Humans communicate with each other through language, which enables us talk about things beyond time and space. Do non-human animals learn to associate human speech with specific objects in everyday life? We examined whether cats matched familiar cats’ names and faces (Exp.1) and human family members’ names and faces (Exp.2). Cats were presented with a photo of the familiar cat’s face on a laptop monitor after hearing the same cat’s name or another cat’s name called by the subject cat’s owner (Exp.1) or an experimenter (Exp.2). Half of the trials were in a congruent condition where the name and face matched, and half were in an incongruent (mismatch) condition. Results of Exp.1 showed that household cats paid attention to the monitor for longer in the incongruent condition, suggesting an expectancy violation effect; however, café cats did not. In Exp.2, cats living in larger human families were found to look at the monitor for increasingly longer durations in the incongruent condition. Furthermore, this tendency was stronger among cats that had lived with their human family for a longer time, although we could not rule out an effect of age. This study provides evidence that cats link a companion's name and corresponding face without explicit training.
  • Rentlar@beehaw.org
    25·
    1 year ago

    One cat completed only the first trial before escaping from the room and climbing out of reach.

    Classic cat move.

  • megopie@beehaw.org
    13·
    1 year ago

    “ Ha ha ha, gumbo has taken the blame for what I, pissboi, have done to the huuman’s food cave.”

    • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
      8·
      1 year ago

      My partner recently said she wasn’t sure if the kitties knew their names (I realize this is slightly OT). I was able to dissuade her in about ten seconds. Kitties are smart.

      • frog 🐸@beehaw.org
        13·
        1 year ago

        Two of mine definitely know their names, because they come when called. But the third one… she’s now seven years old and I only conclusively determined that she knows her name a few months ago, after noticing that her ears twitch when I call her. Being the most stereotypical of my cats, however, the only sound that will actually summon her is the sound of a tin of tuna opening.

        • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
          3·
          1 year ago

          The ears are a good indicator. One of mine will thump her tail when I call her name. Whump, whump, whump. That’s if she doesn’t come running when I call. The other times, she’s happy to come over and get lots of love.

      • lagomorphlecture@beehaw.org
        1·
        1 year ago

        I know for a fact that one of my rabbits knows his name and that one of my other rabbits apparently thinks her name is “good girl”. I’ve tried to name train her but she doesn’t respond well to Clover. She might just respond more visibly to good girl because she gets good girled when she’s being such a good girl though. But I couldn’t find my Wally so I said his name a few times and he just came running over, and normally will turn one ear towards me if I say his name.

        My cat, at 18, should definitely know his name but I’ll be damned if I know how to verify that he does. He’ll give me a death glare no matter what I say to him.

        Edit: ok I just tested Clover and she turned her ear to me so apparently she goes by both Clover and good girl. I got the expected reaction from Wally, and the 3rd rabbit Beignet didn’t react, but he only reacts to treats anyways so I’m pretty sure he knows I’m talking to him and doesn’t care. He’s probably part cat.

  • jarfil@beehaw.org
    3·
    1 year ago

    This makes me sad. My late mum had 16 cats, with some coming and go over the years, but always a “continuum of cats” for the last 30 years or more. Since she passed away, with only two people left —and increasing health problems— to take care of them, we’ve been downsizing, giving them away wherever possible. We’re now down to 6+2, with 6 staying at home, and 2 smart enough to always find a way over the fence and roam around, sometimes not coming home for several days on end.

    Just today, one of the roaming ones came home, went to eat something… then started going all around the house and meowing, looking for something, and no amount of petting would calm him down. I bet he’s missing his “family” of cat friends. Ultimately he went to sleep on top of a wardrobe, with the other 6 staying on the terrace, even though it’s raining. It’s pretty depressing to see them like this.

  • Storksforlegs@beehaw.orgEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    I want to meet the scientists patient enough to interview cats.

    (I mean good on them, cats dont have enough research) but these people must be the most nice and patient people in the world.