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The researchers showed pet cats living in homes and felines living in “cat cafés” photos of cats they lived with to find out their reactions. The cats were then played an audio recording of their owners, or a researcher, calling out a name — either the name of the familiar cat in the photo or a fake name, according to PEOPLE.
They found that pet cats spent more time looking at the image when the audio incorrectly identified a familiar cat than when the correct name was said. They then determined the behavior may have occurred due to the cat expecting the correct name and being confused when it was not said.
The study also found that cats who have lived with a family for a more extended time were more likely to stare at a photo of a misidentified cat for longer. However, cats who lived in cafés did not exhibit the same behavior.
“Whereas house cats probably learn by observing the reaction of the specific cat whose name was called, café cats are more likely to hear different names called by different guests, making such learning more difficult,” the authors wrote.
“It is still an open question how cats learn the other cats’ names and faces,” the scientists wrote.
