Cats Recognize Their Owner's Voice But Choose to Ignore It
Cats, according to new research, recognize their owner's voice. They just can't be bothered to react to it.
Researchers in Japan arrived at this conclusion after performing experiments with twenty house cats. They played recordings of the cats' owners' calling to their pets in whatever cat-talk voice they typically used. They also played recordings of three strangers calling to the cats, using the same words.
To quantify the cats' reactions, the researchers recorded how often cats moved their head, tail, paws or ears, or whether they meowed or dilated their pupils. While the cats showed a significantly greater response to their owners calling their names than to strangers doing so, they did not bother to get up in either instance, the researchers found.
As the Independent explains, the authors think cats' dismissive attitudes are a product of their evolutionary history over the past 9,000 years:
As early societies developed agriculture, these cats moved in to prey on the rodents that were attracted to stores of grain. In the words of the paper’s authors, they effectively “domesticated themselves”.
“Historically speaking, cats, unlike dogs, have not been domesticated to obey humans’ orders. Rather, they seem to take the initiative in human–cat interaction.” This is in contrast to the history of dogs and humans, where the former has been bred over thousands of years to respond to orders and commands. Cats, it seems, never needed to learn.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cats-recognize-their-owners-voice-but-choose-to-ignore-it-180948087/#ylBZZzQs50PT4HoI.99
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Right now my new kitten - teenager responds to her name (Lovie). Little Angel was around 17 years and still responded to her name so I guess it depends . . . .
My littlest tiger will come 90% of the time. My Maine Coon wannabe more than half. They are both incredibly affectionate. As am I with them.
Often they meet me at the door. Sometimes they just raise their head to acknowledge my presence.
If I move to another room, they pretty much move there, too, just to keep an eye on me.
(If they don’t, I check to see where they are 😜
They can, however, always hear me open the fridge door from ANYWHERE in the house.
I come to their “calls” just about as often as they come to mine! I’m an easy mark. I admit it.
They are as honest as any living beings on the planet.
Moody just like their human adorer. No excuses either way. Amazingly refreshing after a day full of “people”.
One thing is certain though.
We love each other to pieces.
I adore the feline spirit.
when we were down to 3 kittens from litter #2, we kept them in their own room at night to avoid mischief.
We had hopes of getting homes for them, so we had not named them yet..they were about 6 weeks or so..
Every night, my husband would say 1baby2baby3baby, and they would come running down the hallway and into their room.. and they did it in the same order. Marvin was always first in, then Chinny and always bringing up the rear was SweetiePie..
They are now approaching 17 and they do respond to their names , but every so often I'll say 1baby2baby3baby, and their ears still perk up..
Hark! Is that the can opener?
not sure how many actually have official homes. One of them decided to move in with me this past December (he is a sweet boy, although his middle name has quickly become no 
). I am not sure how old he is but he does like to go out when the weather is not bad (although if it is still cold he won't stay out long). If I go out and call his name and he can hear me he will pop his head up as soon as I call for him. He will come running to me, even if he is a couple of houses away.
Side note, my next door neighbors recently sold their house to a young guy who just happens to have the same first name as the name I gave the cat. A few days after he moved in I went over to welcome him to the neighborhood, introduce myself, and explain the cat's name so he will know that when I call for the cat I am not calling for him.
My dog now has a new next door neighbor dog, a young golden, who is the sweetest thing ever. I have yet to hear her bark while my cranky older Chihuahua has not always been as welcoming.
