Cops finally catch Pepper, elusive cat at Kennedy Airport, after owner's pal calls out feline's.....

[steve2470]

Cops finally catch Pepper, elusive cat at Kennedy Airport, after owner's pal calls out feline's Mandarin name

http://beta.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/cops-catch-pepper-elusive-phantom-like-cat-jfk-week-article-1.3960434

The cat's in the bag!

An elusive cat that's been roaming Kennedy Airport for a week after escaping her carrier was finally captured early Saturday after a friend of the owner who spoke the bilingual feline's preferred language was able to coax her out of hiding.

Nuan Tang, a friend of the owner of the cat — named Pepper — who had cared for the animal on occasion joined Port Authority cops on the hunt for the elusive 4-year-old tabby at JFK's international terminal at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

Tang had a secret weapon — she knew Pepper's Mandarin name, Dai Meng.

[MineralMan]

1. Genius!

It reminds me of a trip to France, where I encountered a dog on the street in a town near Paris. It looked friendly, so I called it. It growled at me. Then, I remembered where I was, so I said "Come here, doggie!" in French: Viens ici, toutou!. Doggie wagged its tail and trotter over for a head scratching.

[lunatica]

2. My toy poodle could read my sign language after she went deaf

I’ve always used gestures when I speak and so she knew what sit meant and stop, come, etc., were, but she actually picked up far more than what I ever thought. She went deaf far sooner than I thought and I didn’t realize it because she always sat and lay where she could see everyone at all times.

If I hadn’t figured out she was deaf because I once had to call her repeatedly when her attention was on something else I may have never realized she couldn’t hear. She read us like a book. She was probably the smartest being in that house.

[ProudLib72]

6. There are a lot of deaf dogs

And training early on using sign language as well as voice commands is a good idea (in case a dog goes deaf). This is something I noticed when I went to training classes with my puppy; the instructor used sign language as well as voice commands. At the time I didn't really think about it. After reading about how many deaf dogs there are, it started to make a lot of sense.

I found this site that is all about training using sign language: https://deafdogsrock.com/beginning-sign-training

And I think you are right that dogs can pick up on an owner's cues without the owner realizing it. Tens of thousands of years of being constant human companions have turned them nearly empathic.

[lunatica]

7. We used to swear she could read our minds

As a joke my mother used to occasionally spell words out the way adults do around little kids.

[lastlib]

10. I used sign language to command my cat when she went deaf.....

...Of course, it worked as well as verbal commands did with her........... ("You talkin' to me, hooman??&quot

-- --

[Honeycombe8]

11. Awwww. Poor thing. Better than losing sight, tho, IMO. nt

[marble falls]

3. I like these stories. Thankyou.

[ailsagirl]

4. So glad Pepper is safe and sound

[KT2000]

5. that's the thing with a cat

YOU have to speak THEIR language! Happy ending for Dai Meng.

[Shrike47]

8. Our cats can read us like a book. Then they ignore us, but they know what we are saying.

[malaise]

9. Sweet

Rec

[peacebuzzard]

12. This ended well for an airport escape. Lucky kitty.

So many critters that escape and bolt in airports have nightmare lost stories; thank goodness this kitty stayed put in the terminal until captured.