Hey Pet Parents & Pet Lovers,
If you’re anything like me you may frequently question whether your little one understands when you speak to them. I’ve personally trained Beau to come whenever we call him, just because he’s a bit of a naughty kitty… If ever hear that he’s getting into some trouble, I call him immediately and he comes running into whatever room I’m in. This actually proves to be a great tool, especially is Beau is eating something he shouldn’t be eating or playing with something he shouldn’t be playing with.
Over the years I’ve heard so many things like Cats can understand you, they just ignore you or cats only understand speech patterns but not words, or cats can’t understand you but understand the way you say things. So which is it? Or is it none of these?
There have been several different studies done on cats versus dogs and I’ll let you know what the most interesting ones have boiled down to:
John Bradshaw spoke to National Geographic about cats in relation to dogs and I found the interview quite interesting a major point stating that dogs know that humans are not dogs, but cats treat us like we are cats. This is seen by analysing when dogs see humans, their behaviour changes, while cats act the same when humans are around and when there are no humans. John also covers the fact that you can actually train cats… and they can train themselves to do naughty things. He states that naughty behaviour can be scolded with “traps” or a spray gun (as long as they don’t see you holding them), although we’ve gotten Beau to respond to verbal cues instead.
Can Cats Understand Language?
Research says that cats can understand from 25-35 words.
Do Cats Understand Emotion?
Yes, they do! Actually, I wrote a cheesy article about how Beau was the perfect cat for me which mentioned how my little bugger always knows when something is up with me. Actually right before we went to England, he wouldn’t let us say bye to him and kept running and hiding as if we were abandoning him. Our cat sitter had the same issue with him when she had to take a day off. Even when she was back Beau acted weird for a while before he warmed up with her again, cosying up to her for safety.
Does my cat know its name, or who I am?
Good question. There have been many studies to see whether or not cats actually know who their owners are (or if they even know their names) and they have been proven true. Although cats, unlike dogs, don’t come walking towards their human when called, they do react to their owner’s voice and tend to ignore strangers.
Do cats speak to their humans?
They do! What I found the most interesting is that feral cats actually have different vocalizations from domestic cats (which is understandable.) We noticed Beau has a very different meow than Walker and my sister said Avery’s voice has changed over the years she’s had him.
So how many vocalizations do cats have?
Kittens have about 9 while adult cats have about 16.
So pet parents, do you have any experiences of your little ones responding to you or understanding what you say? Let us know in the comments below! I want to hear your stories.
My cat, Ozzy, has his own bed outside my room. Every night, at around 9.30, i’ll stand by my door and will tell him, mommy wants to sleep now, go to your bed. And everytime be will say one meow, then will trot out of the room.
That’s ADOOORABLE!
I have had kitties that came running like a train to me when I called them…and those that ignored their name for the most part. Pipo will lead his ‘dad’ around the house, chattering away at him…and I think he hopes that hubby will stop to give him a belly rub. He rarely does that with me…though I am the one who feeds him and gives out the nip and the treats.
Minko knew when I was near the nip storage spot and would come running to the call for nip. His miaow was more of a sing-song, and Pipo is ore of a chirp to us and a loud yowl when he plays with his toys. He knows ‘no’ cause I have to deter him from eating/biting the plastic shrink wrap on things.
Of my earlier kitties, they knew several ‘commands’ to do tricks.
Oh my gosh :’) These are all too great. Pipo sounds like Walker. He’s such a talker and whenever you say his name he will walk beside you chatting away
Now I’m curious to know how you trained Beau to come to you when you called his name!
Maybe I’ll write a little piece about that in the near future ! 😀
hello johnny its dennis the vizsla dog hay the hipster kitties charlee and chaplin akchooally do come wen kalld!!! and charlee also plays fetch with a bal!!! i am pritty shoor they ar tiny littel dogs in disgize!!! ok bye
Hahaha I feel like beau is the saame way! :’)
Oh yes, we can understand our humans. We just cho0se when we want to do it or not. Purrs
Hahaha! How often is that though 😉
Definitely !! They’re Ángels with tail and capacity to understand, I get stress when I can’t found them, I call them and they run faster to me. When my family travels , the cats are included ( they hate to travel), they hidded. I call them and there is no way they show up! So they clearly understand us and also the situation.
How far do you usually travel with them? I’m always so nervous to travel with my little ones.
We all know our names, as all the cats before us knew theirs. Some of us actually come when called! We also understand “eat” and “get off the table” and “get out of the sink” and “no,” although we choose to ignore the latter!
Hahaha! Sounds about right 😉
I believe completely that cats understand. We call Cody “Swedish Cody” because when we ask him a question he responds by saying “YAAAAAA” and he sounds Swedish lol. He also “talks” to my husband like crazy. He understands everything we tell him and he also comes when called and we didn’t train him to do that.
I am sure cats understand. and al our cats know their names- they have selective hearing though 🙂
Absolutely. Walker has such a selective hearing… he knows he’s being “a naughty” but will still keep up what he’s doing.
Yeah, we can understand the humans…but most of the time we choose not to. 😉
HAHAHA! It’s true, it’s true!
I believe cats can understand us. My Queen Daisy Mae can understand what we are saying even if try to spell words out that we don’t want her to understand. Some people say pets/animals are dumb, I disagree. I believe animals are smart.We should respect cats and other animals more than what we do.already.
I agree. I think Beau knows a lot more than we think he knows. He definitely acts like he knows what’s up!
Us humans vastly underestimate the intellectual abilities and emotional aspects of cats. I was sure cats couldn’t understand our language until a few years ago. Bear snarfs down his wet food treat – often barfing afterward. There was one day where I left for a few hours and I told him that if there was food left when I got back, I’d give him treats. Sure enough, he didn’t touch his wet food while I was gone. I made the promise without thinking – but it made me truly paranoid about just how much they comprehend. I couldn’t bring myself to NOT give him treats … you know, just in case.
Hahaha, you can’t let him revolt against you 😉 Gotta give him the treats!