New Study Finds That Cats Actually Prefer 'Baby Talk'
A popular TikTok video is bringing this fact to viewers' attention.
If you talk to your cat in baby talk, you're far from alone. Many animal lovers make their voices higher and more drawn out when talking to their pets, but a new study from Animal Cognition seems to prove that cats actually prefer this sound, too.
Oddly enough, a lot of feline fans are discovering this study through a popular TikTok video from @whitechubbs. The account belongs to a precious, snow-white Munchkin cat named Bobo, but it's his owner who enlightened us all with this fun fact.
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Isn't that interesting? On the one hand, it makes sense that cats would prefer a more variable and engaging tone of voice, but part of us is surprised, too. Still, the study reports that "cats can discriminate speech specifically addressed to them from speech addressed to adult humans."
TikTok viewers don't seem to be so surprised, though. Commenter @oceanfavor wrote, "yes, they love their baby talk," as if this is old news. We suppose some cats are more responsive to it than others!
@Inspiringer added, "well, they are our babies," and we can't argue with that! It would only be fitting that we talk to them as such. Even so, it's nice to have some scientific assurance that we aren't just confusing our feline friends.
Well--most of us, anyway! @Simplysadlysagely said, "my cat gives me side-eye when I talk to him in baby talk." Ouch! Even if not every kitty responds to baby talk, there's no need to be so rude about it. Then again, these are cats we're talking about!
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