Evrymmnt - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual cat
Just like human babies, cats can pick up basic words by listening to people talk. Cats can also learn to associate images with words even faster than babies, according to a new study. It may not look like it, but our feline friends can actually understand what we’re saying.
A team of animal scientists from Azabu University in Japan has found that common house cats can associate human words with images without the need for training or reward.
In the study, they tested volunteer cats by having them look at images on a computer screen to see if they could make connections between the pictures and spoken words.
In the past, research has revealed a lot about how cats respond to human language. For example, in 2019, researchers in Tokyo proved that cats know when a human is speaking their name.
They respond by moving their heads and ears in a specific way that is different from when they hear other words. Additionally, an experiment in 2022 demonstrated that cats are able to “match” photos of their human family members to their names.
To find out if cats truly have the ability to match words and objects with each other, the research team gave 31 adult pet cats a word test that was originally designed for human babies.
The test involved being shown short animations. The researchers set each kitty in front of a laptop and showed them two animated cartoon images that stayed on screen for nine seconds.
While the image was displayed, the researchers broadcast audio tracks of their caregivers saying a nonsensical word four times.
The made-up word “keraru” was played at the same time a growing and shrinking blue-and-white unicorn appeared on screen. When a growing and shrinking red-faced cartoon sun appeared, the word “parumo” was played.
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