Cats Could Be More Receptive to Your Words than You Think

The Study

While cats are often thought to snub their owners, they could be much more attentive to what we say than is commonly thought. A Japanese study published in Scientific Reports suggests that domestic felines are capable of understanding a wide range of terms used by humans in day-to-day life.

The Experiment

Researchers at Azabu University in Japan came to this conclusion after conducting an experiment involving 30 adult cats. Each of the felines was placed in front of a computer screen on which two images appeared one after the other, namely a sun and a cloud.

At the same time, a message recorded by each cat’s owner was played over a loudspeaker, in which they were heard speaking the same (meaningless) word four times – “keraru” or “parumo” – the first referring to the cloud, the second to the sun. This experiment was repeated several times so the cats could learn the meaning of each word.

The Results

Then, to test their understanding, the researchers showed them the same images but with the wrong word, i.e. “keraru” was used to refer to the sun, not the cloud. This inversion didn’t escape the cats’ attention: the scientists noticed that the felines stared longer at the screen when the word pronounced did not match the image in front of them.

Some cats even had dilated pupils, indicating their confusion.

The Conclusion

These reactions suggest that the cats associated each word with a specific image – and surprisingly, the animals proved even quicker at associating words with pictures than young children. The scientists explained in their paper that most cats grew accustomed to the pairings after four nine-second trials, while human infants received at least four 20-second trails per picture-word pair.

Still, the experts are unable to explain why cats are able to form word-picture associations so quickly. In any case, the findings show that cats are potentially receptive to the meaning of the words we use when we speak to them – even if they sometimes lead us to believe otherwise.

Conclusion

The study suggests that cats are capable of understanding the meaning of words we use when we speak to them, and that they may be even more receptive to our words than we think. While it is unclear why cats are able to form word-picture associations so quickly, the findings have important implications for how we interact with our feline friends.

FAQs

Q: How did the researchers test the cats’ understanding of the words?
A: The researchers used a computer screen to show the cats images of a sun and a cloud, and played a recorded message with a meaningless word spoken by the cat’s owner. The word was associated with either the sun or the cloud, and the researchers tested the cats’ understanding by showing them the same images with the wrong word.

Q: How quickly did the cats learn the word-picture associations?
A: The researchers found that most cats grew accustomed to the pairings after four nine-second trials, which is faster than the time it takes for young children to learn the same associations.

Q: Why did the cats have dilated pupils when the word did not match the image?
A: The researchers believe that the dilated pupils indicate the cats’ confusion when the word did not match the image, suggesting that they are paying attention to the meaning of the words we use when we speak to them.