Scientists have learned that cats remember each other's nicknames, but are indifferent to their owners
Every year it becomes more and more obvious that cats are much smarter than they seem. For some reason, these animals hide their abilities from us, preferring to stay in the shadow of dogs. Recently, Japanese scientists have made another startling discovery. It turned out that cats know each other's nicknames well and what the owner's name is. But, it's a shame, the name of the main person in their life is almost an empty sound for them.
Zoologists from Japan's Azabu University decided to find out if cats listen to people's conversations. It wasn't easy at all, but they managed. To do this, animals were taken from houses where several cats are kept and from "cat cafes". Several animals caught on the street were also brought to work. Animals of different breeds and ages took part in the experiment.
The seals were seated one by one near computer screens and showed photos of their brethren living nearby. At the same time, a human voice pronounced the names of animals. But there was a little trick in all this. Sometimes the names were deliberately confused, calling cats by other names.
When this happened, the animals showed bewilderment. They stared at the screen longer than usual and were a little worried. It was obvious that the wrong names confused them. When the nickname was called correctly, the cats showed only interest in what was happening on the screen. It didn't work with street animals that didn't collide with the names of their fellows. Zoologist Sakho Takagi described this phenomenon as follows:
Scientists have suggested that the secret lies in the food. A cat living in a large company of its own kind should know when it is called to the bowl. This indirectly confirms the fact that the animals from the cafe reacted more sluggishly to the confusion with names. There are always a lot of people in these establishments and names don't play such a big role. In addition, feeding occurs en masse, without using nicknames.
It also turned out that cats know the names of people living next to them. But only the owners' appeals to each other do not promise treats, so the reaction to the photo and the name is very sluggish. Although zoologists have managed to find out that the more people live in a house with a cat, the better she knows their names. That's because they often turn to each other.
So if you thought cats didn't listen to what people were saying, then you were mistaken. They still listen and understand a lot. It's just a little insulting that their attitude towards us is consumer and even our names mean almost nothing to them. The world of cats still holds a lot of interesting things. For example, do you know why these animals are terrified of cucumbers?