Researchers at Azabu University in Japan found that, in some tasks, cats outperform human infants. But that revelation is hardly surprising to cat owners. Cats may seem aloof and indifferent to our actions, yet they closely observe us, listen to our conversations, and even understand our language.
New research reveals another talent: ordinary house cats can quickly learn to associate human words with images—without any prompts or rewards. The psychologists recruited 31 adult domestic cats for the study. Each cat took part in a verbal test that was designed for 14-month-old human toddlers. All the cats watched two short animated films on a laptop screen, each film accompanied by a specific word. The cats viewed each film eight times, with a brief pause between showings, as reported by the Daily Mail.
During the subsequent viewing, the researchers had the option to replace a familiar word with a new one.
When researchers played an “incorrect” word during a session, the cats looked puzzled and spent about one-third more time looking at the screen. That behavior suggests the animals had learned to associate the words with the images they saw.
Previous studies show that infants behave similarly, but infants need more exposure to form the connection between words and images—typically watching a film 16 to 20 times. Lead author Saho Takagi said, “Cats pay attention to what we say in our daily lives and try to understand us more than we realize.” The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
