That’s Not How You Speak Meowinese!

A popular X account posts “cute” cat videos that aren’t always so cute, another consequence of people misunderstanding cats and their behavior.

This dude thinks he’s speaking to a cat in her native tongue, but what he’s doing is the equivalent of running up to a bunch of Klingons and shouting “I shall impale you on the edge of my bat’leth!” while mistaking it for a friendly greeting.

It looks like someone hired this guy to rescue the kitty, who like so many of her kind are prone to do, climbed up too high and then decided she didn’t like her odds on the way down. I don’t think his intention was to scare the hell out of her, but that’s exactly what he’s done:

That’s not “Hi, kitty, I’m here to rescue you! Be calm, we’ll get you down in no time!”

It’s “I’m here, I speak your language, and I have bad intentions!”

If you listen with headphones or turn the volume up, you can hear the poor cat crying in distress, the kind of cry that felines make when they’re seriously freaked out and worried for their safety. No wonder kitty backed up. Her fur is raised and her posture aligns with her vocalizations and the rest of her body language.

Like most things posted to Twitter X, this is utterly lacking in context and we don’t know what happened next. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rescue attempt went horribly wrong. I hope not, but man, that’s not how you rescue a cat.

The video was posted by the account “place where cat shouldn’t be,” or @catshouldnt, and a common theme in the images and videos on that feed is cats in distress. They’re mistaken for “cute” situations by viewers, the majority of whom aren’t familiar with feline behavior.

Like, for instance, this photo. The tuxedo kitten is undeniably cute and he doesn’t look distressed…yet. But getting out is going to be a lot more difficult than getting in, and when people are willing to do just about anything for clicks, attention and the associated dopamine hit, cats often end up with the short end of the stick.

Cat in a vending machine
Bud would be jealous of this cat. Thankfully he’s too, uh, meowscular to fit. Yeah, that’s it. Too meowscular. Nothing to do with a few extra pounds…

26 thoughts on “That’s Not How You Speak Meowinese!”

  1. You are totally correct. All so the guys face gets a few likes. Not clever. Far better to see him try that with a Puma from the same distance. My (our) gender sure has some poor specimens.

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  6. Thank you for taking on this subject. There are so many posts of cats in distress that are offered as cute and funny. But they’re not! We who know cats need to take a stand. Cats can be cute and funny without being scared, harassed, or worse. And yes, “I shall impale you on the edge of my bat’leth!” is just about right.

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    1. You know how it is, I have a monthly quota of Star Trek references I must meet, and people humor me lol. But yeah, on Twitter and Youtube it’s the “cute” videos of cats in distress, on Instagram it’s the “cute” videos and photos of cats forced to wear clothes and other accessories they clearly do not like.

      You’re right, it’s on the rest of us to point this stuff out because a lot of people just don’t think about it. I’m lucky I have a cat who doesn’t take any crap and educated me real quick on what was cool and what wasn’t.

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      1. The only thing i did to my rescue cat was put St. Paddys and Yankees cap to take photo of her where it is displayed in photos on mantel. Clementine lived most of her life in pet store and pet store bathroom. She did not seem to mind but i know better now. The Christmas photo had a santa hat glued to photo and looks like she is wearing it. Last photo of her.

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      2. I confess that Ramses has been dressed as a Witch Cat and a Vampire Cat (“I vamt to suck your blood.”) He also has very a elegant Magician’s cape, complete with hood, which he wears upon occasion. This last ensemble was acquired for him when he purrformed a feat of prestidigitation. True story.

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  7. Oh for Pete’s sake! For one thing, those aren’t even friendly cat sounds he’s making! No wonder the cat was upset! If you see something bothers the cat, just stop. Don’t record it.

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    2. To Leah. No real rescuer gives a rats ass about being recorded. Documentary The Cat Rescuers was only time Brooklyn Animal Action was on film. Two of us opted out. Because me and my friend had done almost 15 years of cat rescue and slowed down. I had no interest in being filmed doing rescue.

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  9. To Mollie. Yes. My friends dress up cats for photo or photo card. If they do not tolerate it they do not do it. I would put something on my current cat for photo but i know he would scratch my face and and bite a few fingers.🤣😾 That is what i meant by now i know better. Dressing up a cat is the least horrible thing you can do to a cat.

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  10. To M. I wanted to put a tribble costume for 30 seconds for a photo but did not happen. Tribble from Star Trek. He attacked it. That was that. 🤣So now i got a photo with my friends black cat in a tribble costume.

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  11. Too bad I can’t get on the X formerly known as Twitter: they require you to swipe back to your birthdate, and I’m 77 (x12 swipes) = too many swipes for me to bother. Why don’t they allow us to put it in manually? Not all of us were born within two years from now.

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