" Miawes matka and Meow " correct spelling and pronunciation of these phrases please

My paternal grandfather (from Poland in 1880's) told me that cats speak Polish.

He would say something that sounded like "Miawes matka?" Which he said meant - "Have you had a mother?"

Then he would squeeze the cat's paw until it cried 'Meow,' which he claimed meant - "I have had it."

Can anyone give me assistance with the proper spelling and English pronunciation of this phrases? I can't find past tense Polish verbs online, just mieć, for 'to have.'

Incidently, my maternal grandfather used to say "Polish is the language of the birds," in the woods behind his house in Stamford, Connecticut was a trail we walked together, and though I was young I can recall wild birds flying down and sitting on his shoulders. True. I don't remember if he whistled or called to them, but I do remember the birds pecking at his lips, as if kissing him.

Back to the original subject, does the cat's meow sound like a Polish phrase?

I think that your granddad was sadistically joking. Incidentally, what were your granddad's names?

I know that mieć (pronounced like mitch in English) is 'to have,' but I can't find the past tense, 'have had.'

Paternal Grandfather Micheslaw Golinski, wife Bertha (Chicowski, I think).

Maternal Grandfather Stanley Wisniewski, wife Mary (Wirawski I think). Though for some reason I thought her first name was Veronica, maybe a second marriage?

Ah. Were any of them related to Andrulewiczes, Margiewiczes, Daniłowiczes, and/or Czernieckis? Meanwhile, wouldn't "Meow" be more like "Mi-au" in Polish?

No, but we do have some Dombrowski relatives. I've lost touch with most of my cousins, and all my aunts & uncles are deceased.

Mi-au... is that a Polish word or phrase?

Ah ok. Meanwhile, I was just talking about how the English "Me-ow" might be rendered in Polish...though "Miau" is....well, there you go.

Cool. Didn't know about Google translate function!
translate.google.com/#en/pl/you%20had%20a%20mother%3F

'have had' is 'miał' pretty close,

'Miałam matkę' is 'I had a mother.' And it sounds close enough to what I remember my dziadek telling me years ago.

'Miałeś matkę?' is 'you had a mother?'

The pronunciation button on Google makes them both sound close enough to what I heard.

Thanks for giving me the tools to find out myself.

Edwin Golinski

Cool. And you're welcome.

will you ever be cool enough to learn a bit of your grandfather's language?

Miałeś matkę - did you have a mother?

Miau - really did.

Thought not articulated: "And when you squeeze my paw, I cry...I go back to when my mother would clean my paws for me and nip at them. Ah, Mama!"

(Sniff) no, I have no facility for languages. I flunked Spanish 2 twice, and even now Spanish speakers can't understand what I say in 'Spanish.'

Actually, we learned some basic politeness words, out of respect for our ancestry.

Thank You - dziękuję

Good evening - Dobranoc

Grandma/Grandpa - dziadek/babcia

Father/Mother - ojciec/matka

Of course we learned to SAY them, not spell them. They sound very different than English speakers would guess.

We also had some Cieszkowski relatives. One of my uncles rode the Lippezan Stallions.

So, anyway, we have ascertained that cats speak Polish, even if they don't know it.