New discovery: Cats have the ability to 'eavesdrop' like humans

New studies show that cats can do a lot more than we know about them.

In recent years, scientists have shown that cats do indeed have deep attachments to humans. This creature can and will communicate with humans. They even track our movements without you even knowing it.

Scientists have found the first evidence that domestic cats have a link with human speech.

In a new study, scientists have found that in addition to knowing their own names, cats can recognize the names of other cats they're used to, or even know the names of other cats. may live in the same household.

This shows that contrary to the aloof nature of cats, they have actually been stealthily listening to people talking and calling the names of other animals in the house all the time.

"What we found is amazing," said Saho Takagim, a researcher at Azabu University in Japan. "Cats, they look like they're not interested in your conversation, but in reality they are."

In the tests, researchers showed cats pictures of a familiar cat in the same household or coffee shop (known as a "model cat"). In parallel with the image being displayed, a recording of the owner's voice is played, and the name of the "model cat" is called out loud or another name is spoken.

The team found that cats tended to stare at a computer screen for longer when owners misspelled their names. This is probably because they find it confusing or intrigued by the mismatch between the image and the name of the "model cat".

"When they heard the cat's name, the subjects expected the corresponding face," explains Takagim. "Frequency and frequency of exposure to stimuli may make the association between the cat's name and face more likely."

The team says this is the first evidence that domestic cats are linked with human speech and their so-called "social references" through everyday experience.

However, this is still a fairly small study, done on a small set of more than 10 cats. So, the team admits that we still don't know much about the specific mechanisms behind social learning in cats.