Cats can recognise their own names, say scientists
Guardian [U.K.],
by
Nicola Davis
Original Article
Posted By: Ribicon,
4/7/2019 3:04:26 PM
Tibbles and Tiger might not let you know it, but they appear to recognise when their name is being called, research into human-cat relationships has claimed. The researchers said previous studies had shown that other animals, including dogs, dolphins and parrots could show some understanding of human vocalisations, but it was unclear whether felines could too.(Snip) The team chose not to attempt to test cats’ abilities by asking them to retrieve named objects they had previously been shown—as is often used in experiments with dogs. The authors said: “the training of cats to perform on command would require a lot
Reply 1 - Posted by:
planetgeo 4/7/2019 3:14:04 PM (No. 26402)
Yes, they recognize their names...but they purposely ignore you just to pizz you off.
32 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
ladydawgfan 4/7/2019 3:15:05 PM (No. 26412)
My cat, Pebbles absolutely knows her name. She also knows how to ignore me when I call her. That´s probably where the confusion comes in.
Call a dog and they come running. Call a cat and they take a message and get back to you later!
30 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
thewarden 4/7/2019 3:20:54 PM (No. 26418)
Mine know their names. They respond. And, they think they’re dogs. If I want their attention I say ‘treats’ in a loud, high pitched tone. They come running, works every time. Like dogs, my cats are food motivated. I love cats.
25 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Illinois Mom 4/7/2019 3:25:24 PM (No. 26404)
I have had many many cats over the years and each one of its knew their name.
Each was unique in the way they interacted with the family. At one time we had four at the same time. Each one had a "territory" within the house and a "go to" person. They tolerated each other most times but there were two that always got into trouble together.
One loved Animal Planet and would perk up any time he would see a cat silhouette. Another went nuts when we had peas...she loved them.
One used the toilet, self taught and, they all came running at the sound of the can opener.
Everyone who has ever been owned by a cat knows this. Their personalities are as smart, or dumb, friendly or aloof, guileless or sneaky as any human.
I also loved our dogs, who got along well with our cats.
We are pet-less right now and I miss every one of them.
35 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Ida Lou Pino 4/7/2019 3:29:27 PM (No. 26409)
Well - - Satchmo certainly knew his own name - - and he was the heppest cat of all!
20 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
hurricanegirl 4/7/2019 3:31:26 PM (No. 26397)
So they actually spent money to figure this out? Any cat owner could have told them this.
Our cats (and every other tame cat we´ve tried this on) understand sign language, too. If we´re across the room, and we want the cat to come, we call it´s name to get it´s attention, and then we put our hand down and act like we´re scratching an imanginary cat´s back. They come EVERY TIME.
Our cats also understand one other sound--the sound of a whipping cream can in action.
Smart cats; dumb scientists!!!
29 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
earlybird 4/7/2019 3:33:22 PM (No. 26393)
Have never called a cat by name to come, knowing they would come when they wanted to or would stay away.
We did have a big white rabbit who thought he/she was a dog and came when his/her name was called. Friends were aghast when, asked what its gender was, we’d respond “No idea. Doesn’t matter….we only have one”… Excellent pet.
20 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
earlybird 4/7/2019 3:34:45 PM (No. 26422)
PS. A friend had a Capuchin monkey called Orchid who could tell when the freezer door was opened. “Ice cream!"
16 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
wilarrbie 4/7/2019 3:45:28 PM (No. 26396)
Well, thank goodness for "scientists". And all that grant money to discover the obvious and otherwise well known "scientific" fact. Now, what can we do with this valuable information to justify the expense? And from now on, I want all dubious fact-finding missions by "scientists" to be funded entirely by them passing the hat among themselves. If "scientists" had to pay for this, they would have gone out for beer instead. And should have.
21 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
jalo1951 4/7/2019 4:10:33 PM (No. 26401)
Of course they do. This is a very stupid, unnecessary, costly "scientific research" study. Any cat owner could have told you this. I have had cats all my life and they all knew exactly their name.
21 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
ginadee 4/7/2019 4:25:34 PM (No. 26420)
My cat´s name was Friend. I would whistle for her and she would come. She liked tomatoes. She would eat them as they hung on the vine in my garden. Sometimes I would cut one for her and she would down them pretty quickly.
She died about four years ago. Someone hit her with a car. She is waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge. So are a lot of other pets I have had through the years. What a reunion it will be. I hope all my cats and dogs get along well!
22 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
TulsaTowner 4/7/2019 4:29:56 PM (No. 26406)
The best cat we ever had was a white maine-coon male that would actually wave to you across the room. Everybody I tell that says I´m crazy!
17 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
DVC 4/7/2019 4:30:35 PM (No. 26410)
No question that our last two cats knew their names.
15 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
DVC 4/7/2019 4:32:10 PM (No. 26399)
Interesting, #5, my sister has a self-taught toilet cat, too. I was surprised by that.
17 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
zephyrgirl 4/7/2019 5:13:30 PM (No. 26417)
#5 and #16 - my mom had a self-taught toilet
cat. He never flushed, though.
16 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
jinx 4/7/2019 5:18:05 PM (No. 26425)
My cat Duke knew his name and would often come running when called. I say often, because he only came when he wanted to. He also loved to play with plastic water bottle tops. We would throw one, and he would run get it and bring it back dropping it in our laps to be thrown again. What fun we had. He is gone now and is missed by all.
19 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 4/7/2019 5:37:22 PM (No. 26419)
We called our cats by name. They still took 5 minutes to walk 15 feet, and if you tried to pick them up they would just scoot 5 feet out of range.
17 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 4/7/2019 5:47:16 PM (No. 26398)
And of course, according to "Old Possum´s Book of Practical Cats," our cats have their own secret names...
14 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
grampus 4/7/2019 7:22:09 PM (No. 26416)
My sister in El Paso had a large "feral" tortoise that would come into the house through the dog door. It learned to follow my sister to the fridge and wait for lettuce leaves.
17 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
coldoc 4/7/2019 7:43:08 PM (No. 26400)
We are blessed with two shop cats that will come when called from 100 yards away. The other 3-fugghedaboudit.
13 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
udanja99 4/7/2019 8:00:48 PM (No. 26423)
At one time I lived on a small horse farm and we had 6 cats. We let them out during the day but made sure that they were in the house before dark. Too many foxes and coyotes around. I would open the back door and call them all by their names and they would come running from wherever they were.
The headline of this article is a “duh” statement.
14 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
msjena 4/7/2019 8:10:47 PM (No. 26424)
They needed a study for this?
13 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
EJKrausJr 4/7/2019 8:14:37 PM (No. 26391)
A government grant was required to figure this out? Come on. All cat owners know it. And all cat owners know their cat(s) own them not the other way around. Cats grant you an audience at their pleasure. Cats occupy your lap when they want to, more than likely to stay warm. Cats will alarm clock you when they are hungry. OK DC where´s my grant for bookoo $$$?
15 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
GardenGal 4/7/2019 8:42:35 PM (No. 26408)
This is a British paper reporting on a Japanese study. No US Govt funds used at all. Not including the fact, that people in the US also do studies that do not involve any federal funds too.
12 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
InvestiGator 4/7/2019 9:15:57 PM (No. 26394)
We have had eight indoor cats at a time over the last 29 years. No, we are not crazy, just had the means to care for them. We have five now, including a blind kitten. Each one of them knew its name. Most come from far parts of the house when called.
12 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
red1066 4/7/2019 9:34:16 PM (No. 26395)
Now let´s study to find out if Democrats know their arse from a hole in the ground. I bet they don´t.
14 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
DonQuijote 4/7/2019 9:53:29 PM (No. 26411)
What a waste of money! Of course they know their names!. Have two from the same litter. Talk to one and ask where the other one is and he or she will turn in the direction of the other cats as if to indicate where he/she is. Cats are smart! Rescue one and save the money for a big scientific study. Can´t tell you how much you will be rewarded for asking cat to adopt your family.
15 people like this.
I have a "cat". A dog that is Catahoula. She knows her name. My Aunt had a great cat...a real cat. It got sick. The runs among other things. So, the cat took it upon herself to capture one of the bathrooms. When she had to make a run, she´d hop on the toilet and let it rip. She slept in the shower were it was nice and cool. She did recover. It was funny seeing her perched on the toilet seat. Smart gal that cat.
14 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
PChristopher 4/8/2019 2:18:53 AM (No. 26392)
They also recognize when their bowls are only half full....signifying famine.
10 people like this.
Of course they know their names. I have several who also know when they are in trouble. They listen for sounds and dinner. One set of kittens loved playing catch with an aluminum foil ball. One could catch it, hold it in her mouth, leap up and catch another one.
A hungry cat will come to you. One that eats all day will think about it.
The wrong people are getting paid for this study. Why didn´t they call us?
11 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
confused 4/8/2019 3:31:02 AM (No. 26407)
Dogs have masters. Cats have staff.
14 people like this.
Our three Ragdolls know their names and come running when called! One fetches and our 20 pound boy walks next to you if you ask him to take a walk! They are very smart animals!
11 people like this.
Reply 33 - Posted by:
SpencersMom 4/8/2019 5:37:14 AM (No. 26414)
All the cats I´ve had have known their names. They might not come to me but they respond by turning their heads or ear twitches. My husband thinks they are just responding to my voice. But if I call loudly my cats´ names they will come to me from another part of the house. They all come to the sound of the cat food cans opening and to the cabinet door opening where the treats are stored. Our male cat also responds to the sound of me crumpling paper. He likes to play with paper balls.
12 people like this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
DVC 4/8/2019 3:38:01 PM (No. 26413)
Our last cat was a ragdoll, a really handsome boy. We lost him at age 18 last year. Haven´t had the heart to get another. Maybe one day.
7 people like this.
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