Kitten not learning her name

[Antonio65]

My new kitten Giada has been with us nearly 3 months now, and though I always called her by her name, she hasn't learned it yet, she doesn't come or turn to me when called.
On the first night she was home, I was keeping her in arms, I called her by this name, she quickly turned to me and kissed the tip of my nose, so I thought it was the sign of destiny, that name was right for her.
Since then she never reacted to the name again.

My sweet Lola and Pallina learned their name in nearly no time.
I fostered several other kittens same age or a little older in the past 18 months, and all of them knew what their name was. The smartest kitten learned her name in about 24 hours.
I also have two semi-feral cats in my courtyard, and they come quickly when called.

Why isn't Giada learning her name? Will she never learn it?
Has this ever happened to any of you?

 

[hillyy13]

I’ve had my kitten for almost 3 months and he does not come to his name. His ears prick up as if to say he’s heard it, but he doesn’t act upon it. My other half has had lots of cats and has said this is quite normal, and that it could well be that he is just stubborn! Is your cat recognising noises with ears twitching? If so I would not be too worried!

 

[jcat]

Perhaps she simply doesn't like the sound of the name. I've seen it happen more often with dogs than cats, but changing their name can elicit a better response.

 

[WillowMarie]

I'd love if someone has advice. My Isabelle came to me knowing her name, and has continued knowing it through the 8-9 years I've had her. The new kittens seem to know their name as their ears perk when I say their name. Although, the other day I was calling Katrina, and Persia responded and came over! Often when I call Isabelle, Katrina runs over! Haven't quite figured out how to rectify the situation, haha, and help them respond to their own names!

 

[Tobermory]

Some cats just take longer to recognize their names than others, don’t they! And it may also be that whatever name we’ve chosen has a combination of sounds that are harder for them to associate with themselves. It took Mocha a year to learn her name. (See my thread Three Cats Named Mocha)

Have you tried training her with treats? That seems to be the tried-and-true method a lot of people use. Treats didn’t work for us in our multi-cat household, so I ended up using a brush. Mocha loves being brushed, so I’d call her name and show her the brush and she’d trot over. It took awhile but she finally learned.

We all know that cats require a lot of patience to train us properly.

 

[Antonio65]

Is your cat recognising noises with ears twitching? If so I would not be too worried!

Yes, she reacts to noises.
We have a few rubber balls to play, I use to tap them on the floor before throwing them, she knows that tapping sound and hides behind corners to attack the balls
Also, she recognises the opening can

 

[Antonio65]

Perhaps she simply doesn't like the sound of the name. I've seen it happen more often with dogs than cats, but changing their name can elicit a better response.

I thought of it too, maybe she doesn't like the sound of her name, but we won't change it.

 

[Antonio65]

Often when I call Isabelle, Katrina runs over! Haven't quite figured out how to rectify the situation, haha, and help them respond to their own names!

This happened to me as well.
Lola would respond to her name. Pallina would respond to her name.
But it would often happen that I would call pallina and Lola would meow in response.

I think that some words sound the same in their ears.

 

[Antonio65]

Have you tried training her with treats? That seems to be the tried-and-true method a lot of people use. Treats didn’t work for us in our multi-cat household, so I ended up using a brush. Mocha loves being brushed, so I’d call her name and show her the brush and she’d trot over. It took awhile but she finally learned.

I say her name when I give her food, or play, or when I come back home, so that she might associate her name to something pleasant.
Yes, patience is what we need

 

[aliceneko]

I think it's quite common for cats not to learn their names or simply respond to noises they prefer. Do you tend to call her nicknames more than her actual name? Perhaps, as a previous poster has said, she associates her name with being told off, so maybe you could try calling Giada by her name more often if that's the case? Fudge is nearly three and has only just managed to learn his name. It just depends on the cat, because Toffee learnt his quickly and also knows his nicknames (Toff/Toff-Toff), though last summer I stayed with a family in Corsica and their cat was fourteen and still didn't respond to her name much. Don't worry!

 

[Caspers Human]

We know that she can hear well enough because she recognizes the sound of her food can being opened.

Does she react to other words you say?

Casper knows the words "tuna" (our word for his favorite canned food) and "cookie." (our word for his favorite kitty treats)
He will perk up his ears or come to the kitchen when we say those words.

Casper knows the phrase, "Open the door." He knows that "door" means we will slide the patio door open with the screen shut so that he'll get to sit by his patio door to supervise the back yard. He also knows "window" to mean that we will open the window in the upstairs bedroom where he can sit on the window ledge to supervise the world from on-high.

If your cat responds to other words you'll know that she hears you and understands the meanings of what you say.

If she doesn't respond when you call her name, she probably doesn't recognize that word as corresponding to her or she is just indifferent to it.

Casper knows his name but is more or less indifferent. He will come when we call him by that name but not right away. We often have to call his name a few times before he comes.

However, he does respond to being called "Puddy Tat."

One day, we were sitting in the living room, watching TV, when I saw Casper playing on the floor, near the TV. I said, "Hey, Puddy Tat!" He perked up and came right over for pets and attention. That's the nickname that stuck, ever since.

I don't know why he likes the nickname "Puddy Tat." Maybe it sounds similar to his original name before we got him.
Casper was abandoned before we adopted him. He probably had a family in the past. We're guessing that "Puddy Tat" sounds similar to his old name.

When I was a kid, my father used to breed hunting dogs. Dad always said that you should pick a name that a dog can easily recognize. It should have one or two syllables. Our dogs had names like "Rex," "Toby," "Sam," "Mickey" or "Dutch." The names have to be different enough that dogs can differentiate their own names from other dogs' names.

We had a dog that was named "Reggie" but our neighbors had a dog named "Apache."
There were several times when the dogs were playing together and we could call one but both would respond. The names "Reggie" and "Apache" weren't different enough for the dogs to tell apart.

Maybe you can try tweaking the sound of the name you have picked out so that it's easier for her to understand.
Maybe you can change the "Jee" sound at the beginning of the name for a "Gee" sound. (Or vice-versa.)
Maybe you can shorten the name to "Giah" or "Jeeah."
Maybe you can change it to "Jade." In Italian, the word/name "Giada" means the same as "Jade" in English. (I looked it up.)

Or, maybe, her official name can be "Giada" and her nickname can be one of the other ideas.

"Casper" is our cat's official name but his nickname is "Puddy Tat." (Only the Lord knows why! )

I'm not trying to push any definite answers, here. Maybe your cat doesn't like the name you picked out for her. Maybe she can't differentiate her name from other words. Maybe she's just indifferent. Only the Lord knows why.

 

[susanm9006]

Kittens have so much to do and to play with that some simply don’t have time to respond to their name or their owner. Certainly keep on trying but she may well not choose to respond until she reaches adulthood.

 

[Antonio65]

I think it's quite common for cats not to learn their names or simply respond to noises they prefer. Do you tend to call her nicknames more than her actual name?

She has just one nickname, but it's a tiny variation of her name, as it often happens with all home cats.

Perhaps, as a previous poster has said, she associates her name with being told off, so maybe you could try calling Giada by her name more often if that's the case?

I never told her off, I'm trying to be very soft on her. Sometimes I shout when she does something wrong, but never with her name in the sentence.

 

[Antonio65]

Does she react to other words you say?

She currently responds to very few words, I'd say two or three words in total. I think it takes time to learn a complete vocabulary.
My Rainbow Bridge cat Lola would understand hundreds of words.

Casper knows the words "tuna" (our word for his favorite canned food) and "cookie." (our word for his favorite kitty treats)
He will perk up his ears or come to the kitchen when we say those words.

Casper knows the phrase, "Open the door." He knows that "door" means we will slide the patio door open with the screen shut so that he'll get to sit by his patio door to supervise the back yard. He also knows "window" to mean that we will open the window in the upstairs bedroom where he can sit on the window ledge to supervise the world from on-high.

If your cat responds to other words you'll know that she hears you and understands the meanings of what you say.

Yes, this is what used to happen with my previous cats. They knew lots of words and reacted accordingly. I know it takes some training, and I can't remember how long it took for them to learn all those terms. I guess that in my mind all came quickly, but it might have been a longer process.

Casper knows his name but is more or less indifferent. He will come when we call him by that name but not right away. We often have to call his name a few times before he comes.

Pallina loved to be called a few times before appearing

However, he does respond to being called "Puddy Tat."
One day, we were sitting in the living room, watching TV, when I saw Casper playing on the floor, near the TV. I said, "Hey, Puddy Tat!" He perked up and came right over for pets and attention. That's the nickname that stuck, ever since.

I don't know why he likes the nickname "Puddy Tat." Maybe it sounds similar to his original name before we got him.
Casper was abandoned before we adopted him. He probably had a family in the past. We're guessing that "Puddy Tat" sounds similar to his old name.

Lovely story

We had a dog that was named "Reggie" but our neighbors had a dog named "Apache."
There were several times when the dogs were playing together and we could call one but both would respond. The names "Reggie" and "Apache" weren't different enough for the dogs to tell apart.

Yes, as I wrote earlier, some words might sound the same in a pet's ears

Maybe you can try tweaking the sound of the name you have picked out so that it's easier for her to understand.
Maybe you can change the "Jee" sound at the beginning of the name for a "Gee" sound. (Or vice-versa.)
Maybe you can shorten the name to "Giah" or "Jeeah."

Giada is already a very short name and quick to pronouce, shortening it might just make it a sound among many others, I think.

Maybe you can change it to "Jade." In Italian, the word/name "Giada" means the same as "Jade" in English. (I looked it up.)

Yes, it means Jade. It's both a person's name and a gem.
It was the first name that came to my mind when I first saw her among the garbage bins a few hours before rescueing her, I said "If I ever had to have you with me I'd call you Giada".
I managed to rescue her, but only two days later she came home with us and the name stuck.

Or, maybe, her official name can be "Giada" and her nickname can be one of the other ideas.

Lola and Pallina would respond to their officail names and to nicknames in the same way, I think it's just a matter of time. As I said, the trining takes time, and I have no perception of how long did it take for my previous two cats to be used to their names and all other words.

I'm not trying to push any definite answers, here. Maybe your cat doesn't like the name you picked out for her. Maybe she can't differentiate her name from other words. Maybe she's just indifferent. Only the Lord knows why.