Meow
hear this
“NEW YORK Hey Kitty! Yes, you. A new study suggests household cats
can respond to the sound of their own names.
No surprise to you or most
cat owners, right? But Japanese scientists said…they’ve provided the first
experimental evidence that cats can distinguish between words we people say…
Atsuko Saito of Sophia
University in Tokyo says there’s no evidence cats actually attach meaning to
our words, not even their own names. Instead, they’ve learned that when they
hear their names they often get rewards like food or play, or something bad
like a trip to the vet. And they hear their names a lot. So the sound of it
becomes special, even if they don’t really understand it refers to their
identity.
Saito & colleagues
describe the results of their research in the journal Scientific Reports. In 4
experiments with 16 to 34 animals, each cat heard a recording of its owner’s
voice, that slowly recited a list of 4 nouns or other cat’s names, followed by
the cat’s own name.
Many cats initially reacted- such as by moving their heads, ears, or
tails- but gradually lost interest as the words were read. The crucial question
was whether they’d respond more to their name.
Sure enough, on average,
these cats perked up when they heard their own name.
Kristyn Vitale, who studies
cat behaviour & the cat- human bond at Oregon State University in
Corvallis…said the results, ‘make complete sense to me’.
Vitale, who said she has
trained cats to respond to verbal commands, agreed that the new results don’t
mean that cats assign a sense of self to their names. It’s more like being
trained to recognize a sound, she said.
Monique Udell, who also
studies animal behaviour at Oregon State, said the study shows, ‘cats are
paying attention to you, what you say & whay you do, & they’re learning
from it.’”
Malcolm Ritter
The Gazette, Montreal
April 6/2019
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