Exotic Cats Can Distinguish Human Voices, More Responsive to People Familiar to Them [Study]

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Heikki Siltala or catza.net)
Exotic Cats Can Distinguish Human Voices, More Responsive to People Familiar to Them [Study]

Just like dogs, cats have become domesticated. Some claimed that, unlike canines, felines are bossy. However, exotic cats reportedly have remarkable abilities.

Exotic Cats Can Distinguish Voice

A new study led by Professor Jennifer Vonk from Oakland University in Michigan learned that non-domesticated cats can determine humans that are already familiar to them based on their voices.

Vonk conducted research on 24 cats from 10 different species, including cheetahs, tigers, and lions, with the help of doctoral student Taylor Crews and a crew. They played recordings of various human voices for the cats, who had been cared for by humans.

The cats reacted "more quickly and with greater intensity" to familiar voices, according to the researchers. When the voice sounded, these responses included turning their heads and moving both ears.

Additionally, it seems that when a voice they recognized was played, they responded more quickly than when a voice they were unfamiliar with.

Vonk admitted that they were shocked by the results. However, she clarified that they were already aware that cats respond to voices. What caught them by surprise was that mother-reared cats were more responsive than those reared by humans.

These results imply that independent of their upbringing background, cats are better at differentiating distinct voices when they have intimate human interaction.

Additionally, the study disproves the notion that less sociable species are incapable of possessing these kinds of sociocognitive skills. The ability of animals to recognize voices has been studied in the past, but the entire feline family has received relatively little attention up to this point.

"[These findings] show that the recognition of individual human vocal cues does not depend upon domestication or a history of living in social groups," Vonk said. "At a practical level, they show that cats may not be distracted by the public speaking their names as they did not respond more to their names."

Gaining more knowledge about these cats and how they identify familiar voices may help with better ways to care for them. It also refutes the notion that cats are less gregarious and distant from people than other animals.

ALSO READ: Average Cat Lifespan Indoors: Signs Your Feline Friend Will Live Long Life

Why Big Cats Like Lions Can't Purr?

Four big cats belonging to the genus Panthera can't purr like the small cats we know. However, they can roar.

In animals, the voice box's epihyal bone is replaced by a ligament. By stretching this, you can create a longer sound-producing passage and a wider pitch range. The more the ligament expands, the softer the sound made when air passes across the vocal cords. Deeper sounds are produced by the large, complete, and meaty chords.

With this characteristic, big cats are unable to purr but can roar loudly-in one test lion's case, up to 114 dB. The volume of the sound may approach a person's pain threshold.

The ability to purr is one of the two key differences between Felis and Panthera, the two main genera of cats, rather than size or behavior. It is common to refer to these taxa as "the roaring cats" and "the purring cats," respectively, albeit among the latter only the lion routinely roars.

The primary distinction is that the former's pupils constrict to form vertical slits in their eyes. It is more common for other large cats to cough, snarl, grunt, hiss, or spit.