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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.
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.
Keep talking to the cat four times in a minute. On the fifth time, chances are you've started to upset it and its getting ready to go someplace else.
Will the cats ever reveal the results of this experiment of theirs on humans who think they're "scientists"?
A friend got drunk and booted his cat one night. For the next several months he had to sleep with his door shut. If the cat got in it would take a shit on his chest while he was sleeping. I am told it took him several months to get back on good terms with the cat. Lesson to be learned is that cats can have a good memory and understanding of their environment. They can also often tell the difference between human accidents and on purpose. Applying flea medicine is definitely on purpose so you should expect the cat to hold a grudge for a while.
Not necessarily.
They are recognising a sound that normally precedes things of interest to them... usually food.
For all we know, they think "Tiddles" means "I'm opening up a tin of meat for you". It only has to correlate enough for them to think it's worth getting their attention diverted to see if there's food, not every time.
Now, I did teach my cats words. They understand what those words mean and how they differ. They don't always know their own name, for example, and will ignore you calling them upstairs by it (food isn't served upstairs, so why would I wake up and run all the way up there?.
I teach my cats the word "down"... which discourages them off furniture, shelves, stairs, places they shouldn't be. They tend to get that.
They don't need an explicit word for food, they tend to go by the sound of the food bag/tin being opened, but using their name does reinforce that. When you want them to approach, you can try the name but what piques their interest is chirpy sounds or holding out your fingers... both food-related enticements. They won't approach if they know you haven't got food, unless they want a stroke but that's usually a side-effect of wanting to sit on you or be fed.
Some of them learned that me patting my lap means they are welcome to jump up but they struggle even with that.
Let's stop anthropomorphising them... they are little wild animals that have been given a privileged environment that they will defend if necessary, accept our presence in because we are much larger and more dangerous than them, have become accustomed to us generally being amenable to them being present, sometimes scent-mark us (especially to remember who fed them, usually), act like kittens in such an environment, and respond almost entirely only to food-based enticements.
That's not a bad thing. It's called a pet.
Though it is said that the greatest, most natural, and most clear signal of any species in terms of offering of peace is to give food. That's why you shouldn't refuse offers of dinner in foreign countries. Giving somebody food is the biggest signal you can offer in terms of acceptance, non-threatening, friendliness, sharing of vital resources, etc.
ALL cats recognize their name. Whether they give a damn about you calling them is entirely another thing.
>"Cats Can Recognize Their Own Names, Study Suggests"
Wow. I thought everyone knew this- at least anyone that has a cat (and bothers to interact with them regularly). What next? A study that says when a cat squints (slow blinks) at you or purrs it is happy? (Duh)
Cats are quite smart, fun, affectionate, and entertaining. They are just not slaves that hinge their entire self-worth on their owners... and that is one of the best things about them.
But we are NOT special. And that is OK.
Like it or not we are special. Look around, other animals might communicate and build nests but none in any thing like the way we have and it essentially comes down to flappy lips and opposable thumbs.
This world wasn't made for us but we have made it our own for better or worse.
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
Re:Cats are pretty stupid, so that is quite an achievement. But they recognize the names only when you bring them food. And then they recognize any name as theirs.
Why do you consider cats stupid? Because you can't teach them tricks like a dog? In actual facts dogs are stupid because they will do cheap tricks for food out of greed. Cats could learn do those tricks too but because a cat is a very smart and cerebral creature it just can't be bothered with such simplistic food/reward teaching methods. You are mistaking that for stupidity.
Cats Can Recognize Their Own Names, Study Suggests
Cat aficionados who fancy themselves "scientists" are unable to recognize instances of operant conditioning when they see them.
For these cats, the sequence of sounds we humans call "their names" end up being followed by feeding, treats, petting, scritch-scratching, and warm, luxurious laps in which to relax and unwind from a stressful day of napping in the sunshine and occasionally trying to catch their arch-nemesis, that stupid glowing red dot... all good and pleasant things. Naturally, being living organisms, cats tend to gravitate towards that which is pleasant, and avoid that which is not. Having the collection of sounds that they hear right before something nice happens resulting in them tending to come to expect the same or similar when it happens again is just operant conditioning.
I propose a study to investigate the correlation between so-called scientists attributing to cats properties they may or may not have, with toxoplasmosis infection. If the parasite can make rats think cat piss smells good, it stands to reason that it might well result in "researchers" conducting "studies" concluding that cats are in various ways smarter or better than previously believed.
Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
As anyone who has been owned by cats knows.
Corporatism != Free Market
I knew this as 6 year old kid.
Why is this considered worthy of a study?
Except we're not the only one's with opposable thumbs so it can't be that. And African gray parrots certainly can do the talky, talky just fine so it's not that either.
It's a combination of those things plus being bipedal.
Our three advantages are opposable thumbs, flappy lips, bipedality and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Except we're not the only one's with opposable thumbs so it can't be that. And African gray parrots certainly can do the talky, talky just fine so it's not that either.
It's a combination of those things plus being bipedal.
Our three advantages are opposable thumbs, flappy lips, bipedality and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.
Hold on, I'll leave and come back in.
Good thing we have opposable thumbs to open the door, huh?
The mice won't allow it.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" -- HST