] important for a better understanding of cats’ perceptions of humans, and will help to promote cat welfare.” – Heads and Tails (National Library of Medicine, NIH). Ultimately, if we can better communicate with our animals, they will have a more comfortable outlook towards us. This means we can provide them with a better quality of life and have more positive interactions, especially with stray and abandoned animals. This goes for felines and canines, too!
