How to talk to your cat to make sure they know you’re talking to them

Does your voice change when you talk to your cat, as if you were baby talking to a sweet baby? Even if you don't do it consciously, it's a very good technique. Pets can sense a particular tone of voice.

At the sight of a pet, owners tend to start using baby talk. And research has found that cats recognise this tone of voice after a while and learn that if you speak to them in a similar way as you would with babies, the message is for them. So, it’s the perfect way to get your cat’s attention! The research below also shows whether it works with strangers.

The type of the voice is a sign for the cat

In a three-part study, French researchers looked at how cats reacted when they were approached by a human. They found that not only are cats more sensitive to their owners’ voices, but they also seem to be able to distinguish when they are being spoken to directly by their owner. This is because cat owners tend to communicate in a different voice with their pets than with other people.

According to Charlotte De Mouzon, the research leader, the study is significant because it provides further evidence that the close relationship cats have with humans.

There is a bond between cats and humans, and this evidence should be taken into account. For decades, the idea has been that cats are very independent creatures who only want food and shelter and are otherwise uninterested in humans.

Here’s how the study went

The study involved 16 cats and their owners. The studies were conducted in the animals’ homes to avoid the stress of an unfamiliar environment that could have skewed the results. Before starting, the researchers used the pet’s name they also recorded phrases that owners often say to their cats – including questions such as “Would you like a treat?” or “Would you like to play?”. The sentences were recorded in three versions: in the owner’s normal voice, in the owner’s baby voice and by strangers.

Although the study took place in the kittens’ homes, the owners did not interact with their pets. Only the recorded sounds were played back to the animals while they were monitored on camera. To recognise and scale the cat’s reactions, the researchers used video recordings and special software to track the duration and behaviour of the animal’s reactions before and after the recordings were played. These results were then evaluated as behavioural scores. The higher the score, the more the cat responded to the particular recording.

The three stages of research

First, researchers assessed how cats reacted when a stranger called them by name. Five recordings were played for them, of which only the fourth was the owner’s. Ten out of sixteen cats responded to the owner’s voice, the rest led to no interest in any of the other cases. In the second test, the cats heard the same sentence from the owner five times. Four of the recordings were identical, but in one the owner babbled. Most of the animals responded immediately to the altered voice, indicating that they could detect the difference and recognise that the baby voice was talking to them.

In the last test, only strangers’ voices were used. They said the same sentence five times, but in one recording they spoke in  baby talk. This time, eleven cats showed no significant behavioural response to the stranger’s voice. Based on the results, the researchers concluded that cats can usually tell when their owner (only their owner) is talking to them. It is important to note, however, that all the kittens involved were indoor pets. This may have influenced the fact that the animals did not respond to unfamiliar sounds at all, as they do not encounter strangers in their everyday lives.