Cats can tell when you're speaking to them in your 'cat voice'

"Here kitty, kitty!" Ever feel like your cat can tell when you're talking to them?

A new study by a team of researchers from Paris Nanterre University, in France, has shown that cats can tell when their owners are talking to them, and they prefer it when they use their 'cat voice'.

The research was led by Charlotte de Mouzon and her team, who have been studying human-cat relationships for years.

She set up an experiment to see if cats responded to their owners and strangers differently, and if the tone of voice made a difference.

How did the experiment work?

Charlotte and her colleagues set up an experiment with 16 cats and played voice recordings to them.

For one part of the experiment they played a recording of the cat's owners calling their name and saying words in a high-pitched 'baby-like' voice, as they would normally talk to their cats.

As well as this, they also played a recording of their owners saying the same words, but as if they were talking to a human.

They then asked 16 strangers to record the same words and played them to the cats to see how they'd react.

The researchers studied the cat's responses to the sound, looking out for changes in their behaviour such as moving their ears or tails, suddenly stopping what they were doing, or their pupils getting bigger - which would show that something had caught their attention.

What did the results show?

From looking at the results, the researchers could see that the cats didn't really show any kind of response when the stranger called their name.

But, 10 out of the 16 cats reacted when their owner called their name.

The cats also showed more signs of interest when they heard their owner speaking in the 'baby-like' voice they usually used to speak to their cat.

However, when a stranger used this tone, the cats did not respond.

Likewise, when their owner spoke as if they were chatting to another human, the cats also didn't respond.

"For a long time it has been thought that cats are very independent creatures, only interested in [humans for] eating and shelter" said Charlotte "but the fact that they react specifically to their owner, and not just anybody addressing them, supports the idea that they are attached".

"It brings further evidence to encourage humans to consider cats as sensitive and communicative individuals."

"We know that they react to this kind of speech and it's a good way for cats to know that we're addressing them,"

"So, we should feel confident about speaking to our cats with this kind of 'baby talk'." she said.

What do you think? Do you talk to your pet in a special voice? Let us know in the comments below!