A recent study published in Scientific Reports has revealed that cats may be far more attentive to human speech than we often assume. The research shows that cats can form rapid associations between spoken words and visual images, a cognitive skill crucial in language development. This discovery opens doors to understanding feline cognition and suggests that cats actively process information from their human companions.
The study, led by comparative cognitive scientist Saho Takagi and her team, aimed to investigate whether domestic cats could form word-object associations – a skill widely studied in infants and other animals like dogs. The research explored how quickly cats could link spoken words with visual stimuli and whether this ability might be linked to their domestication or long-standing relationship with humans.
How the study was conducted?
The study tested 31 cats, consisting of 20 males and 11 females. The sample included both household cats and those living in cat cafés, which are environments where visitors can interact with cats. The average age of the household cats was 5.22 years, while the café cats had a slightly younger mean age of 3.45 years.
The researchers used animated images, such as a growing and shrinking Sun or a Pegasus, paired with spoken nonsense words, “parumo” and “keraru,” spoken by the cats’ caregivers. These words had no specific meaning to ensure the cats weren’t responding to familiar verbal cues. The cats were shown these word-image pairings repeatedly until they seemed to lose interest.
After this habituation phase, the researchers then switched the word-image pairings in half of the trials to see if the cats would notice the change. If the cats had learned the word-object association, they would spend more time looking at the screen when the pairings were incorrect. Check out the video of the cats in action by clicking here.
What did they find out?
The results showed that cats spent an average of 33% more time looking at the screen when the words didn’t match the images, indicating that they had learned the correct associations. What’s more, the cats could form these associations quickly – after just two nine-second trials, whereas human infants often require more repetitions to learn similar word-object pairings.
An interesting aspect of the study was that it didn’t rely on food rewards or other explicit training methods, which is how many animal learning studies are conducted. Instead, the cats appeared to learn simply by listening to their caregivers’ voices, suggesting that much like infants, they can pick up on language cues in their everyday environment.
However, the researchers found that the cats performed better when the words were spoken by humans. In a follow-up experiment using electronic sounds instead of human speech, the cats did not show the same level of association, suggesting that they may be more attuned to human voices.
The diversity of the cats tested in this study added an exciting dimension. Cats from two different living environments – households and cat cafés – were studied. Although the café cats are more exposed to new people on a daily basis, no significant behavioural differences were observed between the two groups in their ability to form word-object associations. This suggests that whether a cat is raised in a more socially dynamic environment or a stable home does not affect this cognitive skill. It’s worth noting that no particular breed of cat was identified as having a superior ability in this task. This highlights that these cognitive skills are likely common across all our domestic feline friends, regardless of breed or background.
So what does this study mean for us?
For cat owners and guardians, this study offers new insight into cat behaviour. It suggests that kitty might just be eavesdropping more than we realise! Sure, they might not fetch your slippers like a good dog, but don’t let that fool you – cats are probably decoding our chatter and connecting our words to all the fun stuff (objects and actions) around them!
This opens up exciting possibilities for improving human-cat communication. Being mindful of how we speak to our cats and using consistent words for objects or actions could help them form these associations over time. In turn, this can reduce the potential for confusion and frustration. Although cats aren’t typically expected to follow verbal or visual cues like sit, down, come, stay, leave, etc., that we may teach dogs, the research suggests that cats may still understand much of what is being said.
Opportunities for future research
While this study’s findings are fascinating, there are some limitations to consider. The study focused only on short-term word-object associations, leaving unanswered whether cats can retain these associations over the long term. In comparison, dogs in similar studies have shown the ability to remember word-object pairings for several months, a dimension not yet explored in this research on cats.
Additionally, while the study suggests that cats can form rapid associations, it remains unclear whether this ability is a result of domestication or is an inherent cognitive skill found across all cats, domestic and wild alike. The researchers point out that more studies, especially with cats that have had less contact with humans, could help clarify whether these abilities are tied to domestication or represent a broader trait of feline intelligence. So watch this space for more.
Meanwhile, I’m off to play Pictionary with my cats! 🙂
References
- Takagi, S., Koyasu, H., Nagasawa, M., & Kikusui, T. (2024). Cats rapidly form picture-word associations without explicit training. Scientific Reports, 14, 23091. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-74006-2
- Werker, J. F., Cohen, L. B., Casasola, M., & Stager, C. L. (1998). Acquisition of word-object associations by 14-month-old infants. Developmental Psychology, 34(6), 1289–1309.
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