I love my little cat. The idea of names and using words seems extremely silly to me.
My cat’s real name is “wwhhq.” It is a sound that is completely different than any word or sound I ever use. I also have a low volume high pitch whistle I can make that is barely audible to me and consists of a specific quick up-down-UP tone. She can hear that over any white noise and will usually respond, at least, more usual than most cats I’ve owned or been around. I’d call it a 90% response rate. No one else in the house can generate that kind of response from her, especially with a silly anthropomorphized name. I’ve gotten to the point where all words directed at an animal seem like unnecessary nonsense. They are only responding to tone and actions. So, I figure why not simplify my vocalizations to make my communication entirely on her level of tones and actions making my intent more clear and easy to interpret. It has worked really well for me over the last 9 years with my current cat. I don’t think I will speak to a cat ever again.
We have a lot of little sounds and prompts surrounding all kinds of activities. She has more to say than I do most of the time. It is hard to explain. I don’t really think of them in terms of words. She can communicate play time, I need to be brushed, sick, catnip, chase, let’s be close but not too close, etc. I’ve managed to train her never to bite or scratch me by simply stopping all physical interaction until the next day.