Your cat knows when you’re talking to it
The one-to-one bond is real: cats learn the special voice you reserve for them.
Takeaway
Cats can tell when their owner is using ‘cat-directed’ baby talk versus speaking to an adult – but not with a stranger.
What the study did
- Many people talk to cats in a higher, sing-song voice, like baby talk.
- French researchers played 16 cats recorded sentences in cat-directed or adult-directed speech.
- When the owner spoke, cats reacted differently to cat-directed speech than to adult-directed speech.
- With a stranger’s voice, cats didn’t distinguish between the two styles.
Limitations
Only 16 indoor cats in France; this summary is drawn from the abstract.
Citation
de Mouzon C, Gonthier M, Leboucher G (2023). Discrimination of cat-directed speech from human-directed speech in a population of indoor companion cats (Felis catus). Animal Cognition. DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01674-w
For general information only; it does not replace advice from your vet.
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