Do you think cats understand human language? Some studies have been done in this regard, but the truth is that it is still not clear. It is likely that more than once you have heard it said that it is impossible for these furry animals to understand us, since after all, there is no feline that understands people.
But surely you and your cat understand each other, right? And the same could be said by all of us who live with someone (or some of them). At the beginning of the relationship, during the first days, even months, that you are at home, it can take a bit to make us understand, but that is something that only happens in the beginning.
Do cats understand us?
The cat has been living with humans for about ten thousand years, but very few centuries ago it happened to live inside our houses. It was then that the human-cat relationship it began to strengthen, when we stopped seeing them as animals that kept the rodent population at bay and we began to see them as companions and friends.
However, to get to where we have currently come, humans have had to study feline language in order to communicate with them. And for this, he has observed how they behave among themselves in the wild. In doing so, it has been concluded that they behave in the same way with us. Do they see us then as big cats?
No, but they do know that we are a little clumsy 🙂. And the thing is that cats do not stumble over each other, but the human has indeed stumbled upon his cat friend more than once. Still, nothing is going to happen if he is the "chosen one": you know, the human with whom he gets along especially well, the one who gives him everything he wants.
So, to the question of whether they understand us, my answer is yes, but only if we spend time learning their language; otherwise it will be very difficult to build and maintain a friendship between you and a cat.
The cat, that great observer
To better understand how the human-cat relationship works, we must look at how the feline behaves when it is with us, its human family. One of the things he does most is observe us, often in a discreet way, but it does not matter if he is apparently asleep or concentrating on eating: if we get up from the chair for example and go to any other room, he is likely to follow us.
These animals, provided they are receiving good care and are being well cared for, the normal thing is that take advantage of your time monitoring what the people who care for you do. And they look at everything: movements, the tone of voice we use, glances, ... Gathering all this information, they get to make associations. Yes, they have the ability to associate a certain word spoken with a certain tone of voice with something else (food, caress, absence of their favorite human, or etc.).
Of course, this is not achieved in one day or two, but it is something that they learn over time. But the more conscious or unconscious repetitions there are, the faster they will learn.
Possible Associations Cats Can Learn
There are many, but below I am going to tell you some that those who live with me have learned:
- Say in a very cheerful tone of voice "tin can" and go quickly to the kitchen to prepare the dishes and open the cans.
- You are lying on the sofa and with your hand, while you watch the cat with slightly narrowed eyes, you invite him to climb onto your lap.
- Always say goodbye to them with, for example, "see you later." You can see that they stay a bit near the door.
- Caress him gently and slowly when he is very relaxed. This is how you show him that you love him.
Do Cats Recognize Kisses?
Humans tend to kiss each other to show others that we love them, as well as out of education. But do cats understand why we kiss them? In a sense yes.
You have to think that when we get ready to kiss, we tend to close our eyes. Having your eyes slightly closed in cat language is a sign of affection and confidence., so by this part they do come to understand that the kiss is another sign of affection.
What is not so clear is if they understand why we put our lips together and stick them to their body, even if only for a second, and why we usually do it a few times 🙂. But what we can take for granted is that, when the cat gets tired of pampering, it lets you know with at least one light bite.
Do cats miss their owners?
Cats have feelings, and they love humans who treat them with respect and affection.. But they have no owners. The term owner refers more to owning something material, a house for example, but I think that it should not be used with cats, because they are family. And nobody owns his mother / father or his brother 😉.
But answering the question, yes, cats can miss their humans. On YouTube there are several videos that demonstrate this (be careful, you may have a few tears):
I hope it has been of interest to you 🙂.
Hello, over time I have learned to know with each type of my cat's meow, what he wants to tell me: Receive me when I get home, get my attention when he is bored, his emotion playing with his personal stuffed animal, when he does not want me to comb more in one area… It's like a baby in the sense that you have to warm your head to find out what's wrong. And when they realize that you react as they expect their meows, then they know that you have understood them and they repeat the same meows every time it is necessary instead of taking other measures or directly, skipping the subject. Throughout my cat's growth, I have tried to make him understand my messages by putting a lot of effort into the tone of my voice to pamper him, congratulate him or attract his attention. And NEVER call him to see how he comes without any reason, it seems to me a bad annoyance for the cat, and a way to break what the cat can understand about you because he is confused, I always urge my call with some caresses, food, a brushing, a kiss on the head ...
I take this opportunity to congratulate you on the blog, the articles you write are very interesting and help clarify doubts to be able to take care of and better understand our minima, I follow you from Tumblr.
All the best
Hello Sergio.
Yes, you can learn a lot about cats by simply observing. Well, with that and with making a clear case to them.
Thank you for your words, we are glad you like the blog 🙂
A greeting.
Hello !!
I speak cat 🙂 and not only with those of my house, also with those on the street and other people's pets.
Cats must be taught who is the big cat in the house. Mine listen like a dog, they know how I scold them (that doesn't mean they don't challenge me XD). Cats are undoubtedly the best in the world.
Yes, they are very special 🙂
I think that many times they just need to speak… .to express themselves…. At least mine… .I have noticed his eyes when he wants something… ..and how fine he has a sense of smell… ..He is so curious…
Hello Joana Isabel.
Totally agree. They are amazing animals 🙂
I love cats but they give me allergies
Hi Adam.
In the blog there are several articles on how to help allergy sufferers to live with cats, such as this.
A greeting.
I have cats since I have known myself and how people have their character their genius talents and
There are cuddly, the curious, the lambetas, the sleepers, those who don't care about anything, the vigilantes like a soldier, I had a cat named Ramon who was crazy with the guitar. He was able to listen to classical guitar compositions. until he fell asleep, I did not take care of myself,
and he would leave the guitar on the table, Ramon would go there and with his gloved hand he would start to sound the strings, then with both hands and then an allegro fortissimo would come and it was hands nails and teeth Or would he break a string or Ramon with guitar and everything fell from the table. Ramon died years ago. Another similar cat came a couple of years ago, but this new Ramon doesn't like guitar or anything, but he spends hours with me in the workshop! something that no other cat has done and knows his name and responds when I call him. Clarita a very feminine cat she says Mama and jrrrrrruannnn (Juan My name. And black kitten when he wants something from my lady he calls her mammmmmma amorrrrrr.
Say the word "take" to my cat and she understands it perfectly. I think they understand some words, but cats, if they are not interested in what you say, they will.
Sometimes by association they do learn several words. But wow, it is also true that they are smarter than we might think at first 🙂