Do you have a pet? Well, millions of people have kitty . Scientists in Sagamihara, Japan, just discovered something amazing about these furry felines. Cats can keep track of where their owners are just by listening!
Saho Takagi led this study. “I study cats’ minds,” the scientist told News-O-Matic. Takagi has always been interested in cats’ hearing and how the animals can move their ears.
“Cats’ ears can move independently of each other,” she explained. Takagi noticed that cats could tilt one ear backward while the other stayed put. That got her interested in cats’ listening talents. She started this study to learn about how kitties can map their owners with sounds.
Takagi and her team got to work. They played recordings of owners calling out their cats’ names. Then, the experts would play the same recordings again. But this time it was from a different location. “Cats were surprised when their owner’s voice came from an place,” Takagi said. That shows that cats can make mental maps of where their humans are, based on sounds. And they can tell when a person is suddenly in another location!
But what makes this discovery so special? The cats knew where people were, without seeing them. “The ability to of invisible objects in the mind is the of imagination,” Takagi explained. “Cats may have more complex thoughts than we thought.” Takagi was pumped. “I was happy to see proof of the cleverness of cats!”
Takagi shared some advice. “If you are interested in something, try to learn more about it,” she said. “Don't worry if adults laugh at you,” she added. “Your knowledge and experience are your own treasure. They will surely come in handy one day.”
Updated November 18, 2021, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Alexa Tirapelli
