It is commonly understood that dogs and other animals recognize when their owners talk to them but do cats? A study conducted by Charlotte de Mouzon and colleagues from Université Paris Nanterre (Nanterre, France) found that cats do recognize when their owners are talking to them. The research showed that the cats did not react to other adults who spoke to them. The study showed that a one-to-one relationship with their owners is important for the cat to develop a strong bond with their owners.

Sue’s Note: For a long time, people did not feel that cats developed a bond with their owners, that cats were independent. However, studies of feral cat colonies show that cats have a very close-knit social relationship with members of their colony. This bond is often transferred to their human family. Just like other animals, cats have different personalities and can be independent or very attached to their people.

Journal Reference:

1. Charlotte de Mouzon, Marine Gonthier, Gérard Leboucher. Discrimination of cat-directed speech from human-directed speech in a population of indoor companion cats (Felis catus). Animal Cognition, 2022; DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01674-w

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Springer. “Cats distinguish between speech directed at them and humans, study finds.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 October 2022. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221025090458.htm>.