Relevant (and extremely accurate) comic:
Did you watch that Netflix video? It showed someone training a cat to literally jump through hoops.
My cats all know their names and they know each others’ names.
They respond to the sound of the treat jar much more reliably than their names, though.
I mentioned in my post that I had trained one of my cats to go to wherever I snapped. I am not saying that cats cannot be trained.
This is what I was referring to:
I was going to say, my cats all thought their names sounded like a can opener in action.
I usually say “want a snack” as I’m pulling the snack bottle out of the cabinet. I just said “want a snack” without getting the bottle. The cat walked over and jumped up on a chair where he can jump up to the normal snack eating spot. He looked at me like “show me the goods or I’m not jumping up there”
Mine come when called, when they get around to it, which is sometimes immediately – but they all come whoever I’m calling, and so have my dogs: if I go out there and call “kittykittykittyYellowCat” any or all of them, canine and feline, are likely to show up.
However, this is most likely because whoever shows up is almost certainly going to get patted and is fairly likely to get fed. I don’t think it shows that they don’t know their names. But I’m not sure how to find out whether they know their names; I’d have to treat differently a cat who showed up when I called that cat from a cat who showed up when I called a different cat, and I don’t really feel like doing that.
Occasionally a cat who appears to be stuck in a tree actually is stuck in a tree. Usually they aren’t. My technique for telling which is which: First, remove any dogs hanging around near the base of the tree from the area. Second, open a can of tuna. Place the opened can at the bottom of the tree. If the cat’s still up there, go away for a while.
If you come back in an hour and the tuna’s still in the can and the cat’s still in the tree meowing for help: maybe that cat really is stuck.
Excellent.
With both cats in the room, if I call out “Mizzy!” she gives me the “What the hell do you want” scowl, and if call out “Gladys!” she gives me her “I didn’t do anything!” wide-eyed look. If I want both of them to respond I call out “Ladies!”, and they both stop what they are doing and look at me.
I use very distinctive sing-song patterns, different for each cat, to address my three felines. I call Zoey with “Zoh-oh-ee” which I sing to the melodic shape of the military song “Over there!” I call the other two cats with similarly distinctive noises.
They clearly all know their names, as they’ll sometimes respond, if they happen to feel like it.
I would guess cats learn quicker than dogs do.
I have a squirt bottle I use to keep my cats in check. I’ve used it exactly ONE time five years ago. Ever since then, all I have to do is pick up the bottle. And as soon as they hear the water swishing around, they are out of there before I can get off a shot.
It’s not as gratifying, but it still gets the job done.
actually, I’ve renamed a friends cat accidentally … when it was a scroungy found in an alley kitten I started joking saying “awww cute little fleabag” every time i saw it …but I did it so much that to call it you’d say “hey fleabag” and she’d come running
Yes, cats typically know their names, whether they acknowledge it or not.
I’ve always had cats in my life. I currently have 6, and I study their behavior quite a bit. One thing I can say confidently is that cats are more intelligent than most people give them credit for. They are also more devious and self-centered, but they are so in an endearing manner—they are too smart to bite the hand that feeds them. Cats are masters of getting exactly what they want, and they quickly learn how to get what they want, when they want it.
Perhaps more controversial, I firmly believe cats have a sense of humor, which is also a sign of high intelligence. I have witnessed my cats, many times, do something funny, then look at me for my reaction. They don’t have the facial musculature to smile, but if they did, they’d be smiling a lot. Cats are the George Carlin of the animal world.
True, domestic cats are not pack-animals, but cooperation is definitely in their close evolutionary lineage. Both lions and cheetahs cooperate in hunts. When advantageous to do so, domestic cats can do the same. I’ve witnessed my cats cooperate with each other many times to achieve goals. They are independent most of the time unless it’s more advantageous to cooperate. They are switch-hitters.
Domestic cats are not really domesticated, they are semi-domesticated, at best. IMHO, this gives them a clear advantage over other domesticated animals, including dogs. Cats would have no problem being re-wilded. Dogs and other domestic animals would perish in the wild. House cats would survive. They don’t need us, they simply prefer to live with us because we give them what they want, including affection. I respect that.
I’ve posited previously if humans go singularly extinct, house cats will inherit the world. I believe that, and if it comes to fruition, more power to them—they deserve it.
Getting back to “do cats know their name”—yes, they do.
Typically, it goes like this with my 6 cats: When I whisper the name of one of my 6 cats, the cat whose name I whisper will twitch his ears (in poker, this is called a “tell”). But, he/she will not look at me right away. That would be a sign of submission. Instead, he/she will wait a minute or so before glaring at me with disdain—a clear sign of dominance.
Cats are marvels of evolution. Mess with them at your own risk.
Add my data point: my last cat, Tybalt, reliably came to me when I called his name.
Only me, though. He ignored anyone else who called.
My vet once said, after watching me interact with him, “Yep, that is definitely a one-person cat.”
I was recentlhy listening to a “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” anthology edition about cats, and there was a clip with a caller who was a cat trainer who said she had taught her cats to come when called and roll over and give high fives and other tricks. Peter Sagal said, “You are lying!” Very funny episode
This, plus the rest of your post, is excellent. I’ve owned up to seven cats at one time, and you have described them well.
All my cats knew their names. Whether they chose to respond or not, was up to them. But they can demonstrate problem-solving skills, such as when my Denny learned how to pull up the bathtub plug (which was a favourite toy of his) with a claw. That was amazing, watching him figure out, then solve the problem.
But they all knew their names. As T.S. Eliot once noted,
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn’t just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
I only ever used the one. The other two were locked in my cats’ heads, never to be known by me. Cats are mysterious, and the fact that they are content to share their lives with us, though they don’t have to, indicates that they are very special creatures. That’s fine by me. I like cats.
To be fair, this isn’t much of a trick. Our guinea pigs respond to a crinkling treat bag like nobody’s business and they’re dumb as posts.
As Sir Terry said in one of his books;
If cats looked like frogs we’d realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That’s what people remember.
I like cats, too.
My only cat that regularly acknowledges his name being called is Benny, a lithe, beautiful Korat. When I call his name, he doesn’t look at me (he just carries on about his business), but replies with a grunt that sounds like, “yep”, that’s me.
Benny!
Yep.
Benny, Benny!
Yep, yep.
Most of my cats vie for gaining the highest ground to keep an eye on the other cats, act as house security, and no doubt exert their hierarchical superiority. Most of them can only get as high as the top of the refrigerator, but Benny (the most acrobatic) gets all the way up to a wall recess adjacent to the ceiling. He’s top cat in more ways than one.
Ollie, a young, small, tailless tabby is the bully of the group. He spends most of his waking days stalking and pouncing on the others. Being bigger, the other cats typically overpower Ollie to the point of sometimes hurting him. Ollie just yelps, breaks away, then immediately stalks and pounces again, over and over. It’s as though he thinks, no pain, no gain.
Ollie is also the most inquisitive, and this often gets him into trouble. Many times I’ve been woken by his cries for help. One time I found him swimming in the toilet bowl. Another time he was inside the foot-activated trash can. Yet another time, I found him hanging by one claw from the pull cord of a floor lamp, swinging almost 5 feet from the ground. Ollie’s his name, trouble’s his game.
Pee Pee, a large, fluffy cat, and the sole female is the grumpiest toward the other cats, but by far the most affectionate to the humans. She follows me everywhere and constantly meows with the longest, most obnoxious meow I’ve ever heard (monotone and over 5 seconds duration). She demands attention 24/7 and responds immediately to her name being called, even from a deep sleep. But, the other cats have learned the hard way not to mess with Pee Pee.
Last week Meatball, a large muscular cat, jumped up on my bed, not realizing Pee Pee was there. He landed on one of Pee Pee’s paws and immediately froze in sheer terror. Both cats locked eyes on each other. The only sound was a low growl from Pee Pee. Neither moved a muscle for at least 30 seconds until Pee Pee broke the standoff with a barrage of hard fippity paps (Mike Tyson-style) to Meatball’s head. He ran off in shame.
Never a dull moment in a house full of cats. 