Do cats understand what their names are?

Research in Scientific Reports shows that cats can recognize their names, even if named by strangers. Tokyo's Sophia University studied 78 household cats across Japan, asking cat owners and outsiders to call their names and videotaping their answers.

Interestingly, the cats responded identically to both known and unknown humans calling their names. This showed that their response isn't just to their human's voice, but to their name.

Cats habituated to the serial presentation of four different general nouns or four names of cohabiting cats showed a significant rebound in response to the subsequent presentation of their own names

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These cats discriminated their own names from general nouns even when unfamiliar persons uttered

Cats may learn more than names. Because of their associations with the sound of words like "food" and "vet", they typically react positively to ones and negatively to others.

Though lovely, cats may be aloof. They normally reply to their name, but sometimes they ignore you and flick or tap their tail. Don't worry—they're kind and affectionate, but even the best animals need time alone!

Most importantly, if your cat stops responding to its name, take it to the clinic for hearing testing. If your cat becomes deaf, you'll want to know about remedies.

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