jmcquown wrote:
On 4/7/2019 12:19 AM, Tigger wrote:
With short video. My cats are/were pretty good at coming when called by
their
name, even allowing for cat-itudes (pretend not to hear, then get up,
for example

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019...s-how-find-out .

Give this a shot at home: Say four random words to your cat—separated by
about 15 seconds—with the same length and intonation as its name. Then
say its actual name. If it swivels its ears or perks up its head,
chances are it knows what you call it.

Thanks for the post, Tigger!

I actually conducted this experiment this evening (without reading the
article).Â* I got the gist of what the study showed.

So, I went into to the bathroom.Â* I was talking out loud while in there,
nothing Buffy would recognize as repetative phrases.Â* Buffy followed me
in, as she sometimes does.Â* Nothing happening of interest in there so she
walked out.Â* When she got outside the doorway I said her name.Â* Her ears
swiveled back, she stopped.Â* She sat down, turned and looked at me. Â*"You
rang?"Â* (I couldn't help but laugh, thinking about this post.)

So wel played for a while in the living room.Â* Same thing with stopping
and starting and I'm just talking out loud.Â* It doesn't have a thing to do
with our play.Â* When she rested, her ears facing forward, she's not
looking at me... I said some nonsense.Â* Then said her name.Â* Ear swivels!
She turned and look at me.Â* "You want something?"

My current cat will turn his ears, but doesn't always come closer
(cat-itudes). My previous cats would come from outside when called
(current one, well, cat-tudes again).