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Cats Can Recognize Their Own Names, Study Suggests (gizmodo.com)
AmiMoJo shares a report from Gizmodo: Plenty of cat owners will happily tell you their felines are capable of responding to their own names, but the scientific jury remains ambivalent on the matter. A fascinating new experiment suggests this might actually be true for some cats, and it's a capacity very much tied to the social environment in which the cat lives. The new research, published today in Scientific Advances, doesn't mean cats understand the human conception of a name, but it does show that at least some cats can distinguish their names from other words. Prior research has shown that cats can recognize human gestures, facial expressions, and vocal cues. Slashdot reader sciencehabit adds: Give this a shot at home: Say four random words to your cat -- separated by about 15 seconds -- with the same length and intonation as its name. Then say its actual name. If it swivels its ears or perks up its head, chances are it knows what you call it. That's essentially what researchers did in a new study. The scientists saw similar responses when the cat's name came after the names of other felines he lived with, or when a stranger spoke the words. The findings are the first to experimentally show that cats have some understanding of what we are saying to them, the team concludes.
I did wonder if my cats were just responding to my voice. Ignoring everything I say, merely taking note of the fact that the help had returned from wherever the fresh chicken comes from.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Will the cats ever reveal the results of this experiment of theirs on humans who think they're "scientists"?
This should come as no surprise to anyone who owns a cat.
My cats will come when they are called, if they feel like it. Sometimes they will run to the door then refuse to actually come in.
So yeah, they understand. They just probably dont give a shit about what you want.
Must have taken a lot of effort on your cat's part to train you that well.
I noticed that they react to the can opener way better than my voice.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
My 12 cats periodically check if I am steel breathing. I suspect they are just waiting to eat my carcass.
To paraphrase, humans and dolphins long argued over who were smarter. Humans said they were the smartest because they'd invented wars, nuclear weapons and New York, while the dolphins just swam around in the ocean eating fish all day. The dolphins said they were the smartest - for the exact same reasons.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
Yes but she went in to the bedroom to pee on your clothes!
Rick B.