There is right speech for all sentient beings. Most people observe that cats and dogs and horses and other domesticated animals respond to human speech. It may be tone more than the words, although many animals have at least a small human vocabulary. We modulate our voices depending on whether we are trying to effect their behavior, or soothe them or engage them fondly. Hearing an animal called a negative term is painful. If I have to discipline the dogs, a firm no, leave it or drop it suffices in most cases. I don't want to humiliate them, any more than I would a child or a friend.
Most animals know if you are ridiculing them or rejecting them. It's true that cats often sit on the lap of the person who dislikes them the most, but then cats have a dark sense of humor. Dogs often try to get you to change your mind: "I know you're upset that I ate the meatloaf on the counter, but look at how I can throw the ball for myself. Ain't I cute?" They think licking your bare legs is appealing to you.
You can beat down an animal literally, or you can do it with verbal abuse, just as with humans. They are social beings, as we are, and often we isolate them from their own kind and then don't make the effort to make it up to them.
When I went to the summer retreat at Yvonne's place, the property next to hers had a lone horse. It made me sad. The owners were seldom there and the horse was fenced in away from everyone. I spoke of it to her in one interview, and the next time she saw me she said she'd spoken to the owner and the horse had been moved to a pasture with other horses. Yvonne advocated for a being that has trouble communicating with humans. Now that's what I call right speech.
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