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ELI lived this. I've seen @whataboutbunny talk about dreams and the part of my brain that came into AIC as a skeptic is still not sure this happened. If there's a sequence that I've over-interpreted, it's this.
And yet... We know cats dream. It would explain some other morning conversations that I had trouble tracking. I mean, I still don't understand exactly what she dreamed.
Here's how Elsie seems to approach the syntax of whatever pidgin we've created. She'll start with the most important word SLEEPY. Then she'll add modifiers to it, ending with something that she thinks makes everything clear. WINDOW.
Then I have to look at the collection of words like refrigerator poetry magnets and rearrange them into English. The longer her initial "sentences" are, the more likely I am to have trouble parsing them. It's easiest for us if she does 2-4 word clusters. She's not speaking English in the same way that I don't speak French. I have some words, no syntax, and rely on the international language of point and grunt.
If my friend, @micaiahthewriter hadn't been there and said that her nibbling talks about dreams as "I saw [cool thing] while I was asleep" I would never have gotten there. (PS she's an amazing writer and you should get her book THE SPACE BETWEEN WORLDS)
But I won't know if I was right until Elsie uses the new DREAM button.
FAQ
That's not your house, where are you? I was at a hotel for AwesomeCon as an author guest. (Mary Robinette Kowal and I write science fiction)
Who is Helix? He was her companion cat. He died in 2023. The doctor came to our apartment to put him to sleep.
What does she mean by tug plant seaweed? I don't know, but she does call grass "tug plant" which I think is because she is on her leash (aka tug) when we go outside
What are these? They are Augmentative Interspecies Communication buttons and we use the ones from @fluentpet You can use the code ELSIEWANT on their website for a 12% discount
No one really believes this shit do they? The scientists at University of California at San Diego do. Elsie is enrolled in a study they are running. Check out the PBS NOVA special "Can Dogs Talk"
#talkingcat #fluentpet #catbuttons
@elsiewants
