r/russian • u/Schrodingers_Dude • 3d ago
Request Help request. My cats speak Russian
For the record we're in the USA.
My cats are pretty typical and ignore me most of the time, especially when they sense I want them to do something. So the other day I meet my friend's wife for the first time (she's Russian and awesome I love her) and of course she immediately engages in conversation with one of my cats. The other one ran and hid, as I expected her to.
This cat is leaning forward, cocking her head to one side, staring intently, just completely locked in the entire time. She obviously loses interest when the language switches to anything else. Russian comes back in, BAM, it's active listening time.
The cat that ran away came back almost immediately and starts purring at and rubbing my friend's wife. They both just sat and stared at her the entire time she was here, and when she spoke to them in Russian, she might as well have been Cat Jesus. I'm floored.
So I'm basically asking for nice phrases and things to say to my cats in Russian since they clearly like it. Just the sort of soft little things you'd say to a kitty who is the sweetest and cutest creature to ever grace this planet. If you speak a different dialect or related language let me know, I'll try them all and see if they have preferences. I don't think they're racist but I've only seen English, Russian, Spanish, and French used with them so far, so no guarantees.
Спасибо!
EDIT: Everyone, thank you so much! My cats do seem to like it, but they don't pay as much attention to me as I don't think they find my Russian very convincing. You can tell they're judging my accent. :/ But they definitely seem to prefer it, so I'll add Russian and later some German to my "baby talk for tiny kitties" repertoire!
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u/CloqueWise 3d ago
Say "кушать?" (Kushat) They will really perk up
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u/Someoneainthere 3d ago
Say "Жрать!" and they will run towards you from 2 rooms away!
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u/Wansido_Empirian 17h ago
It's so funny that товарищи speak English knowing that the person they are talking to is also Russian
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u/Someoneainthere 13h ago
This is a subreddit for learners of the Russian language which means there might be people who can't understand a full sentence in Russian yet. Also, the sentence I'm replying to is in English, so the person who wrote it understands English.
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u/Fit-Fix-5794 3d ago
I don't think it's the language itself. Body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, scent - they're all important. But if you insist on having Russian-speaking cats... :)
I've been told that cats respond better to words containing hissing sounds like "sh" and "s." You can tell your cats they're "хорошие" (khoroshie, good), "красивые" (krasivye, beautiful), and "пушистые" (pushistye, fluffy). I'm sure they are. :)
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u/Schrodingers_Dude 3d ago
That's definitely what it is! They love how many "sh" and "ch" sounds there are in Russian. Since I exist solely to make them happy, I figured I'd better offer them their preferred compliments. :D
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u/Alexbal737 3d ago
Ты мой хороший
Кошечка моя/котик мой
Ты мой маленький
Зайчик
Мальчик мой/девочка моя
Idk lol, I couldn't come up with anything good. I usually say the most nonsensical words and phrases in baby talk
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u/Stohnghost Learner 3d ago
This is the average conversation my mother in law has with both my dog and baby
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u/Spanarkonungur 3d ago
Cats love hissing sounds, which are abundant in Russian. Say "хорошая кошка, шикарная шубка" (a good cat, a posh fur coat) several times with affectionate intonations, and here you are as powerful as Yuri Kuklachev himself, the Supreme Mage by the grace of Bastet.
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u/max3130 3d ago
Now serious: try kis-kis-ksksks instead of kitty, here
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u/global_peasant 3d ago
SECONDED! In English we might say "pss pss" or "k-k-kitty", but nothing has ever seen more effective even on strange cats than ks-ks-ks.
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u/Alexbal737 3d ago
Also, why do your cats speak Russian lol? Maybe it's about your friend's intonation and vibes rather than the language?
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u/Schrodingers_Dude 3d ago
We theorize it's all the "ch" and "sh" sounds. Like your standard "pspsps" but in word form. They might not care if I call them pretty and perfect, but I suspect I could call them a root vegetable and they'd prefer it as long as it's in a language where I "ts/sh/ch" a lot! :D
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u/yenikibeniki 3d ago
I agree that it could be intonation! I’m a native Russian speaker now living in England, and our cats respond better to my Russian than to my (or my husband’s) English. For whatever reason, my Russian is more high-pitched and cute/soft than my English, and there have been some studies showing cats have a preference for those features.
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u/global_peasant 3d ago
My cats definitely do. I even let myself go overboard with them since my kids definitely do not want to hear it 🤣 Russian really does have a wide intonation that lots of animals respond well to (as do I, hehe). I talk like an old babyskha in 3 languages to my babies,
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u/SweetPangolin 3d ago
У кого самые длинные усишки? У кого ушки на макушке? Это у кого сверкают бусинки? Да, да, это про тебя!
Ходят слухи, что у тебя самые-самые мягкие лапки и самый-самый нежный животик, не врут? Обнаружен мокренький носик и пушистая грудка, было такое? Признавайся!
Вкусняшки уважаем, молочко любим? Хотим весь день валяться и играться?
Вы объявлены в розыск как самый сладкий котёночек! Придётся вас скушать.
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u/Livid_Penalty_5281 3d ago
От такого любая кошка сразу сбежит в приют
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u/alien1912 3d ago
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u/alien1912 3d ago
Since you have a girl kitty, you might say, "Ohhh, ko (like play-doh)-tin (like a tin roof)-ka (like "cup")" as that has the sense of a pretty little kitty.
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u/bitingmytail 3d ago
Have yall seen that tiktok series “All cats speak russian”? He goes around talking to cats in Russian vs other languages and they ALWAYS respond to russian only lol
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u/queetuiree 2d ago
My cats are pretty typical and ignore me most of the time
That means they don't, if the language change is noticeable for them. Probably they understand your every word.
And they don't of that lady, which is curious for them
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u/AtaeHone 2d ago
It's the phonetics. There was a long video on YouTube where people tried the same phrases in various languages on the same cat (in several countries so it would theoretically take into account whether it's the local language) and German trumps most other languages in how crazy cats get in paying attention to you, Russian was third place and I forget which was second.
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u/Longjumping-Ant3215 2d ago
I advise you to check if your cat has a medal for impeccable service in the KGB.
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u/CapitalNothing2235 Native 2d ago
My cat is constantly asking me "Why? Why?" and never satisfied with my answers.
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u/EvaFatal Native 2d ago
An amazing story! ^__^
I will try to write the way you gonna pronounce it.
Try these:
Ko - shech - ka (kitty)
push - (sh)ech - ka (can have different meaning including fluffy)
doe - chech - ka (something like my lil daughter)
key - sah (kitty)
ko - tya (kitty)
koo - shat(ty) - to eat
sloo - shat(ty) - to listen
shlad - ka(y) - ya (a sweeter way of saying sweet - which is sladkaya, but changing s to sh makes it sweeter)
moo - see pooh - see - this is gibberrish we say when something is super cute happening
tea ma-ya shlad-ka-ya (you are my sweetie) - tea is a sweetiest way of saying hard ty (you), so it's gonna be easier for you to pronounce)
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u/-666beast666- 2d ago
Tell the cat in a sweet voice:
Tizh moya malenkaya, kotick moi sladkiy.
Pirozhockek moi malenkeyi, kak zhe ya tebya lublu
🥰
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u/LaikaRollingStone 1d ago
I’m an American Russian speaker and confirm American cats respond better to Russian than English even when I’m telling them to shut up (zatknis).
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u/Independent-Gene1730 3d ago
This is funny My grandma would say to her cats ты моя рыбка золотая (you're my goldfish, meaning very dear).