Do Cats Recognize Their Name?

Apparently maybe they do but might not want to show it: Cats know their names — whether they care is another matter

My crew all knows their name and the tone it's said with. They will come to their names and look up when I say their specific name. Rocket and Link both also know the "mom voice" version of their name and to run away from that version.

I’m not convinced that Krista knows her name. To be fair, I don’t use it that often. She probably thinks her name is “baby.” Or “pretty kitty”. Sometimes “bonkers butt.”

I think Toffee knows his name, as when he's in the middle of doing something naughty and we sternly call for him, he always follows, and looks up at us guiltily!
I'm not really convinced that Fudge knows his though. Often I get no response when I call for him

Maggie definitely knows her name. I can call her from the other end of the house and she comes running.

My cats know their names. Matter of fact a study was recently done on this subject, but I saw it on the news and don't have a link.

Artie knew his name..

Geoffrey does know his name.. When he is under my quilt, I say: "Geoffrey, Geffy".. I usually get a high pitched squeal..

If I call him, "Baby, Sweetie Pie".. he ignores me..

Each of my cats seems to associate her name with herself. If I say “Lily,” Lily looks at me but the other two ignore me. And Iris responds to “Iris” and Mocha responds to “Mocha.”

I found it interesting that Iris and Lily learned their names quickly, and Mocha took a year to learn hers. But I got Iris and Lily as kittens, and Mocha was already three years old and semi feral when I adopted her. My guess is that it has something to do with the socialization process and familiarity with humans and human speech. And perhaps kittens learn faster than adults.

I did discover that trying to teach a cat her name using treats does not work well in a multicat household. I almost had three cats named Mocha! Mine are all very motivated by treats.

I don’t think think animals understand the concept of a name, but I do believe they associate certain sounds (i.e. their names) with themselves.

Greg and Arnold each know their own names.

If they are both near by and I call their name, one at a time, the respective cat will usually look at me.

If they may ignore me, often I get a tail flick. They KNOW they are being called.

I think Theodore knows his. I use so many names for him I must confuse him! LOL (Baby, Bo Bo, Kitten, etc)

Ours know nick names better than their real names
But like anything else you got to teach them what those names are, what's funny is Baby Girl knows her name and a few nick names but knows if she's being bad and I'm coming in for an interception I call her Munchkin right before I grab her up and remove her, so when she hears this she usually responds with an angry high pitched squeak of protest. She's that spoiled daughter with the big blue eyes and little blonde curls that daddy thinks is a perfect angel and everyone else thinks is a spoiled brat

My current two cats know there names.
I call them and they will come if they think they might get treats.
I also will say "Get Valentine" and Forte will go get Valentine and he thinks she lined up treats. They arrive back steps apart. This works even if I am in a different part of the house.

My cats sometimes come running when called. But at most times they just don't care. They will just look at me as if saying, "What now? Resting here."

My boy knows his name when being called. He knows his nick name too.

When there’s a bird or bug at the window in the room and he’s somewhere else in the house, I’ll Shout out to him ‘January, bird or bug!’ He’ll come running chirping all the way.

Sometimes I just say ‘pssst’, and he look at me. But I guess it’s the tone of voice that he or cats responds to.

Biscuit knows his name and almost always comes running when I call him. His sister Buttercup knows her name I’m pretty sure but just doesn’t mind as well, looks at me and ignores me sometimes and other times will come.

HK knows his name, but it took him a year to acknowledge it originally.

Hey, if Casper comes running when you say the word, "Cookie" (meaning cat treats) or "Tuna" (meaning canned cat food) he sure as heck knows his name. He also knows the word "V-E-T."

However, we don't often call him by his name. Most of the time it's "Puddy Tat." For some reason he seems to prefer being called "Puddy Tat" to being called "Casper."

Missy does. When she's in a good mood.

bear said:

I also will say "Get Valentine" and Forte will go get Valentine

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Maggie does something similar. When Demi is crying and I don't have time to check on him, I'll tell her "Go see your boyfriend!", and she'll go check on him for me.

Ruby will turn her head when I say her name. And if I'm in another room, and start calling her, she'll most often come to me. Now, of course, she runs to me when I say "want a treat?".