The question: Do you think that animals truly understand human language?
-----> I know my rescue cat Romeo does.
My #1 cat, Sir Gaylord was a tiny 5 pound runt long hair Persian. At more than 14 years, he died. Though he was tiny, and usually because of his long fur, never considered an outdoor cat, he went outside with his newly acquired friends, Romeo and Holstein. You would never think it, but Sir Gaylord was the boss. He was the little General that was the leader of the pack.
Romeo is a sleek, black, 16 pound, muscular, short hair guy, that knows how to get what he wants. He demands petting and stomach and head rubs which I am happy to supply.
Holstein is a Turkish Van. White with black spots. Big at 20 pounds, but gentle. He is an older cat, that showed up here lost and crying loudly in the winter rain. He had a cough and did a lot of silent farts. He is very loveable except he talked all the time and those silent farts of his were rather deadly. By giving Holstein lots of love, attention, food, and healthy yogurt, it cleared up his major problems.
This is what happened two weeks after my precious Sir Gaylord died. Out on the front porch, as I was petting Romeo. I was sad and missing the sweetest kitty anyone ever had, and said out loud in a beseeching voice to Romeo, "Romeo, where is Sir Gaylord? Where is he?" Romeo, without any hesitation took off, trotting through the garden and went to the far corner where Sir Gaylord was buried and laid beside his grave. He stayed there for a bit, and then came back to me for validation, some petting, and then went off to play.
LoisLane