It is not babytalk that makes a cat listen but the caregiver's voice

Some journalists are misinterpreting a recent study which said that when a cat's owner uses baby talk their cat listens to them, but their cat won't listen to other people. That's a misinterpretation of the results of the study.

It just so happens that a lot of cat caregivers (usually women) use a baby voice when talking to their cat. They do this because they see their cat as a child or toddler or even a baby. They humanise their cat. In more complicated English language, they 'anthropomorphise' their cat and interacting with them as toddlers.

Taylor Swift sees her cats as children. I bet she uses baby talk when communicating with them. Image: Instagram.

The classic example is Taylor Swift's relationships with her cats. It is fine to talk to your cat as if they are a baby or a toddler provided, at all times, you understand that your cat is not a toddler! If you expect your cat to behave like a toddler or a baby, you will be disappointed and that will strain the relationship. You must respect the cat and utilise expectation management as I call it.

And the researchers found that when owners used baby talk with their cat, they achieved a very positive response. But when strangers used a baby voice to try and talk to the same cats they did not respond.

That's the general gist of the research. But it isn't the conclusion. The conclusion is more subtle. It is the sound, tone, timbre, volume and all the other qualities of a human's voice which is recognised by a cat when the sounds are made by their human caregiver.

And this particular sound which is characteristic of each individual caregiver elicits a response because the domestic cat associates it with all the usual things that a good human caregiver provides such as warmth, security, emotional comfort, food, sleeping accommodation, play, and companionship. 

They receive these are all good things. They are things that a domestic cat enjoys and wants. And they link the sound to the reward of these good things.

It is a simple case of positive reinforcement. For example, when the owner calls their cat for food (probably in a baby voice) the cat comes because they know food is on the table for them. That's positive reinforcement and part of the process is using a baby's voice, but it isn't necessary. It just has to be the voice of the provider of the food.

But I'm tired of reading articles by journalists in which they say baby talk gets a response from their cat. I think I made myself clear.

You don't have to be a baby talker they get along with your cat and to get your cat to do things. You simply have to use the same language every time and it should be melodious, friendly and nice, quiet sounds. 

It should be the same sounds each time which leads to a specific reward such as food or allowing your cat to sit on your lap which of course is a reward for both of you.

Domestic cat requests his food by ringing a bell

Domestic cat requests his food by ringing a bell.  Screenshot.

This is neat. I am sure a cat would get the hang of this and start using the bell to ask for food rather than meowing! It might cause some friction in the relationship however. Can you imagine being woken at 4am with the sound of a door bell! :)  Every morning! Until you threw the bloody thing against the wall. But then again cats wake their humans in all kinds of ways - some fairly cruel! My female cat used to stick claw out from the middle toe and pick my nose with it. It invariably worked :) .

From @aikoharada1211: "Ding ding ding ding, mash the bell😼🛎🐾" #catsofinstagram pic.twitter.com/nelLFWhAI5

— Cats of Instagram (@catsofinstagram) October 3, 2021

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

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Developing human-cat routines over years

Although like many others I realise that routines are very important in a domestic cat's life, it was only this morning that it dawned on me that I have developed these routines to the point where my cat predicts my movements and desires. He does things before I ask him to because he understands the routines that exist between us.

Gabriel in my garden years ago. Photo: MikeB

You achieve these routines by being with your cat every day all day over a period of many years. Further, the human has to have a set routine in life as many retired people have incidentally, integrated into which are the routines and lifestyle of your cat. Eventually your cat understands what you will do next and pre-empts it. I will give two examples which apply to me but each person and their cat will have their own examples which are just as valid. It is harder for full-time office workers to develop these routines. For retired people it happens naturally. But you have to be a concerned cat guardian.

Sitting on my lap

When I watch television my cat sits on my lap. That is a very commonplace occurrence anywhere on the planet. When I turn off my television my cat jumps off my lap. The two events are linked. My cat knows that I have stopped watching television and that I will get up from my armchair and do something else such as make a cup of tea and return to the television. The important point is that my cat knows that when the television becomes silent it is time for him to get up off my lap. He does it without any encouragement.

Sitting on my lap in bed

The same sort of rules apply when he sits on my lap while I am in bed. He knows that after I have worked on my computer on the website and I put my laptop computer down it is his turn to come up to my lap and ask for some combing which I'm delighted to give him. This happens every day and once I have stopped combing him I communicate with them for a while and let him sit on my lap for five more minutes. After this time he knows that it is time for him to get off my lap and jump off the bed. He does this without me asking him. I don't have to indicate to him that I'm going to get up by moving my body. He jumps off and walks off the bed before I do anything. He knows through his internal clock and by routine and habits that it is time for him to leave the bed.

These are two examples of routines in which a domestic cat has become fully integrated into the routines of his human companion. It is a great form of communication between two entirely different species of animal. There are other forms such as the sounds we make and the sound that our cat makes to us such as a meow which is a demand for food normally. And there's cat and human body language as well which is a part of the communication process between two different species. But routines play a vital role.