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I can't help it, I do.  I also talk to my dog and cat like they're people though.  I talk like that mostly to my dog though, since she's really skittish and I try to soften my voice so she doesn't get scared..it ends up coming out as baby talk though.

My cat...I talk to her like I would if she were my kid...I'd baby talk them to annoy them and I'd talk normal to them if they were talking to me, like she does.

For the most part I talk normal to all of my pets save for the name of my cat. I use a certain pitch and tone so she knows I'm calling her. Also when I'm really tired and she's meowing my brains out I'll use a bsby-talk voice and say "Yes, yes I know. Shut up now."

[Pets name:]

Ahaha. That classic one.

I generally talk to my cat normally, but if I'm giving him loads of fuss and he goes all daft, I baby talk to him. Cats sort of... make you do it to them. Because they are so, so, so cute.

I do adopt a higher voice, generally.  But not baby talk, no.  Although sometimes they're so cute that you get reduced to gibbering nonsense.  Not often, but on occasion.

Like all the living things in existence, my cat gets treated with my low, apathetic tone of voice.   

Yeah, I totally do.   

I usually get a "what the heck?" look in reply, too. 

I talk to animals as if they were people.  It's only about the tone of voice you use with them, right?

I do. I call my dog "lil girl" (her name is Daisy). And I do the Spongebob-esque "Who's a good girl? Whoooo's a good girllll?" 

eh i'd say its a lil bit of both, mostly i talk normally to my rat Edward lol but i have a tendency to add things to their names so he has become Mr. Edward, especailly when i find he has chewed up one of my makeup sponges again. 

I do worse than babytalk. I do extreme insane person talk, which is basically a mix of babytalk and extremely intelligent human talk, so if someone was listening and didnt know, they'd think I was insane.

I always just talk to them like people. And if they act like it, I talk to them like you would little kid.

Otherwise, they look at me funny.

my female cat leia like to walk around the house meowing her little head off sometimes, she gets quite annoyed if i follow her meowing back. I also can call my other cat oreo, who my fursona is based off of, by meowing. All i have to do is meow a few times and he usually comes running to see what is going on.

[Pet's name:]

i think the baby talk thing is kinda stupid. i talk to my cat in a normal voice. his name is randy. he is a sweet heart

I usually talk to my dog in a normal voice.  Actually, I will sometimes have longer conversations with him about life.  Makes me feel better.  He always listens, unless there's something more interesting outside.  Or food within 50 feet of him...

Anyhow, the most I ever really do is use an excited voice, not high-pitched or anything like that though.  But I don't think anybody would baby-talk an 85 lb German Shepherd mix.

And he does talk to us, too. Mostly just crying for food or to be let in.  Occasionally just for attention.  Ever wonder if they are using 'puppy-talk' on us when they do that?

I don't like baby talk it drives me nuts when people talk like that, to an animal or to a human. I talk to my dog like I would talk to any other living thing.

Except cats, there just different.

I both baby talk and normal to my pet chicken (rooster), it's impossible not to baby talk to him when he is in a diaper I made - he looks like a baby and he sounds like one to, the sounds he makes are so babyish - hes so cute.
I took to the cats normal but I normaly tell them to get out because I am always angery at them as they scare me and my chicken -  really! - Plus the cats are my other familys pets not mine - they make me sad when I see dead birds in the yard I don't think it's a good idea to have cats in New Zealand, I wish my Mum didn't like them.
I'm not a cat hater no! I like the flat-head cat, I even done art on them! they are cool! I just love birds more.

Most of the time I talk in a normal voice. With my german shepherd, sometimes I'll break into a babyish "oochie coochie woochie poochie" type voice because when I do that she always looks at me like I've lost my mind and that look amuses me.

Lol, i talk to my pet as if shes a person. Besides, i always think 'Gosh, what are those pets thinking when people talk to them like that?'

I always talk to animals like they were people. Often times i'll carry on a conversation. To others it looks one-sided but i really think they understand.

Dogs respond to tone. So when i'm talking to my dog i'll generally use a higher tone.

That said, i use my own made up language to talk to my dog. She responds to certain commands that only i and her know the meanings of. My neighbours must think i'm a complete retard.

An enthused tone, but not a high tone.

There's a difference between happy tone and a high pitch.

High pitched squeeling voices can get very annoying to sensitive canine ears... Be careful when using too high of a tone - you'll probably end up chasing them away... (unless he/she has been acclimated to it by that time...)

I generally don't baby talk to my cats at all.

Out of curiosity, do you guys use baby-talk with your pets?

Ooh, I do!  Heesh a bebbeh!


EDIT: Dog, by the way.

Hayaikawa just made a post in the Scritching thread that made me think of this.

Okay, so you know how when most people talk to animals, they adopt a higher-pitched, baby-talk-type voice and generally make fools out of themselves? (I know there's a psychological reason behind this, but I forget what it is.)

Out of curiosity, do you guys use baby-talk with your pets? Or do you talk to them more like people?

I believe you are refuring to "Lower Past Analytical Association".
Most people refure to animals in their mind as ignorant and lovable. and because of human generaly associate the same characteristics with infants. They often use this tactic to talk to animals. Also during the growth process, man can recognize appropriet speach patterns for age and person. With animals however, this is not well defined. So most people stick to talking this way.

I generaly tend to talk to them regularly. I think one reason is because animals recognize certain words and pitches as different meanings. Like Higher pitches tend to give off good meaning. And lower annouyed pitches give off anger. To prove my hypothosis I did and experament.

I called the dog on the cammand. "You Want a Treat?" in a lower annouyed voice. And the dog barrely responded. But on further analysis, I found apon saying the same quote in a higher happier vioce. she responded almost imediately. So to further try and prove my hypothosis wrong. I tried the opposite.Calling out the dreaded words "Bath time!" In a higher pitch she reacted immediately. But when I gave the same quote in a regular tone. There was almost no responce. I believe that animals don't understand human talk but respond to key words and pitches. And is obviousely why talking this way, is so sucessful.

I believe you are refuring to "Lower Past Analytical Association".
Most people refure to animals in their mind as ignorant and lovable. and because of human generaly associate the same characteristics with infants. They often use this tactic to talk to animals. Also during the growth process, man can recognize appropriet speach patterns for age and person. With animals however, this is not well defined. So most people stick to talking this way.

Interesting. I knew there was some kind of connection, but I didn't know the psychological details behind it.

What surprises me, though - what has surprised me since I started this thread - is that so many furs *don't* exhibit this behavior.  It seems to be pretty universal among the non-furs I know (read: almost everyone I know), so I guess many of us genuinely do view animals differently than other people do.