All the internet is recently aflutter over the question of whether or not cats

[conuly]

(or your own cat, specifically) recognize the names the humans give to them. Many people have opined on the topic of animals that know their names, but don't come when called.

Rarely is the question asked: Do you recognize the name your cat has given to you? And if you recognize it, but sometimes ignore it, should you feel bad?

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Comments

[sholio]

That seems like a weird question to me, but then, my cat always answers and comes when called ... to the sound that we seem to have arrived at mutual agreement upon for that purpose, a meow of a particular pitch I can make that means, "Hey, cat, I want you over here now." (He also comes to "cat" if it's said with a certain intonation.) If he doesn't want to come, he usually answers from wherever he is, and then goes ahead with whatever he's doing.

It never really occurred to me to wonder if he thinks of it as a name in the sense that we do. I doubt it. I don't see any reason why he would recognize the words we use for him in the same semantic way we do. But he clearly understands the communicative aspects of having a word for "come". In some sense what we speak is, I suppose, a cat-human pidgin.

[conuly]

There's a certain branch of science reporting which is apparently devoted to finding ways to declare cats "jerks" or "assholes" or "sociopaths".

[buttonsbeadslace]

I have a similar arrangement with one of my cats! There's a particular meow she does when she wants to get humans' attention (usually it seems to mean "I have a toy and I want you to play with me") and if you mimic that meow, she'll come running to see what you're doing.

[notasupervillain]

I think that my cats speak in full sentences. There's no word for my name on its own. But there is a word for "Hoomin feed me" and "Hoomin pet me" and "Hoomin I'm too short pick me up so I can attack the sunbeam". There's no separate word for me or my husband, we're both "Hoomin verb me". I think there is a separate word for the other cat.

I usually respond - almost always but I often pretend to be too stupid to understand what the verb is. Especially when the verb is feed.

[conuly]

But they were only fed 20 minutes ago! Can't you see they're wasting away?

[marahmarie]

Yeah, mine has a word for treats (which he yells repeatedly, which I tell him is "verbal abuse" and mostly just ignore), a word for "my plate is empty" (if he yells a bit less "abusively" I know it's time to refill his plate), a word for greeting me (this is where he breaks out what sounds like the word "mama", described in a reply below), and a word for when any human coughs or sneezes (he yells every time anyone coughs or sneezes (even strangers), which can get kinda crazy since the other person here has sneezing fits) but that one's got a chirp in it, and if it's for me, I immediately get a "concern cat" cuddle, afterwards.

There are other specific vocalizations, besides (his brother has one for "I have to use my box", "I used my box, I feel so good I must run all over the house now", "Let me into this closet", "Hi, Daddy" and more; Bowie has a chirp for this day's initial chase of his favorite toy and both have their own unique chirp-cries for that last second just before a treat of chicken or wet food hits the floor).

[baronessekat]

I recognize the specific call that is for me from three of my four cats. The fourth barely vocalizes a purr let alone a call that I can identify as mine.

It took me a bit to recognize the kitten's call for me as I was unsure if it was for me specifically or if it was "pet me".

I try to acknowledge the call with either a reply with their name or a "hi sweetie" or "what?" depending on the tone of the call.

But then, I am the crazy cat lady of my peer group

[conuly]

Responding to cats when they talk to you is how you get them to love you.

[jhetley]

Not our cat, but K.C.'s name for me is "Scratch my chin."

[conuly]

:D

[thornsilver]

Well, I know that Cat can tell tone. He also can tell when I am calling him or when I am offering to feed him, but I am not sure if he actually tells words from each other.

[conuly]

I'm not sure I'd expect him to either, tbh.

[hamimi_fk]

My cat recognizes his name and comes to me when called. Originally he answered to a noise I make with my mouth/tongue but I use it with his name so now he responses to either but there's something so satisfying about seeing him respond to his name.

And my cat has oddly learned how to say Val which is my nickname. He enjoys screaming it shrilly at me at 4 or 5am or at closed bedroom doors when I'm on the otherside usually asleep.

[conuly]

Asleep at 4am? Lazy!

[cactuswatcher]

My cat perks up his ears when I call him, but rarely bothers to move unless it's his feeding time. Not a big help when I'm trying to find him.

His vocalizations are almost all for me. So just about everything he says amounts to "Hey, you!"

[conuly]

At least he knows you care.

[moon_custafer]

My spouse Andrew is convinced that one of our previous cats would attempt to say my name, but that he believed from hearing Andrew use it that it meant “bring me that thing.”

[conuly]

Well, isn't that what names mean?

[redsixwing]

My cat is /very/ vocal. She has distinct calls for "Human, feed me," "I want to go out,*" and oddly enough, "go to bed." I don't thiiink she uses different calls for me and Star, or for the Other Human, but she has distinctly different relationships with all of us? So it's possible I just need to pay better attention.

That said, it's completely accurate to say that I don't respond to her calls every time, either.

*she has a harness and leash for outside purposes

[conuly]

That said, it's completely accurate to say that I don't respond to her calls every time, either.

You monster.

[gatheringrivers]

I've had cats that have had different cries for different wants/needs, and currently we have one cat who pretty much has variations on "SCREAAAAAAAM!" with the difference pretty much being in volume alone.

I *know* cats recognize the sound we associate with their name - whether they come on hearing it depends on them, and their relationship to their people, honestly.

[conuly]

Nice lioness icon.

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

It is hard to say. My cats are VERY talkative and whenever I pet them.. I try to say their names to help them associate me touching them with their names but they also if in another room dont cone when I call those names so idk. Really if they want me they will meow at me and if I want them I will go in to see them... the comm boundaries have never been a big deal

[conuly]

Ah, the trick is to say their names when you feed them.

[movingfinger]

My cat name is MOOOOOOMMMM

MOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!

NOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW?

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!

[conuly]

Obvs.

[mama_kestrel]

I have a trilling call I use that means "all cats assemble here, now" that all of them recognize and obey. I taught it to them when my then 8 year old son was panicking over the thought that we might have to evacuate for a flood and wouldn't be able to find them and get them into their carriers in a hurry. (Credible fear; we lived near a marsh in a flood plain.) Each responded to a different reward: Sophia to praise, Tornado to treats, and Cloud (since deceased) to affection. I've also taught my mom's cats, since she and they moved in with us - Silky comes for petting, and Rockhead (so named because he is that stupid) for treats. Each of them also responds to his or her name, in varying degrees according to personality. (Sophia always comes, Tornado if she has nothing better to do, Silky comes unless she's doing something she's not supposed to be doing, and Rockhead...is Rockheaded.)

Their names for me? Sophia's name for me is a specific trill pattern, on a rising inflection, as if asking a question. And it isn't "hooman" generally - she has a different one for my son, with much more of a "Hey, listen up!" tone. She also, when we lived where she could go outside, learned to say "Meowt!" with a very clear hard stop at the end - it really did sound like "me out!" Since we moved to our current house, where she can't go out, I haven't heard her use that particular vocalization. Then again, I can explain something to Sophia in English and she both pays attention and demonstrates understanding. For example: "Sophia, you need to stay away from the door. I don't want you to get stepped on" when the refrigerator was being delivered. She'd been sitting by the screen door, and stood up, strolled away, and jumped on the couch. Tornado is much less easy-going; her name for me is a very loud, peremptory "MEOW!" Cloud used to have a two-syllable meow with the pitch variation of "mom-my" - high pitch, low pitch, and a specific "Mom! I need you NOW" meow I can't properly describe for emergencies, which could be anything from "I've treed myself on top of the crock pot" to "I caught this mouse - now what do I do with it?" Hunting, for Cloud, was a team sport, with me as the other team member. Silky's name for me is a very quiet humming sound; she's a very polite lady. If I don't respond to it promptly, she'll tap my leg gently with one paw, no claws. That is always a request for interaction, either to be picked up and petted or to sit down and make a lap, which she will jump into as soon as it's ready. Her other conversation is equally quiet, but she's as likely to get my attention and shift into Cat, communicating by rippling the fur over her shoulders or looking and pointing her ears in the direction of interest. I know I'm only understanding about 10% of the message, but hey - I'm only human!

[conuly]

They sound wonderful.

[kitcatwoman]

The article about the bees is freaking me out. That's something out of a nightmare.

On the subject of cats, have you watched Love, Death and Robots on Netflix? If not, watch the episode Three Robots. It's pretty funny.

[conuly]

No, I'll definitely consider watching it when I have time.

[archangelbeth]

Dickens, part Siamese, taught Ivan how to talk, and they would talk to each other. (Ivan would also scruff Dickens, in a May-December neutered romance...) Sadly, Ivan was lost to cancer, and now Dickens... just yells, when he's lonely. Humans sometimes work as attention, but often not... quite.

It's really kind of sad. O:(

If he has a mouse and it's still alive, he will often come when I call for Mighty Hunters, because I trade live mice for gooshy food. (And eject the mouse.) He once sped into where I was and nearly dropped the rodent on my foot!

Friskie has yells for what she wants, which is mostly food or petting, and the pitch for how much she thinks we're not getting the message.

From Friskie (Dickens' mom) and Dickens, even though they dislike/hate Flicker and she views them as targets (Dickens less-so now; he fights back and truce seems to be lasting longer)... Anyway, Flicker learned how to talk. So now she goes "Urrrrr? Murrrrr? Oooowwrh!" for food and often for petting, and if I pick her up, she whines, "Nuuuuuur!" and wants down.

She also taps people with a paw if they're not petting her and she wants pettings.

[conuly]

She also taps people with a paw if they're not petting her and she wants pettings.

She's trying to show you what to do. Callie does that too.

[pebblerocker]

Every few months Geoffrey changes the sound he uses when he wants something. I reckon it's because we become desensitised to excessive nagging for 3pm dinners, but we always react to novel and fascinating songs. Since he's learnt that adorableness and bizarreness get the best reactions, his voice has been getting higher and higher and he tries packing more vowels in.

[conuly]

Clever!

[spikethemuffin]

My cat's NAME is Epaulette, since before I had sexed her, owing to an unusual growth of white fur (she is a void cat/ mini-panther/ other twee name for black cat) over a scar on her shoulder. However, she RESPONDS to "Phteven," to the point where even my cat-loathing XSIL has to admit that it's patently obvious that she considers that her name.

She is an intensely "verbal" cat, though. She recognizes pointing at things as calling attention to the object pointed to, not my finger, and she has a sign that means, "Water dish needs attention," and nothing else. It's a little scary.

[spikethemuffin]

But to answer your actual question, she doesn't seem to have a name for me, per se, but my daughter's cat calls me "Merp."

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

All my cats have clearly shown that they knew when I was talking to them. I made no enquiry as to whether they recognized the names I had given them per se, as opposed to recognizing the vocal tones and other non-verbal signals with which I habitually addressed them.

I definitely recognize the name my cat has given to me, as he is a demanding, co-dependent beastie who cries and complains until I do his bidding. I ignore him as long as I can, but there is a limit. "Perseverance is a super-power".

[conuly]

By ignoring him, maybe you're training him to be more stubborn.

[shadowkat]

This was covered on the news - and the commentator made me laugh when he said: "Apparently cats know their names and if they don't come when you call them? They are just ignoring you." I burst out laughing. Yep, that's a cat.

[marahmarie]

I do recognize the name Bowie calls me: it's maow-OW, with a high, hard emphasis on the last "ow" - he almost sings it - his version, according to both of us here who hear him, of "mama". Used solely and only ever by him in greeting me, personally (we have at least 2-3 excited greetings a day - as though we haven't seen each other in years, even if I've never left the house). He cracks me up.