Yeah it varies from individual to individual but the running theory I've seen is that cats can understand and interact with language at the level of a 3-4yo.
I would love to believe this but given my experience with my cat even single words are tough for them. For example my cat knows how to fetch her favorite toy but doesn't respond to the word "fetch" at all even with positive reinforcement (treats). The word "fetch" just doesn't mean anything for her even though I've paired it with the action of her fetch many times we play.
I don't know about cats (I haven't tried training) but my dog definitely knew a few nouns and verbs. She understood "food", "water", "walk", "bone", "ball", "bear" (her toys), and could distinguish between "point", "fetch", and "drop". With "fetch ball" she would go get the ball, whereas with "point food" she would point (paw) at the food, and with arbitrary combinations of these verbs and nouns.
It's astonishing, I didn't think they could do that, but apparently they can.
I have two cats that I have clicker trained. They can: shake, high-five, fist bump, stand up, and will "go here" and come and touch your finger. They won't do any of the tricks without treats :)
One of the cats had seemed interested in fetch for several years but it never quite worked. I tried a bunch of different toys and finally found a plastic spring that she will fetch very well.
I think we have the same cat.
I also did the clicker training for paw/fist tricks and sitting pretty quick. I took a pause with the stick pointing because she traumatized herself with a stick toy and is quite avoidant to sticks.
Sprint toys are her favorite and she'll fetch those or bring them to me to throw when she wants treats.
over there;
bed;
basket;
lead;
walk;
wait at the door;
go to [room];
go to [family member];
stay;
stay on the path;
paw;
paws up;
sit;
lie down;
heel;
don't pull on the lead;
no more poo poo;
no more wee wee;
this is the commute;
up;
where's your piggy?;
treat?;
buscuit?:
up for a cuddle?;
want to come up?;
permission;
okay;
no;
stop;
this way;
stay close;
hungry for some food?;
water?;
down;
don't lick;
who did this?;
come here;
shall we go the pub;
let's go;
and probably 5 or 6 more words/phrases. I don't include words like catch/fetch where accompanying action may trigger the response.
It's definitely not a three year old's grasp of language, but it's probably a point that a baby crosses somewhere between 9 and 15 months old.
The thing with cats is they can do a lot of things, but that doesn't mean they will.
My cats will regularly come when called, if they feel like it.
But... what's she going to do if you say fetch? If she wants to fetch, she'll bring you the toy and if she doesn't want to fetch, you telling her that you would like to isn't going to change her mind.
After many years of living with cats, I have come to believe a cat actively refuses a command or request in a way that looks to humans like the cat does not hear or understand the request.
Treats are good and all but you will probably get better results with clicker training and splitting the job into simple parts. Fetch is pretty complicated and even dogs often have issues with it - our dog did just fine on the 'chase the toy' part - mostly due to strong prey drive - but then just ran away with it :). Took months to get it working..
Also cats usually lose interest quickly, so short sessions repeated more often will give better results.
Merely an anecdote: I had one female house cat that clearly understood a number of words. She could easily and consistently pick out "catnip" in a sentence. "Cow", "get up", "tuna" and several other words and phrases were all understood.
This is unique in my personal experience. I've haven't seen this in other cats.
I think you might be conflating cats understanding and cats responding. When cats choose to engage they can be quite intelligent and take direction, I’ve seen it many times. But most of the time they DGAF and will ignore you.
Unlike dogs, cats aren’t seeking your approval. It is a different kind of relationship.
I'm impressed by the degree of selective catS possess. They can responds to like 5 different names if in the mood while other times won't event flinch even after repeating 20 times.
While my cat doesn't seek my approval, she is definitely highly food motivated to the point where she was faking wanting to go outside and thus put a harness on (which she does not enjoy) just for the treats she would get.
Having a 3-year old and two cats (and many more previously in my life), that sounds absurd.
I can give my 3-year old (38 months) multi-part instructions and he can even ask clarifying questions back when my instructions are ambiguous or he doesn’t understand them. He’s also being to ask insightful questions as he observes the world around him.
To suggest cats are capable of anything remotely close to that (with humans) requires extraordinary evidence.
> he can even ask clarifying questions back when my instructions are ambiguous or he doesn’t understand them
This is kinda moot in this discussion given cats have neither the facial structure nor lung capacity for this. Others are essentially saying that a cat would (have the mental capacity to) do these things if they were not so physically constrained.
> If it’s true, someone ought to be able to demonstrate it.
This is not a truism.
> Again, extraordinary evidence required.
Yeah, whatever, dude. I'm not trying to convince you, just pointing out the irrelevance of the point that humans are physically capable of speaking like humans. That's moot to the claim that had been made in the parent comment.
I could go on about other points you made. For example, you seem to be conflating working memory ("multi-part instructions") with understanding of language, given that was what the parent commenter had claimed.
> He’s also being to ask insightful questions as he observes the world around him.
Cats don't have the same mental capabilities as a 3-4 year-old but that is not under contention. That doesn't strictly mean they don't have a similar capacity for language as a 3-4 year-old. Put another way, you were not talking about your son's capacity for understanding language but rather his general mental capacity, which is not an apt refutation of what was claimed.
This isn't to convince you of some belief (indeed, you're entitled to your opinion, friend) but to point out the illogic in your argument.
Ok, then what does “ a similar capacity for language as a 3-4 year-old” mean if it’s not everything else you say it isn’t.
So they can’t speak nor understand us, nor remember several instructions, nor formulate questions, so what then do they have that puts them on par with a 3-4 year old?
I'm not sure I understand your distinction between understanding of language and general mental capacity. As I (and the other person responding, I believe) understand, the two are inseparably connected in humans.
