2023-06-23 02:36:20
Together with dogs, they are the most common pets in our house, but their fame of reserved and rebellious animals many times it makes us believe that they do not want to interact with us. Nothing is further from reality, cats can also be very receptive if we know how to communicate and capture their interest. Which are the keys to achieve it? Science explains it to us:
[Por qué los gatos machos suelen ser zurdos y las hembras diestras: descubre qué pata prefiere el tuyo]
What do our pets respond to?
This year, a group of scientists led by Charlotte de Mounzon, a professor at the Laboratory of Comparative and Cognitive Ethology at the University of Paris Nanterreset out to study the behavior of our feline pets and their responses to different ways of approaching them.
Before starting this experiment, Mounzon and his team had already published other reports suggesting that cats can easily distinguish the voice of its owner from that of other strangersand that they are also able to recognize when you are addressing them directly.
On this occasion, the researchers asked themselves a question that many of us ask ourselves in our daily lives:what is more important to themlas signs visuals (i.e. clicks and other gestures) or vowels?
To verify this, they went to a cat cafe −that is, a cafeteria that also serves as a meeting place for lovers of these animals− and, after integrating so that they feel comfortable with their presence (because, yes, now we will see that our pets get overwhelmed too), tried to get his attention from four different ways.
First, Mounzon called out to them verbally but without making a gesture. Later she did the opposite, and called them with gestures but without vocalizing. The third way was simultaneously use vocal and gestural messagesand, in the fourth control condition, it did neither.
The perfect call (it is not the Spanish one)
As expected, the cats approached the researcher faster when he used gestures while talking to them, but what was surprising was to find that these respond better to visual cues than vocal cues.
Does this mean that from now on you should use more gestures to communicate with them? The truth is that yes, although, in reality, Your answer will be very different depending on whether you are its owner or a complete stranger. for them.
In addition, another of the most curious findings of the study was that cats tend to wag their tails more when ignored. Although dogs do it to show happiness, when they do it, it often means they are going through something. stressful or uncomfortable situation.
there is no language thief universal
The nuances in the cat-human conversation are complex, and actually vary greatly depending on the country in which we are.
In Spain we usually call them with the sound “pspspsps” or “michi”. In the Nordic countries the “kiskiskis” is used, but where it seems that he method French is the most appropriate when it comes to communicating with them.
In the neighboring country, many owners call their pets with a kind of sound similar to “pfpfpf” that Mounzon himself highlights in the study.
To give us an idea of how it would sound in real life, there are those who compare it with the noise what do we do when we kissor also as a imitation of a mouse squeak. Cats notice these sounds at very long distances and will probably turn their ears towards you when they hear it.
Other keys to get your attention
In addition to those suggested by experts, some steps to attract a cat’s attention that usually work son:
1. click the tongue several times in a row pretend to purr. Cats don’t tend to concentrate very much, and these sounds get their attention a lot, so they’ll probably stop what they’re doing at the moment to look at you.
2. Another method that does not usually fail is call it with short and pleasant whistles. As we said, their hearing is highly developed and we must ensure that they do not feel bothered.
3. Do you want him to show you his affection? When your pet is relaxed, try blink slowly close to her. Cats interpret this as a show of affection, and respond by doing the same in what experts have called the cat kiss.
4. If what you want is communicate with a cat that is scared or lost, the first thing you should do is make sure there are no other animals in sight that might seem like a threat to you. Call him softly so that he recognizes your voice and, if he does not dare to come out of hiding, leave toys and food near him that can stimulate his sense of smell.
#cats #ignore #attract #attention #science