A cat that does not come when called looks as though it does not know the name, but perhaps it simply is not coming. To separate the two, researchers played cats a run of similar words and then their own name. What happened?
The ears moved. The response faded gradually across the run, mostly in , and when the fifth word was the cat’s name it came back, including in . The unfamiliar voice matters: it separates recognizing the speaker from recognizing the word. So they tell the of their name apart, which is not the same as understanding it.
A cat that does not come when called is not necessarily a cat that did not hear, so the right question is whether it tells the name apart.
The researchers used : they played a run of four similar words, or the names of other cats, and the response faded gradually. The measurement was taken in movements of the ears and head, not in compliance.
When the fifth word was the cat’s own name, the response came back in house cats, including in the voice of a stranger. That unfamiliar voice matters: it separates recognizing the speaker from recognizing the word.
Which shows they tell the sound pattern of their name apart, because it has been tied to the events that followed it, and not that they understand it as a person would. The response was mostly a movement of the ears or head, and cats in a cat cafe did not reliably distinguish their own name from the names of cats living alongside them.
wat. House cats moved their head or ears again when their name came after four words that had stopped getting any reaction.
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A lack of obedience is no proof of a lack of listening; discrimination between sounds can be measured without the cat coming to the speaker.
How do we know?
Four experiments used habituation: words were played over and over, and then it was checked whether the cat’s name brought back a response of the head, ears, tail or voice.
What is still unknown
The response was mostly a movement of the ears or head, and did not show any understanding of meaning. Cats in a cat cafe also did not reliably distinguish their own name from the names of cats living alongside them.
Learn something?
Where to next
What gets through while you are ignoring everyone else at a party?hearing
Can you tell hot water from cold just by the sound of it pouring?hearing
Does your cat know your voice, and would it show you if it did?cats