subject says it all…
They certainly recognize familiar people, animals, places, etc. This site on cat vision is a little simple but I couldn’t get the really good ones to work.
A cat’s vision is optimised to things that are close and moving. Cats frequently move their heads around, sort of crane their necks, in trying to see stationary objects better.
I think cats recognize familiar people and other animals by a combination of vision and smell. Although not as good as a dogs, a cat’s sense of smell is pretty acute.
What about voices? I’m guessing that since cats seem to have pretty damn good hearing (hearing a can of tuna being opened in the kitchen from upstairs under the bed), that cats would recognize our voices more than anything.
Cats can definitely recognize things.
Years ago I took a kitten to the vet’s for a shot. More than a year later we went to the same office, and as soon as he saw the table on which he had been given an injection, he realized the jig was up and clung to my chest.
I think they do. My cat Bo likes to sleep next to me as I read in bed. When my SO Jeff appears at the bedroom door, Bo will jump up, squeak (it’s the only time this cat ever makes any noise), and run to the end of the bed to greet him. Jeff usually doesn’t say a word, he likes sneaking up on me.
I honestly don’t know if Bo recognizes him, but I think he does. Bo is usually scared of strangers, if it were anyone else he’d jump off the bed and hide under it.
My cat stayed with my parents when I moved out years ago, but leaps on my shoulder whenever I visit (every other year or so) almost immediately after I show up. I’m the only one she’ll do that with.
Well, one time I came in after a hot day wearing a hate and sunglasses(something I didn’t do before that) and the cat didn’t seem to recognize me. He does now, but I think I threw him off, if only for a few minutes.
I suspect that if my cat was presented with three faces looking in through windows, she would be unable to distinguish between me a two other women of roughly the same height and colors.
On the other hand, when I come walking down the street, she can recognize me by my looks and the way I walk from more than a block away.