Blissful Latest Yr, everyone! Sorry for the delay on this one – Pancake and I were busy celebrating…
Cats have lived with humans for over 10,000 years by various estimates, being present throughout the fashionable world in varied contexts of societies worldwide.1 The scope of which cats thrive in various cultures, starting from beloved pets to demigods, implies that they’re adaptable, and intelligent beings. Due to this fact, it will seem logical that we discover ourselves wondering just how much they comprehend the human world around them. Specifically, can cats understand multiple languages? Allow us to delve into this linguistic labyrinth.
Scientific data directly pertinent or supportive of the topic of feline language comprehension is sparse. Cats themselves are described as having a minimum of 21 varied types of vocalizations, though in point of fact that is suspected to be higher.2 So, you’ll hopefully forgive me once I depend on loads of ailurophilic anecdotal experience, to say that yes, as a vet with over a decade working in feline-exclusive practice, cats can and do understand multiple languages.
For example, a bit just like the Inuits, with the varied words for snow, I believe Pancake has about 21 vocalizations only for various types of “feed me”. They include feline phrases corresponding to: where’s the food, why didn’t you feed me more, can’t you feed me again it’s been five minutes, can’t you feed me again, it’s now been 10 minutes, why did you feed me this, and so forth, and so forth. Each with a distinctively unique meow.
Quite a lot of years back, now, some inventors in Japan got here up with a gadget that supposedly translated what cats were saying. It wasn’t super slick in comparison with modern tech, however it did suggest that cats were attempting to speak with their owners. Nowadays, you’ll be able to carry the translator in the shape of an App called MeowTalk, in order that at any time, you’ll be able to translate what your cat is saying to you. (Once I trialed it on Pancake, it suggested that she was repeatedly saying “I really like you”, so it should be highly accurate… that or the designers were highly smart…) And we’ve all seen the pet buttons and associated videos on YouTube. The truth is, there’s an entire channel dedicated to a cat named Billi who (quite fluently, at times) uses the buttons to speak in English along with her owner. (Billi’s favorite word is mad, in case you were wondering…)
So all this anecdotal work suggests some attempts to speak in a language apart from their very own. But taking it a step further, can cats be multilingual?
While cats is probably not fluent polyglots within the human sense, they definitely reply to multiple languages. Many feline patients I’ve worked with up to now come from multilingual homes, speaking two or more languages. These have included English, Russian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Dutch, and lots of others. Within the exam room, these cats definitely respond to numerous spoken words in these multiple languages. And owners are quick to guarantee me it’s no different at home.
Remember, too, that your cat responds to non-verbal communication. Whether that be clicker training (an incredible group of Circus Cats within the US epitomizes what clicker training can accomplish), or your facial features, cognition is closely tied to numerous non-verbal cues. Slow blinking, too, encouraged cats to approach people, in a single study. So add one other tick to the language box, and rest assured that the feline lexicon is indeed large. Whether you speak English, Mandarin or Spanish, a cat is consistently discerning your mood through the nuances of non-verbal communication.
In brief, it’s fair to say that cats have demonstrated multiple times in my profession (and the 4 times I’ve seen the Circus Cats in Chicago) that they understand multiple layers of language, each verbal and nonverbal. This enables them, partially, to develop the deep bonds they do with people worldwide. So, whether you communicate together with your cat in English, French, or Afrikaans, rest assured they appreciate the communication and what you convey. And, as a fallback, there’s all the time the universal language of food. Dreamies or Chupa Chups, anyone?