We’re all guilty of talking to our pets in a baby voice—so much so that cats might even be able to recognize it.
As Daily Paws reports, French researchers conducted three series of tests using 16 cats. They found that cats are not only more responsive to their owner’s voice than a stranger’s, but they also might be able to tell when their human is speaking directly to them. Why? Because of their ability to distinguish between their owner’s cat-directed “baby voice” and their voice when speaking to other humans.
“It’s further evidence showing that there is attachment between cats and humans. And I think that’s important to keep in mind, because for decades, we have been thinking that cats are very independent creatures, that they just want food and shelter, and that they don’t care about humans,” Charlotte De Mouzon, lead author of the study, told Gizmodo.
Prior to conducting the tests, experimenters recorded the owners saying sentences they would typically say to their cat using two different tones. The owners first asked “Do you want a treat?” and “Do you want to play?” using “cat directed speech” (CDS)—aka baby talk. They also said “See you later” and “How are you?” in CDS.
They then repeated those phrases in the way they would normally speak to another adult.
The owners were also recorded saying their cat’s name. Sixteen women—not the cat owners—also spoke the cats’ names into a microphone. These sound recordings were later used in the tests.
The three tests all took place at the cat’s home with both the owner and a researcher present, but the owners did not interact with their cats during the experiment. Testing was done at the cat’s home to prevent stress-induced behaviors that would conflict with the study due to being in a new environment.
To measure the magnitude of the cat’s responses, experimenters used video recordings and special software to track the duration of the cat’s behavioral reactions before and after playing the recordings. These findings were then given a “behavioral score.” The higher the score, the larger reaction the cat had to the specific voice recording.
Based on their findings, researchers concluded that cats can usually distinguish when their owner (and only their owner) is talking to them. However, all the cats in the study were indoor cats. That could have influenced why the cats didn’t react to the unknown voices, as they aren’t typically exposed to unfamiliar people.
Have you pulled out your best baby voice and you still can’t get your cat’s attention? Try these Daily Paws tips for “bonding with your cat.”
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Photo Credit: New Africa / Shutterstock.com