It is well-known that domestic dogs are able to use various means to communicate with humans, but what about domestic cats? Can cats recognize their owners’ voices? If so, do they actually respond?
Twenty domestic cats participated in the study, the majority of which were indoor cats of various breeds. The study was conducted in the cats’ respective homes. In the study, three strangers called the cat’s name, followed by the owner doing the same, and then another stranger while the owner was out of the room. The researchers measured dishabituation– how the cats’ response increases, and habituation– how the cats slowly stopped responding to their names. Cats’ responses fell under the six categories of ear moving, head moving, pupil dilating, vocalizing, tail moving, and displacement. The researchers also measured how much of a response there was in each category.
They found more than half of the cats responded to the voices by moving their ears. Less than 20% of the cats responded with vocalization and tail movement. This happened after hearing both strangers’ voices and the owner’s voice. Moreover, the study found that cats that got used to hearing their name being called had a greater response to their owner calling them. Cats mainly responded by moving their ears and head to their name even when their owners called. This is a difference in response compared to dogs’ possible responses; however, this study shows that there is still a measure of response. The fact that the cats stopped responding as much over time might lead people to believe that cats are lazy, unfriendly, and unaffectionate. This research could affect the manner in which humans see domestic cats, as there could be a stigma surrounding cats. Although cats’ responses may not be as energetic and obvious as dogs’ responses, they don’t just ignore their owners. Cats can’t be viewed in the same light as dogs when it comes to how they respond to their owners even though they can both serve the role as pets.
References:
Saito, A., & Shinozuka, K. (2013). Vocal recognition of owners by domestic cats (Felis catus). Animal Cognition, 16(4), 685-690.
Anner Harris
October 10, 2017 — 6:47 am
Wow, I also fell into the misconception that cats were not affectionate creatures, but turns out they actually have some pretty cool similarities to dogs and that I should give them a chance.
Alaina Bandanza
October 12, 2017 — 5:00 pm
Neat study! I’m loving all these different cat articles 🙂
Crystal Burgess
October 12, 2017 — 5:26 pm
Wow! This article was very interesting to me. I was also under the impression that cats were just very unaffectionate.
Alina Ibrahim
October 12, 2017 — 5:38 pm
I love that a research team decided to study this as I always wondered the same. Anyone who has owned both cats and dogs knows that they’re very different animals who behave differently. It’s about time that people understand this with a scientific basis instead of arguing about whether cats are indifferent or not.