Research reveals that cats distinguish between words from the owner and ``words from others'' and ``voices the owner talks to others''
It is generally said that ``cats are not very interested in humans'', but the latest research on
Discrimination of cat-directed speech from human-directed speech in a population of indoor companion cats (Felis catus) | SpringerLink
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-022-01674-w
Cats Do Hear You When You're Talking to Them Sweetly (They Just Don't Care) : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/cats-do-hear-you-when-youre-talking-to-them-sweetly-they-just-dont-care
Cat got your tongue: Cats distinguish between | EurekAlert!
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/968597
A 2010 study revealed that when humans talk to infants and pets, they speak in a 'high voice', 'short sentences' and 'repeating the same sentences'. It has also been shown that dogs recognize both the tone and meaning of their owner's voice . A study published in 2017 and 2018 found that when owners asked their pet dog, 'Who's the good boy?' , has been found to be able to attract the attention and affection of dogs.
However, while research on cats and humans has revealed that humans use voices in a specific range when talking to cats, how cats react to words spoken by humans To date, few studies have examined whether In the above study, it is believed that humans use voices in a specific range to show intimacy with cats, but it is unknown whether cats care about this.
Meanwhile, `` A study investigating how cats react to words spoken by humans '' was published on October 25, 2022 in the peer-reviewed journal
When the cats that were the subject of the experiment heard a familiar voice (the tone that the owner usually talks to cats), they wagged their tails, blinked their eyes, twitched their ears, and stopped grooming. It has been found that it sounds like 'Meow'. On the other hand, cats did not change their behavior even if they spoke similar words to the cat in another person's voice, or even if the owner spoke in a tone that speaks to humans. In other words, cats recognize that words other than spoken words that are usually thrown at them are not words directed at them.
This study suggests that adult domestic cats who are unfamiliar with strangers may be trying to decipher the nuances in their owners' words. In other words, 'the intimacy of the relationship between cats and humans is based not on cats' natural preference for the friendly and intimate nature of human voices, but on what they have experienced.' There is a possibility that they are building intimacy with humans.'
In future experiments, the researchers plan to investigate whether more socialized cats have learned to respond to strangers' words. The reason is that most of the cats tested in this study were kept in one-room apartments and had no contact with anyone other than their owners. According to the research team, cats living in cat cafes, for example, learn not only their own names but also the names of other cats, so they feel that they are highly in tune with human words. We plan to investigate these cases in more detail.
Although this study is based on experiments with a small number of domestic cats, the research team said, ``Our results show that for cats kept indoors, a one-to-one relationship with the owner is very important. Domestic cats have developed communication with one human being, and this communication is not generalized to all humans. It suggests that sex may be very important.
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