是的，你的貓真的不理你

是的，你的貓真的不理你

If you've ever suspected that your feline friend isn't listening to you, you're mostly right — but only to a point. The studies show the whole truth is a bit more painful.

如果你曾經(jīng)懷疑你的貓咪朋友沒有在聽你說話，那么你基本上是對的——但只是在一定程度上。研究表明，整個真相讓人更加痛苦。

Sure, I hear you, but I'm not budging. (Photo: Anna Hoychuk/Shutterstock)

Japanese researchers wanted to know if cats could recognize their names, so they tested the felines with various human calls, including the cats' own names, general nouns, and names of other cats that lived in the same household.

日本研究人員想知道貓是否能認(rèn)出自己的名字，所以他們用各種人類的叫聲來測試這些貓，包括貓自己的名字、普通名詞和住在同一家的其他貓的名字。

The study, published in Scientific Reports, shows that pet cats can distinguish their names from general nouns and the names of other cats in the house — but they're unlikely to do anything in response. The research was performed primarily in the lab of professor Toshikazu Hasegawa from the University of Tokyo with Atsuko Saito, Ph.D., lead author of the research paper, who is an associate professor at Sophia University in Tokyo, according to EurekaAlert. They also tested this same theory at a cat cafe.

這項(xiàng)發(fā)表在《科學(xué)報告》上的研究表明，寵物貓能夠?qū)⒆约旱拿峙c普通名詞以及家中其他貓的名字區(qū)分開來，但它們不太可能做出任何反應(yīng)。據(jù)EurekaAlert報道，這項(xiàng)研究主要是在東京大學(xué)長谷川敏和博士齋藤敦子的實(shí)驗(yàn)室里進(jìn)行的，齋藤敦子是這篇研究論文的第一作者，也是東京上智大學(xué)的副教授。他們還在一家貓咪咖啡館測試了同樣的理論。

You talkin' to me? (Photo: DavidTB/Shutterstock)

Their point in all this wasn't to make cat owners feel bad but to see if cats understand human voices — and they do. Apes, dolphins, parrots and dogs have proven that they too understand some words spoken by humans, but as any cat owner knows, cats just do things their own way.

他們的目的并不是讓養(yǎng)貓的人感到難過，而是想看看貓是否能聽懂人類的聲音——它們確實(shí)能聽懂。猿類、海豚、鸚鵡和狗已經(jīng)證明，它們也能聽懂人類說的一些話，但正如任何一位貓主人所知道的，貓只是按照自己的方式做事。

Earlier research by members of the same research team found that pet cats recognize their owner's voices, but the outcome is the same: the felines usually choose to ignore the calls.

同一研究小組成員的早期研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，寵物貓能識別主人的聲音，但結(jié)果是一樣的:貓通常選擇忽略主人的叫聲。

Scientists observed 20 domesticated cats in their homes for eight months to monitor how the animals recognized and responded to different voices — both strangers' voices and the cats' owners — calling out the cats' names.

科學(xué)家們對20只家養(yǎng)貓進(jìn)行了為期8個月的觀察，觀察這些貓是如何識別并對不同的聲音做出反應(yīng)的——無論是陌生人的聲音還是貓主人的聲音——喊出貓的名字。

Just 10 percent of the felines responded to being called by meowing or moving their tails.

只有10%的貓科動物通過喵喵叫或移動尾巴來回應(yīng)別人的呼喚。

The study suggests that cats' unresponsive behavior could be rooted in the animal’s evolution.

研究表明，貓的這種反應(yīng)遲鈍的行為可能根源于動物的進(jìn)化。

Modern housecats' common ancestor was Felis silvestris, a wildcat species that came into contact with humans 9,000 years ago. As people began farming the land, the cats moved in to prey on rodents attracted to crops.

現(xiàn)代家貓的共同祖先是Felis silvestris，一種9000年前與人類接觸的野貓。當(dāng)人們開始耕種土地時，貓開始捕食被農(nóng)作物吸引的嚙齒動物。

The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) and other cats had a common ancestor about 10–15 million years ago. (Photo: Aconcagua [CC BY-SA 3.0]/Wikimedia Commons)

As the study's authors write, cats essentially "domesticated themselves."

正如該研究的作者所寫，貓本質(zhì)上是“自我馴化”的。

While dogs were bred over thousands of years to respond to commands, the authors say cats never needed to learn to obey human orders.

雖然狗是經(jīng)過數(shù)千年的培育才學(xué)會對命令做出反應(yīng)的，但研究人員表示，貓從來不需要學(xué)習(xí)服從人類的命令。

The study further notes that although "dogs are perceived by their owners as being more affectionate than cats, dog owners and cat owners do not differ significantly in their reported attachment level to their pets."

研究進(jìn)一步指出，盡管“主人認(rèn)為狗比貓更有愛心，但狗主人和貓主人對寵物的依戀程度并沒有顯著差異。”

The authors humorously conclude their paper by noting that they’re not sure why cat lovers adore their indifferent felines so much.

作者幽默地總結(jié)了他們的論文，指出他們不確定為什么愛貓的人如此喜愛他們冷漠的貓。

"The behavioral aspect of cats that cause their owners to become attached to them are still undetermined," they write.

“貓的行為方面，導(dǎo)致他們的主人成為依戀他們?nèi)匀皇遣淮_定的，”他們寫道。