Do Cats Know Their Names?

As a pet owner, do you often wonder what could happen if our cats could speak? How lovely and perfect would it be to wake up and hear your cat purr you good morning? At the same time, how fascinating would it be if our cats could introduce themselves to others, just like Sailor Moon’s cats! 

However, as far as the curious nature of human beings goes, we also often wonder if our cats have magical powers or if they know their own names. In the most unromantic and practical sense of understanding, nothing can be said about their magical powers yet, but science does have little bits of information regarding our feline friends knowing their names.

Do Cats Recognize Their Names?

A study conducted by personnel belonging to the University of Tokyo said that it all makes purr-fect sense when they realize that our feline friends, despite knowing that their owners are calling their names, often choose to ignore their human friends.

They made strangers call out their names to see how their cats would react and noticed that they were displaying signs of listening, such as by way of twitching ears, meowing, and head and tail movements.

Thus, it is evident that our feline friends do understand that we are calling out their names. However, they simply respond to familiar voices and scents rather than strangers.

Why Doesn’t My Cat Respond To Me When I Call Its Name?

As the smartest species on Planet Earth, we can converse, but our feline friends do not. Oftentimes, we misinterpret our cats’ behavior and think that it may be avoiding us, while in actuality, it may be trying to communicate a grave issue to us that causes them discomfort.

Sometimes, our feline friends do not even realize that their caretakers have been seeking their attention!

In such instances, it is important to understand the cues if your cat knows its name; and if not, there are certain tricks that you may adopt to teach your cat its name. It is also interesting to observe that cats often respond more affirmatively to their names being called if they end with an -i.e., or -y. 

However, if you have been familiar with your cat for quite some time now and it continues to show unusual signs of ignorance and aloof behavior, it is important to consider other factors, as has been elaborated below.

How Do I Teach My Cat its Name?

Do not use your cat’s name too much in the initial times

In the initial periods, when you are attempting to teach your cat its name, try not to use its name too much. Although using its name often is recommended to help a cat develop a sense of familiarity with the sound, it should be avoided initially to prevent cats from mistaking the sound as a mere tune in the background.

If this ends up happening, your cat might not even recognize that that sound is its name, leading to your cat not responding when its name is called.

Establish a favorable association with your cat’s name

Try your best to associate calling your cat’s name with a favorable association, such as rewarding your cat with encouraging pats or even their favorite treats and snacks. You can do this by training your cat to respond to you when you call its name and reward it when the results are affirmative.

This way, when you call its name, it will respond positively, perhaps swish its tail and look towards you, eagerly waiting for a treat. Remember to try this experiment without using treats or other rewards as well to ensure proper training. 

Incorporate your cat’s name in other daily, usual activities

Incorporate your cat’s name in other daily, usual activities to help your cat establish a sense of familiarity with the name, the way it is pronounced, and the subsequent actions of its caretaker. This way, your cat will develop an intelligent understanding and pick cues when its name is called.

Never associate your cat’s name with a punishment

As a pet owner who is loving of their furry and feline friends, one should always avoid punishing their pets unless it is indefinitely required.

In the instant case, when your cat does not respond affirmatively to the training associated with teaching it its name, try not to punish your cat or ignore it.

Learning and growing take time, especially with cats, considering they are far more recently domesticated in their species as compared to dogs.

In case your cat’s name is associated with punishment, it may not respond in the future and could even develop anxiety or fear when its name is called.

Use a clicker to teach your cat its name

Make use of a clicker to teach your cat its name effectively and efficiently whilst playing games and train your cat with positive reinforcement. This way, your cat will develop an intelligent understanding and pick cues when its name is called.

Additionally, in this manner, when you call its name, it will respond positively, perhaps swish its tail and look towards you, eagerly waiting for the fascinating games and tricks to come back. 

A Quick Guide To Teaching Your Cat its Name:

1. Do not use your cat’s name too much in the initial times to avoid your cat mistaking the sound to be a mere tune in the background
2. Establish a favorable association with your cat’s name by training your cat to approach you once you say its name, and accordingly provide it with treats and rewards
3. Incorporate your cat’s name in other daily, usual activities to help establish a sense of familiarity
4. Never associate your cat’s name with punishment, in which case our feline friends may not even respond
5. Use a clicker to teach your cat its name effectively and efficiently whilst playing games and training your cat with positive reinforcements

How To Tell If My Cat Knows Its Name?

There are various methods to discern if your cat recognizes its name. The known theories of psychology today state that body language forms a part of the most important non-verbal communication that helps another individual to determine what that individual is feeling on a subconscious or a conscious level.

Thus, to determine if your cat recognizes its name being called, we must look for certain body language cues along with other forms of non-verbal communication. For this purpose, the same has been elaborated in the figure depicted below.

Body Language of Cats Recognizing its Name Being Called

1. Our feline friends may become alert when they recognize their name being called. They communicate this with various signs of non-verbal and verbal body language cues.
2. The most genuine response that any cat is guaranteed to provide is to move their body, head, or ears toward the direction from where their name is supposedly being called.
3. When acknowledging their name being called, cats also often swish their tails rather than move their bodies or heads.

Will My Cat Respond To Me If I Change Its Name?

If your cat does not respond affirmatively when you call its name, there is a high possibility that it is not yet familiar with its name.

However, in case you are attempting to change your cat’s name and call it by a different name than before, our feline friends have enough intelligence and ability to pick up cues and adapt to their new name.

For this purpose, a pet owner is recommended to conduct training all over again to teach their cat their new name.

Does My Cat Know My Name?

According to research published by Saho Takagi from the Department of Psychology, Kyoto University, it has been proven by science that our feline friends do understand when the names of other cats are being called. Moreover, it is even more astonishing of a fact to confirm that our feline friends additionally also recognize their caretakers’ names as well. 

This research was confirmed by the personnel associated with Kyoto University when they studied the feline behavior of wild cats and house cats, who usually tend to live with other domestic cats in the same household. 

Dogs vs. Cats, Domestication, and Their Names

According to a study confirmed by Burgess Pet Care, it has been proven by researchers that when it comes to dogs, they have been trained to listen to human commands far longer than cats have been, until they, too, were domesticated.

Thus, dogs are considered to be at an advantage in comparison to cats when it comes to recognizing their names, commands, and orders from their caretakers.

When it comes to cats, it is noteworthy to mention that they are considered to be responsible for their domestication, which happened quite intentionally on the part of cats while they were on the lookout for food and followed mice and rats into agricultural settlements almost 20,000 years ago. Since then, there has been no coming back.

However, it is of imperative importance to note that cats are still evolving and learning each day! As cat owners, we must be patient with this strangely fascinating species and let its warmth and love engulf us at its own pace.

What Other Noises and Sounds Do Our Feline Friends Recognize?

Although cats may not be able to understand what we are saying half of the time, majorly because they domesticated themselves at least 20,000 years after dogs, our feline friends have an innate sense of understanding and intelligence. 

This is because they often learn to associate certain sounds with certain meanings, through which they can act and respond appropriately. The same differs from cat to cat, especially in case we are referring to a house cat.

Conclusion

Human beings might be the most ‘intelligent’ species on Planet Earth, but our feline friends are considered to be the most attentive, on the other hand. Through this attentiveness, it is fascinating to animal science how cats learn to associate themselves with the names they are provided by their caretakers and more.

A little bit of sass, a little bit of whush, and a name is, after all, all a feline friend needs to be feline fine. 

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