Contrary to popular belief, cats are loyal pets. They may not be as energetic and loud as dogs are, but their love for their owner remains unmatched. Just like any other animal, cats can (and do!) grow attached to their owners. They can recognize it when you’re happy, sad, and angry. Safe to say, they can sense your feelings, especially once they get attached to you.
However, the questions remain: can cats truly understand their human? Do cats understand human behavior at all? In this blog, we will discuss how cats can understand humans – or if they do. Let’s start with the basics!
Do Cats Know the Difference Between Humans and Cats?
Before we move on to exploring whether cats can understand human behavior, let’s have a look at the cat’s perception. If you’re a cat owner, you must have thought about this question at least once. Does your cat think you are another being, or does your cat think you are just an enormous cat? Do cats know the difference between humans and cats?
The answer is a little complicated.
It’s sad to say that felines are under-studied as compared to dogs. There might be layers to the cognition process of cats that we need to understand fully. For example, cats often look up at us and try to copy us because they think we are more intelligent than them. From the current research, cats think of us as the same species.
They just think that human beings are slightly bigger cats. Researchers say that cats perceive human beings as bigger versions of themselves. They do not know that human beings are a different species. That being said, cats have different reactions to humans and cats.
However, researchers believe that cats have the little cognitive capacity to analyze, and that cats and humans are worlds apart regarding biological characteristics and species (well, cats should read more about biology.) So, if you ever wonder, can a cat tell the difference between humans and other cats? The answer is probably no.
Do Cats Understand Human Commands?
One of the critical elements of petting an animal is taming it.
People tame animals by teaching them different ways of living. We teach these ways to them by using human commands. Dogs entirely understand all kinds of orders that are given to them. On the other hand, cats are slightly different.
They might comprehend half of the entire communication or, in some cases, none! It truly depends on how you tame and trains the cat.
Suppose the cat is not habitual in listening to or understanding human commands. In that case, the cat will likely need help understanding most of the commands. In contrast, if you keep taming the cat from the first day, you will train the cat to understand commands properly.
Understanding commands for the cats take training. So, you should train the cat from birth to make it easier for the cat to understand human commands.
Do Cats Understand Human Behavior?
It is a tricky question to answer yet again. The answer is not black and white.
Cats understand human behavior and actions directed towards cats but only partially. Cats observe a lot. They spend a lot of time with humans. Hence, they get a lot of time to observe how we behave.
In one research, researchers found that cats respond differently to people depending on the person’s mood. Most researchers believe that cats understand basic human behaviors. For example, cats understand when human beings are angry, excited, or sad.
Further studies have also found that cats have the capability of finding out whether a human is concerned or not. They may follow the body language of human beings for problem-solving in certain situations. As time passes by, researchers are giving more time to cat cognition than before.
We will have to wait a little more to conclude whether cats understand complex human behaviors. It is hard to tell right now whether the cat can comprehend when we are playing a video game or reading a book etc. (or maybe they want to play the video game with you).
Can Cats Understand Human Language?
This is an interesting question! There are multiple elements surrounding this question. Living with cats sometimes feels like a mystery. You need clarification on whether they can understand the words you are saying or not. Of course, it is hard to predict whether they know you.
According to most of the research, we regret to say that cats lack the cognitive skills to interpret human language. But cats may recognize and understand your human language when you talk to them. Cats can simply understand human language and how we perceive meowing.
To explain it a bit more, when we listen to cats communicating, we only understand them saying meow to each other. We cannot know what they are saying to each other through their words.
However, sometimes there are situations where we can understand what the cats are saying without understanding their communication method.
For example, if two cats fight each other and a third cat comes there and communicates with them, they might stop. In such a situation, the cat is probably telling both cats not to fight. Here, we didn’t understand the language of cats, but through analyzing the context, situation, and behavior shift of cats, we understood the meaning behind their communication.
Can Cats Understand Humans Talking?
Well, it depends on the context. When cats see that humans are talking, they do likely realize that these humans are talking to each other. Humans are social animals that cannot live without talking and communicating. In terms of socializing, cats are not as social as dogs. So, for that reason, cats put less effort into the whole communication process than dogs.
Cats do understand when humans are talking and when they are silent. That said, they don’t know what the conversation is about. Cats understand human communication to a shallow extent. They cannot understand the meaning behind the discussions of human beings. Can cats be trained to understand human languages? Well, that is complicated.
Many animals have the capability of understanding humans talking. Some even can speak the languages or at least replicate them after practice. In circuses, multiple animals of different natures are taught to understand the communication of humans to train them. Who knows, if we train cats, they may also understand our human communication methods.
Cats may pivot their ears and tilt their heads whenever you talk to them. So, we can conclude that there’s a high probability that they at least attempt to understand what we are talking about. We have got to give cats a few points for at least trying to understand humans!
Conclusion
We cannot say much for sure due to the lack of research, but there’s some good news. The topic is getting more spotlight as time passes by. We hope to know more about the cognition of cats as research increases.
Cats are delicate creatures with loveable personalities. It goes without saying that the relationship between humankind and cats is historically iconic. They have been companions for over 9,500 years. Humans have tried understanding cats for centuries!
Therefore, we have been curious about what it is like on the other end. We have to break the sad news to you that cats do not understand humans in most contexts. Yes, they understand our basic actions and behaviors but cannot understand our daily communication methods, languages, and other activities.
You might feel bad about it, but it is alright. Despite being unable to understand us, cats understand our emotions and love us unconditionally!