Here’s how to check if your cat knows the name you gave it

Will your cat recognize the name you give it? Unlike dogs that will run back as soon as you call their name, cats don’t usually do that. Sometimes you call and they just flick their tail, glance at you like a strange creature making a sound, and then turn away coldly.

So are these cats acting arrogant, or are they really stupid enough to not know their names? This article will show you a simple way to check that.

Check if your cat knows its name or not

According to a scientific study in the journal Scientific Reports, you can do this to check if your cat knows the name it is given.

Step 1: List 4 random words that have the same length and intonation as your cat’s name. For example, if your cat’s name is Misa, some words you can choose are Shisha, Villa, Delta, Pisen, Lilac.

Step 2: Choose a time when the cat is lying in a quiet space, taking turns saying the 4 random words you just listed, each word spaced about 15 seconds apart. Observe the cat’s reaction.

Step 3: Finally, name your cat. (Note that you need to say 4 random words and the cat’s name is in the same loudness and intonation. This is important to see if the cat recognizes it from the rest of the words.) Finally observe the cat’s reaction and compare it to previous misnames.

Usually, the first random word you utter will cause a cat to react strongly, scientists say. Thereafter, the response deteriorated when the cat heard subsequent random words in the same intonation, as they grew tired of the stimulus.

When the fifth word, which is also the cat’s real name, is emitted, if it recognizes it as its own, the cat will react strongly. It can wag its tail, tuck its ears, raise its head and face you. Some cats even meow in response to the name you call them.

Cats can also distinguish its name from other cats

Experiments by scientists also show that domestic cats can distinguish their names from other cats. Only the cats in a cat cafe — a business model in which a store can house dozens of cats for customers to come hang out with — have trouble distinguishing their names.

To explain this difference, scientists hypothesize that cats can distinguish words spoken by humans. As a result, they recognize the proper name by which their owners call them. A cat’s name is a prominent stimulus they associate with rewards, such as being fed, petted, or played.

However, in a cat cafe setting, these stimuli can be mixed. For example, many cafes provide customers with a menu with cat names in it. When a customer calls cat A, but cat B comes and snuggles with them first.

Usually the guest still caresses and plays with cat B. At this point, cat B may mistake its name for A.

“Cats are very sensitive to differences in human voice characteristics”, the scientists said. “Some owners even insist that their cats can recognize their own names and even words related to food.”

Also, calling your cat’s name can be helpful in some situations, such as when you go to the vet clinic, you can whisper the cat’s name in your ear to reassure and ease anxiety.

All these experiments show that cats are not really stupid enough to not know what you name them. In fact, these creatures are no less intelligent than dogs. Cats can also be trained to understand words like “sit”, “jump” or the hand symbols you use with them.

So if you call out your cat’s name and it doesn’t respond, it’s likely that the cat is tired of you, the same way it gets bored of random sounds.

Refer Science