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Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

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Re: Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

#151

Post by jeremyjh »

ensan wrote: post #138
cm2012 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have 7 cats now and have had had 15 cats in my life. My whole extended family has always had lots of cats. Two things stick out at me: 1) Cats really do respond to being talked to and interacted with. Cats that are talked to often get more responsive and communicative. 2) There is huge genetic IQ gaps, lol. Some cats are so smart they blow your mind, others are mouth breathers. The normal distribution is real.

"There is huge genetic IQ gaps, lol. Some cats are so smart they blow your mind, others are mouth breathers. The normal distribution is real." I'm very curious about how well someone with a "lot of experience in digital advertising" is positioned to define "genetic IQ gaps", "smart", etc. as it applies to cats & others. Perhaps instead of throwing these terms around like they're candy, you should submit your findings…

This might be the worst post I’ve ever seen on HN.

Re: Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

#152

Post by hunterb123 »

tarentel wrote: post #75
t-3 wrote: post #40

I have two cats, a young male (perhaps not coincidentally, a colony rescue?) and a very elderly female. When I let them outside, if I call them to come in, the younger will find the older and herd her to the door. He then vigorously resists coming inside himself. He's also very vocal, and his tone of voice will change depending on whether he's happy to see me and wanting pets or if I'm ruining his stalking and spying…

My cat has at least 20 meows. I understand about 5 of them. Some of them are easy, like if she wants food or if she wants me to follow her for whatever reasons. Some of them I have no idea what she's going on about but I can tell it's different then her wanting to play or just wants to be pet.

For real. Off the top of my head there's, MeerrrOOOOOwww MerrrOOOOwww, the loudest one, huge inflection in the middle. Generally while strolling through the house, back and forth. I think that's the "I'm bored" one. But he'll also do it if I stay up. If someone is out of bed past curfew he'll do it. I have to close the bedroom door or he'll wake the wife.

If you say summon him he'll probably ignore you but if he's interested he'll whimper errrderrruuderr softly while walking toward you.

Then there's, MOWLLLLL MOWLLLLL, slowly howling, that sometimes means he's sick and gunna throw up. Usually right on both the rug and the carpet.

Then there's, MAHHH MAHHH, just two in quick succession, which literally sounds like mama. That's the I want something one, generally he wants catnip from the outside plant.

Just heard him go MOOOOW MUUUROWLLL MUUUROWLLL howling, but he's just pacing back and forth from the window and now wimpering at me. So I assume he's misses mama (the wife).

The funniest is and most unique is, BRRRRAHDAHDOP, which he yells before tearing full speed through the house or down the hallway for seemingly no reason. I think that's either "Look at me" or he's so excited he can't contain himself and it slips out naturally.

Side note: this was an interesting challenge creating and optimizing these onomatopoeias

Re: Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

#153

Post by dghughes »

herodotus wrote: post #21

I have tried to train my two cats with just these words: 1. "Let's go" - morning meal 2. "Upstairs" - I am going to bed 3. "Dinner" (plus clink bowls together) - evening meal 4. "Lie Down" and their names. Emerald, who prefers being upstairs, definitely responds to "Upstairs": she charges upstairs when I say it. Jade remains enigmatic and skeptical: that seems to be her nature. But if she is in the mood for a tummy r…

Cats are incredibly good at knowing the time if it's the same time they probably already know and are thinking "Whatever food giver make those thumbs dance".

Mine gets treats at 9pm and she knows almost exactly when it's 9pm maybe a 1 minute deviation. This is without an external cues. She sits there waiting for me if I forget.

Re: Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

#154

Post by cookiengineer »

herodotus wrote: post #21

I have tried to train my two cats with just these words: 1. "Let's go" - morning meal 2. "Upstairs" - I am going to bed 3. "Dinner" (plus clink bowls together) - evening meal 4. "Lie Down" and their names. Emerald, who prefers being upstairs, definitely responds to "Upstairs": she charges upstairs when I say it. Jade remains enigmatic and skeptical: that seems to be her nature. But if she is in the mood for a tummy r…

We trained our cat from a very young age, and used it as a routine for getting treats or food.

The cat is able to do the following:

- sit

- spin (rotate in a circle)

- "up up" to stand on their feet, tapping my finger with the paws

- "high five" and "low five"

- "platz" to lay down on all fours

- "come on" to follow around

- "nom nom" to signal whether or not it wants food. You can see the eyes getting big immediately when it's very hungry.

- whistling to come to a specific spot

- double tap on a surface to signal to come to a specific spot

There's a theory that cats that don't scream but make the "urrr"ing sounds don't treat their owners like a kitten but as a mutually respected individual. And most people think that cats try to make the "urrr" sounds to communicate with humans.

These sounds vary in pitch and repetition and length and it's very easy to identify what our cat wants from us:

- when it doesn't like something

- when it wants to play hide and seek

- when it wants to go outside

- when it wants us to help it get to a specific spot (e.g. opening the door or making a fort on the bed so it can hide under the sheets).

- when it wants to cuddle

- when it wants to be hold in the arms so it can see what we're doing (on the kitchen counter, where it isn't allowed to jump on)

- and, of course, when it is hungry, that's the high pitch scream most cats do.

What I also wanted to add is that our cat has different moods of cooperating with the tricks it has to do when getting food. When it's only slightly hungry it tries to get away with cuddling us or "pushing" the head to the hand while purring...whereas when it's really really hungry it immediately does the tricks to get it over with.

I guess that cats are intelligent enough for tricks but they are also easily bored, that's why you have to change tricks to keep their brains busy and healthy.

Re: Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

#155

Post by 4oo4 »

I can definitely attest to this, I have two brother cats, and usually calling one of their names gets the other's attention to, as if to say "oh I see how it is, you invite him and not me".

I'm also really happy this is empirically validated, its's so easy to notice things like this and wonder if you're crazy.

Re: Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

#156

Post by otikik »

neuronic wrote: post #135
cm2012 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have 7 cats now and have had had 15 cats in my life. My whole extended family has always had lots of cats. Two things stick out at me: 1) Cats really do respond to being talked to and interacted with. Cats that are talked to often get more responsive and communicative. 2) There is huge genetic IQ gaps, lol. Some cats are so smart they blow your mind, others are mouth breathers. The normal distribution is real.

Not just IQ, they have full blown personalities that you could probably write Shakespeare dramas about.

Or Brodaway Musicals.

Re: Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

#157

Post by richrichardsson »

treeman79 wrote: post #79
herodotus wrote: post #21

I have tried to train my two cats with just these words: 1. "Let's go" - morning meal 2. "Upstairs" - I am going to bed 3. "Dinner" (plus clink bowls together) - evening meal 4. "Lie Down" and their names. Emerald, who prefers being upstairs, definitely responds to "Upstairs": she charges upstairs when I say it. Jade remains enigmatic and skeptical: that seems to be her nature. But if she is in the mood for a tummy r…

Mine has trained the family that when he is hungry he starts slamming covered doors opening closed repeatedly. Started off that we kept food in there. So of course he would try and get in. This lead to him being fed when was trying to get in. So now it’s a signal. We have been well trained

A bit O/T, but presumably you meant "cupboard" doors. What I'm curious about is was this just a stretch of an autocorrect, or if English is a second language, as I could see that it might be a plausible approximation of cupboard if you'd only ever heard the word. I find this kind of thing fascinating, as when I'm trying to learn another language it's all too easy to hear something and switch it to another word that's close enough phonetically.

Re: Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

#158

Post by widforss »

platz wrote: post #97
zebraflask wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some are smarter than others, but I think, in terms of animal behavior or ecology, cats are basically carnivorous rabbits. That's not to say anyone who has had a trainable cat doesn't like them - mine have their moments - but I think it's worthwhile to consider that.

rabbits are just prey animals and that shows in their behavior and attitude, whereas cats do a lot of predation themselves.

Some rabbits (or rather hares) are pretty hardcore.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Backcountry/comments/ul61y6/snow_ra...

Re: Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives

#159

Post by otikik »

robbedpeter wrote: post #27
lngnmn2 wrote: post #14

No. They just associate repeated sounds, without any semantic whatsoever, just like bird songs. Cats do not have the brain circuitry for semantic networks (based on a language concepts) evolved yet. So called language areas are required. How this crap is even got through a peer review? Rithoric question, I know.

https://youtu.be/uFhBd5mMkU8 This is one of note thousands of videos of cats and dogs using buttons to talk. Cats, and all mammals, have a neocortex. Theirs is not as deeply layered or large as humans, but they most definitely have the ability to reason abstractly, are aware of themselves, think emotionally, and engage in complex, time aware planning over long periods. Your views are wrong. Language areas like Broca'…

I think that video is terribly cute and the cat is adorable, but I also remain unconvinced that a cat can understand, "morning now, before night". That is too abstract. For context, it took my (then) 4 year old human child many months to understand "before" and "after". He would use them indistinctly to mean "not now".
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