GabyA team of animal psychologists from Azabu University in Japan has discovered that in certain aspects, cats demonstrate better cognitive abilities than infants. However, this revelation is hardly surprising to cat owners. These animals may seem aloof and indifferent to our actions, but in reality, they are closely observing us, attentively listening to our conversations, and even understanding our language.
Meanwhile, new research has unveiled yet another talent of our furry friends: ordinary house cats can quickly associate human words with images—without any prompts or rewards. The psychologists involved in the study recruited 31 adult domestic cats. Each cat was asked to participate in a verbal test designed for 14-month-old human toddlers. All the cats watched two short animated films on a laptop screen, each accompanied by specific words. The furry participants viewed each film eight times, with a brief pause between showings, as reported by the Daily Mail.
During the subsequent viewing, the researchers had the option to replace a familiar word with a new one. 
” alt=”Cats watching animated films”> According to the scientists, when an “incorrect” word was played during one of the sessions, the cats appeared noticeably puzzled, spending about one-third more time in front of the screen. This behavior suggests that the animals had learned to associate words with the images they saw.
Previous studies have shown that infants behave similarly, but they require more time to establish the connection between words and images—typically needing to watch a film between 16 to 20 times. Lead author of the new study, Saho Takagi, noted, “Cats pay attention to what we say in our daily lives and try to understand us more than we realize.” The findings of this research were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
