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Repetition, voice recognition, and familiarity
- For the most part, cats learn their names through repetition, voice recognition, and familiarity. We tend to use our cats’ names often when interacting with them, particularly when the interaction is positive in nature. You might say your cat’s name when giving them treats, feeding them, or before a nice cuddle session.
www.catster.com/cat-behavior/how-do-cats-learn-their-names/How Do Cats Learn Their Names? Interesting Facts & Info (Vet ...
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May 15, 2024 · Sometimes, between the excitement of choosing your cat’s name and years of saying it, it’s only natural to wonder if cats know their name. Yes, cats know their own names and may actually respond with a meow, a head butt, or by running toward you.
- Do Cats Know Their Names?
Yes, cats do know their name and they may respond with a...
- Do Cats Know Their Names?
- Overview
- What’s in a name?
- Dogs at an advantage
- See Our Favorite Pictures of Cats You've Never Heard Of
- Evolution in progress
New research in Japan's cat cafes reveals our pet felines are more attuned to us than we thought.
Cats know many things: how to catch mice, what the sound of the can opener means, and even how to take over the internet.
But the one question cat expert Atsuko Saito always gets is whether cats recognize their own names, an ability that's well known in dogs.
In a new study in the journal Scientific Reports, the psychologist at Tokyo’s Sophia University showed that they do know their names—even when called by a stranger.
Cats are Saito’s favorite animal, and after studying primate cognition in graduate school, she set her research sights on the oft-misunderstood pets. (Is everything you think about cats wrong?)
“I love cats. They’re so cute and so selfish. When they want to be touched, they’ll come by me, but when they want to be left alone, they’ll just leave,” she says, laughing.
Saito and colleagues tested this hypothesis by observing a total of 78 housecats and felines living in cat cafés in Japan.
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In the homes and cafés, the researchers asked both owners and strangers to call a cat’s name, and then videotaped responses that would indicate recognition, such as ear and head movements and tail swishing.
In a series of four different experiments, the team discovered cats showed a meaningful response to their own names—even after hearing four similar-sounding nouns or the names of other cats living in the home or the cat café. (Read how to properly train your cat.)
Even though the cats’ responses weren’t as enthusiastic as those of dogs, Saito notes that canines are literally born to respond to their names.
For centuries, people have selectively bred dogs to be obedient and responsive. Cats, on the other hand, pretty much domesticated themselves when wildcats followed mice and rats into agricultural settlements. Not only that, but domestic dogs have a 20,000-year headstart over cats.
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A Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) sits primly on the shore of Loon Lake in Ontario, Canada in 1906. These 11- to 37-pound (5 to 17 kilogram) cats live in boreal forests across Canada and down into the northern United States.
A Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) sits primly on the shore of Loon Lake in Ontario, Canada in 1906. These 11- to 37-pound (5 to 17 kilogram) cats live in boreal forests across Canada and down into the northern United States.
Photograph by George Shiras, Naitonal Geographic Creative
Also, one of the first things dogs learn in obedience school is how to answer to their name, which in turn makes them easier to work with and socialize.
Saito notes domestic cats are still evolving—thanks to us.
Until a decade or two ago, most pet cats spent most of their time outside, coming indoors only at night or in bad weather. (See our favorite photos of pet felines.)
With more and more cats spending their lives inside, in closer contact with humans, a cat’s ability to read and respond to our cues may become even stronger.
“Social evolution is an ongoing process,” Saito concludes.
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- Carrie Arnold
May 25, 2022 · If we know that cats are capable of recognizing their names, why don’t they come running when we call their names? It’s simply a case of a cat being a cat. Humans tend to compare cats and dogs, but we really shouldn’t expect the same types of behaviors from these two very different species.
Aug 1, 2024 · Here’s the good news: yes, cats know their names, but whether or not they acknowledge their name when called is another story. In fact, cats can even remember the names of their cat friends!
Jan 22, 2024 · While cats don't always respond or come when called, science has found that they do recognize and distinguish their name words from others. However, whether cats "own" their names as names is a little less certain.
Yes, cats do know their name and they may respond with a meow, a head butt, or by running towards you. Why they respond the way they do (and yes, sometimes they ignore you) is strongly rooted in their personality, biology, and upbringing.
Mar 19, 2023 · Do cats actually recognize their name? If you’ve ever called a cat by its name, witnessed it look up to you when you say it, and perhaps they’ve even come running over to you, then you probably wondered if it actually registers that word as its name - or they’ve just worked out that they will probably get something good from a human when ...
