As of: January 29, 2024, 5:45 a.m
By: Yannik Lurz
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Cats can do more than we think.
Studies show: They not only learn their own names, but also those of their peers.
Do cats learn the names of people and other cats and recognize them even though a name doesn't match the face shown?
Scientists at a Japanese university investigated this question.
The researchers' conclusion after two experiments: Yes, cats learn the names of their animal and human friends - at least partially and under certain conditions.
How did the researchers do this?
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Do cats understand their own name?
How much do they really understand?
Studies show that cats recognize their own names and those of other cats.
(Symbolic image) © Alex Miranda / Imago
In a previous study from 2019, Atsuko Saito and her colleagues examined whether cats could distinguish their name from other words.
To do this, the researchers used the so-called habituation-dishabuation paradigm.
What is that?
The method is also used in developmental psychology with infants.
The scientists present the baby with a series of similar stimuli, such as similar-sounding words or names.
Once the child has gotten used to these stimuli (habituation), the researchers play a new stimulus.
Does the infant notice a difference or react differently (e.g. different behavior such as prolonged viewing of the stimulus)?
This is then referred to as dishabituation.
Cats react differently to their name than to random words
In four different experiments, the scientists demonstrated that cats react to their name if four other words or names were mentioned before it.
This at least suggests that the fluffy four-legged friends could understand their name.
This is also supported by the fact that they reacted to their own name even when people were strangers to them.
What about other animals? Do cats recognize when their fellow animals are called by the wrong name?
Cats learn the names of their feline friends
They seem to know their own name, but what about the names of other animals?
Not all cats are loners, but live with other cats in their families.
To investigate the question of whether cats learn the names of their roommates, the researchers came up with a simple experimental setup.
Once again they fall back on the habituation-dishabuation paradigm.
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Face doesn't match the name: Cats notice mistakes
The test animals came from households with several cats or from cat cafes.
Finally, the animals also had to hear the names of other cats that they know from everyday life.
First the four-legged friends heard a name.
The researchers then presented them with a picture of a cat.
If the expected face did not match the name previously heard, the cats looked longer at the picture.
For the scientists, this meant that the animals had learned the names of their animal companions and therefore expected a particular cat.
But: This behavior only applied to animals from private households, not from cat cafes.
Do cats know their owners' names?
Ok, cats know the names of their fellow cats.
But what about their human roommates?
Does my cat know my name?
Anyone who has a pet themselves will certainly have imagined it before.
That's called manners.
Unfortunately, scientists were unable to fully answer this question.
There were signs that the pets paused at the wrong name-picture combinations.
But the researchers do not rule out an age effect here.
Whether cats know our names remains an open question – and will hopefully be the subject of new research.