Study: cats distinguish the voice of the owner and understand when they are addressed to them
Miscellaneous / / April 04, 2023
They just pretend not to hear, and that's their choice.
Cats can be masterful at showing indifference, but this does not prevent them from listening and understanding when their owner directly addresses them. If they do not respond to the voice, then it is probably their personal choice to ignore the person. This is stated in the new researchDiscrimination of cat-directed speech from human-directed speech in a population of indoor companion cats (Felis catus) French scientists, published in the journal Animal Cognition.
In a number of other scientific papers, it has already been proven that domestic cats often preferAttachment bonds between domestic cats and humans cuddles with their owner eating, and that pets often get boredCats and owners interact more with each other after a longer duration of separation by their owners when they are separated for a long time. Based on these findings, a new study provides evidence that cats change their behavior when hear the voice of the owner speaking to them, but not when they hear the voice of a stranger or the voice of the owner talking to another man.
For the study, the authors used 16 domestic cats, all of which belonged to veterinary students. When the cats heard a recording of the owner's voice calling them by name, most of the pets showed increased activity by turning the ears towards the speakers, moving with greater intensity, or showing extended pupils.
In contrast, the cats tended to lower the intensity of their behavior when they heard the voice of a stranger calling their name.
The researchers then played back recordings of pet owners saying something along the lines of “Would you like play?" and "Do you want to eat?" - first in the tone in which they usually address their cat, and then - to to a person.
And the cats reacted only when they heard the speech addressed to them. And when listening to the same sentences spoken by a stranger, the animals remained uninterested regardless of the tone used.
The authors of the study concluded that cats can distinguish speech addressed specifically to them from speech addressed to humans. And the fact that pets do not respond to the words of strangers reflects their unwillingness to communicate with other people or may be the result of their lack of experience with someone other than the owner.
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