As mentioned in last week’s article, there have been lots of studies about dogs’ ability to communicate with humans, and to understand human vocalisations - or, at least, associate sounds with certain things like rewards or punishment.

Most dog owners will testify that their dogs know their names, but what about cats?

Recent research undertaken in Japan showed that cats do know their names, even when called by a stranger.

In one of the tests each cat was played its owner’s voice saying four words similar in length and sound to the cat’s name.

The researchers found there was a drop off in feline movement in 11 out of 16 cats as the four words were uttered - suggesting the cats were becoming used to their owners’ mutterings.

But in nine of the cats there was a subsequent ’uptick’ in their movement when their name was mentioned, suggesting they had pricked up their ears.

The cats’ responses were not as enthusiastic as those of typically seen in dogs.

Most chose to acknowledge their names with the merest twitch of an ear or a flick of a tail, but the researchers put much of this down to genetics rather than cats being inherently aloof.

The researchers comment that for centuries dogs have been bred selectively to be obedient and responsive, whereas cats pretty much domesticated themselves and up until the last century most cats lived outdoors as ’mousers’.

As more and more cats live in closer contact with humans, their ability to read human cues may evolve and become stronger.

However, a cat’s independent streak is a strong one and whilerhe or she might associate their name or a particular sound (the rattle of a box of cat biscuits, for example) with a certain person or reward, there is no evidence to suggest that this affects their behaviour.

The Japanese researchers conclude that cats understand human cues better than many people think, but this does not mean that they will respond as their owners might hope.

Another cat theory that has been covered in these articles several times is that a single cat is a happy cat but, as with all theories, there are exceptions that prove the rule.

Cody (tabby-tortie) and Marble (tri-coloured tortie) were born as farm kittens on the same farm.

Cody was brought in to us for rehoming first, several days before Marble, but as soon as they saw each other they were much happier.

The girls are clearly a bonded pair and so they must be rehomed together.

They are only eight months old and they’re gaining in confidence every day, and they will respond well to further socialisation.

They are incredibly curious and mischievous, so their new home will need to be well away from main roads so that they can be free to explore and enjoy their surroundings.

Because they are still quite timid we think that they would be best suited to a quiet home without young children or dogs - somewhere that they can associate with security and safety, and food on demand.

While there might be some uncertainty about humans being able to communicate with cats, there is definitely no uncertainty about a cat’s ability to tell its owner that it’s hungry.

Adult cats only meow to humans, not to other cats (this is usually done through complex body language and smell), and a hungry cat can have a very loud and assertive meow, easily translated as ’I need feeding - now!’.