The research seems to show that cats can assign a meaning to a word in minutes. Moreover, they did this without special training or the prospect of being rewarded, which mirrors how infant humans learn languages. – The Times newspaper Oct 24, 2024.
This Japanese study confirms what observant cat caregivers know namely that cats link the sound of words spoken by their caregiver and ‘visuals’ meaning an object in the home often food packaging. This is my interpretation of a Japanese study titled: Rapid formation of picture-word association in cats. The study does not in my view add a great deal to our understanding of the domestic cat as we see these word association all the time at home. However, all studies on cat behaviour care welcome as the better we understand cats the better their welfare.
For instance, personally my cat loves cooked prawns and he knows what a supermarket prawn container looks like and the sound I make that goes with it. I know this because of his very clear body language and vocalisations. I believe that my experience is a practical illustration of the study’s experiment in which cats were presented with computer generated images on a screen accompanied by sounds.
When they changed the image/sound combination the cats looked at the screen longer revealing to the researchers that they were trying to work out why the association had changed which in turn indicated that they had linked one human word/sound with the original image.
These days I tend to ask AI what their research throws up on a topic. Here is my conversation with an AI bot: ChatGPT on this one. 😉😃
Domestic cats can link words with images. Correct?
Yes, domestic cats can associate words with images or specific actions, although their ability to do so is not as advanced as that of dogs or some other animals. Studies have shown that cats can learn to associate human words or sounds with specific outcomes, especially if those words are related to things they care about, such as food, attention, or play.
For example:
- Name recognition: Cats can recognize their own names, distinguishing them from other words, especially when spoken by their owners.
- Word associations: Cats can link certain words, like “food” or “treat,” with actions or objects (such as being fed). Over time, if consistently reinforced, they can learn that specific words are tied to specific outcomes.
- Visual cues: Cats can also associate visual stimuli (like gestures or objects) with words. For example, showing a toy while saying a specific word could help the cat make that connection.
Although cats are not as motivated to respond to verbal commands as dogs, they can still form these associations, showing that they have a certain capacity for linking words with images or actions.
Comment: what AI says is correct. Cats respond to visual cues all the time in many different ways. This research is really about whether cats take commands like dogs and they do. It is a little harder to train cats but it is doable.
