Cats have been domesticated and part of human society since at least as far back as the Egyptian empire, over 3,000 years ago.
And now scientists believe they've picked up a few things along the way, like learning to recognise their own names.
A new study published on this week in Scientific Reports from the University of Tokyo suggests that at least some modern housecats can distinguish their names from similar-sounding words. They're not as overt in their displays of understanding as dogs however. Instead, in typical cat fashion, they might show recognition with the merest twitch of the head or ear.
"Cats are just as good as dogs at learning - they're just not as keen to show their owners what they've learnt," says John Bradshaw, a biologist at the University of Bristol specializing in human-animal interactions.
The study made use of a phenomenon called 'habituation-dishabituation'. Atsuko Saito, the lead researcher on the study, and her colleagues visited 11 households with pet cats. There, they asked the owner to read a list of four nouns to their pet. Each of these were the same length and rhythm as the cat's name.
They saw most of the cats showing subtle signs of paying attention at first, by moving their head or ears. But by the fourth word, most had stopped paying attention. Then, the owners uttered a fifth word, the cat's name. When that happened, Saito and her team paid attention to see if the cat had a stronger physical response than the previous word.
They found that 9 out of 11 cats showed a statistically significant heightened response when they heard their names. Of course, that alone doesn't prove the felines recognised their names. It might just be they were more familiar with that word than others used in the test.
In a second experiment, they focused on four households with five or more cats. This time the first four words each of the cats heard were the other felines' names, and the fifth was their own name. Here, just 6 of the 24 cats seemed to let their attention drift, almost as if the other recognised the other cats' names too. Even then, all of these six cats perked up when they heard their own names.
A third experiment focused on 'cat cafes', establishment where people can order food and drink and work, all while surrounded by domesticated cats. here , 3 of the 9 animals showed a heightened response to their own name.
"I think the sum total of results across the studies provides compelling evidence that the cats' names are of special significance to them," says Jennifer Vonk, a cognitive psychologist at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.
However, Bradshaw insists it doesn't necessarily mean the cats can actually understand human language, but it does prove they can discriminate between sound cues. "It's a giant step from there to language, which would have to include grammar and syntax," he says.
Of course, the researchers say you shouldn't be disappointed if it seems like your cat doesn't recognise its own name. Even Saito has mixed results when calling out to her cat, Okara. "I think he has the ability to recognize his name," she says. "But whether he responds to it or not depends on situations and his feelings."
So basically, this study proves once more what everyone already knew. Cats are obnoxious assholes and we love them anyway.