Do Cats Know Who Their Owner Is?
Do Cats Know Who Their Owner Is?
Cats have a deep emotional connection with their owners. They recognize their voice, smell their scent and know that they’re loved and safe.
In fact, a recent study showed that cats are able to distinguish their owner’s voice from that of a stranger. The felines twitched their ears when they heard their owner’s voice and ignored recordings of strangers calling them names.
They’re tuned into our voices
Cats listen to our voices through their whiskers, which vibrate like a tuning fork. They’re also able to detect changes in air currents and can sense when something is near them, which helps cats navigate their environment.
When cats hear their owner’s voice in a tone directed toward them, they may react by changing their behavior. This behavior often shows up in ear movements, pupil dilation and tail movement.
Researchers from the University of Paris Nanterre tested 16 cats with recordings of cat-directed speech and regular adult-directed speech. When the animals heard CDS, they exhibited decreased ear movements, pupil dilation and tail movements compared with ADS, the study found.
They’ll smell your scent
Cats are equipped with a strong sense of smell, which helps them navigate the wild. They can detect scents up to 4 miles away.
This ability is important for cats’ survival, and it also helps them recognize their owners. If you’re new to a home, your cat will likely sniff you regularly in order to get comfortable and familiar with your smell.
They may spray you with urine, or mark their territory with litter boxes and other objects that have your scent on them. They use this to tell other cats which things, areas, and people in the house are theirs.
They will also open their mouths slightly to inspect a scent they’re smelling, a technique called gaping. This opens their vomeronasal organ, which connects to the nose and helps them interpret odors that the olfactory nerves in the nose cannot detect. These odor receptors are found in the roof of their mouths behind the incisor teeth.
They’ll remember you for years
As a cat owner, you probably know that cats have good memories. They can recall details of places, people, and other animals they’ve seen before.
As long as you provide food, love, and shelter for your cat, they’ll remember you forever. In fact, some cats have been known to re-unite with their owners after years of separation!
In fact, a cat’s short-term memory can last for up to 16 hours. This memory is called associate memory, and it’s how they come to remember you.
They can also recall details of things they’ve done, such as chasing birds or hunting a fish. These memories are important to their survival.
They’ll know when you’re coming
A new study shows that domestic cats can create mental maps that help them to identify where their owner is. This is a very useful ability, especially for cats who are naturally solitary.
They can do this by tracking sounds, even when their owners aren’t in the same room. In fact, the researchers tested this by playing recordings of human voices calling a cat’s name in different rooms, and seeing if the felines would track the location of their owners by listening for certain sounds.
This is the same technique that people use when they are trying to learn something new. You can use this to teach your cat that you want them to come when you call. Just remember to always reward them for coming when you call, and don’t punish them if they don’t. This will make them more likely to keep practicing the skill. It’s also a good idea to repeat the training session regularly.
