Every cat owner has a story to tell of being blanked by their cat: We call to our cat, it turns away, and some of us might be left wondering why we didn’t get a dog. But your cat may be listening after all. More than that, it cares more than you may think.

A study by French researchers that was published last month in the journal Animal Cognition found that not only do cats react to what scientists call cat-directed speech — a high-pitched voice similar to how we talk to babies — they react to who is doing the talking.

“We found that when cats heard their owners using a high-pitched voice, they reacted more than when they heard their owner speaking normally to another human adult,” said Charlotte de Mouzon, an author of the study and cat behavior expert at the Université Paris Nanterre. “But what was very surprising in our results was that it actually didn’t work when it came from a stranger’s voice.”

Unlike with dogs, cat behavior is difficult to study, which is part of why humans understand them less. Cats are often so stressed by being in a lab that meaningful behavioral observations become impossible. And forget about trying to get a cat to sit still for an M.R.I. scan to study its brain function.

So the researchers for the latest study went to the cats’ homes and played recordings of different types of speech and different speakers. At first, Dr. de Mouzon and her team were worried that the cats weren’t reacting at all. But then they studied film recordings of the encounters. “Their reactions were very subtle,” Dr. de Mouzon said. “It could be just moving an ear or turning the head towards the speaker or even freezing what they were doing.”

In a few cases, the cats in the study would approach the speaker playing a voice and meow. “In the end, we had really clear gains in the cat’s attention when the owner was using cat-directed speech,” Dr. de Mouzon said.

The findings showed that “cats are paying close attention to their caretakers, down to not only what they are saying, but how they are saying it,” said Kristyn Vitale, an assistant professor of animal health and behavior at Unity College in Maine who was not involved in the new study.

The new study complements Dr. Vitale’s own research into relationships between a cat and its owner. This relationship is so important, Dr. Vitale’s research has found, that it replicates the connection between a kitten and its mother. “It is possible that attachment behaviors originally intended for interactions with their mother have now been modified for interactions with their new caretakers, humans.”

Unlike dogs, “most cats actually prefer human interaction over other rewards like food or toys,” Dr. Vitale said.

Genetics may also play a role in why dogs are easier to study and are assumed to be friendlier.

“Dogs were artificially selected hundreds or thousands of years ago based precisely on their capacity to be trained, whether as sheepdogs, hunting dogs or something else,” Sarah Jeannin, a dog behavior expert at the Université Paris Nanterre who was not involved in the new study.

Dr. Jeannin disputed the stereotype that dogs are closer to humans than cats. “People say that dogs are a man’s best friend, that you can trust them and that they are very loyal. But we don’t know what dogs actually think,” she said. “It’s really just projection by us that dogs are in love with us.”

“For years, scientists didn’t ask the right questions about cats,” Dr. de Mouzon said. Now, those who are convinced of the perfidy of cats won’t like the answers that are emerging.

Cats don’t hate us after all, Dr. Vitale said, adding that “a growing body of work supports the idea that social interaction with humans is key in the life of a cat.”

According to Dr. de Mouzon, just because cats react in subtle ways doesn’t mean they are aloof.

“Cats don’t do what you expect them to do. But if cats don’t come when we call them, it may be because they’re busy doing something else, or they are resting,” she said. “People have these kinds of expectations because when you call a dog, the dog will come. But if you call a human when they are having a nap at the other end of the house, would you go?”

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1.What did the French researchers find out about cats and their reaction to high-pitched voices?

A Cats do not react to high-pitched voices.

B Cats react more when they hear their owner using a high-pitched voice.

C Cats react the same way to high-pitched voices from their owner and from a stranger.

D Cats react more to normal adult speech than to high-pitched voices.

解析：选B。B 文章指出，当猫听到主人用高音说话时，它们的反应比听到主人对另一个成年人正常说话时更强烈。故选B。

2.What is the reason for the difficulty of studying cat behavior?

A Cats don’t like being in a lab.

B Cats are too active to observe.

C Behavioral observations of cats become impossible due to stress in a lab environment.

D It is difficult to get a cat to sit still for an M.R.I. scan.

解析：选C。C 文章指出，猫在实验室里经常压力很大，以至于无法进行有意义的行为观察。故选C。

3.What did the researchers find out about cats’ attention to their caretakers' speech?

A Cats don't pay attention to their caretakers.

B Cats pay attention to what their caretakers say but not how they say it.

C Cats pay close attention to their caretakers' speech, including the tone of voice.

D Cats only pay attention to their owners when they are using cat-directed speech.

解析：选C。C 文章指出，研究结果表明，“猫正在密切关注它们的看护人，不仅关注它们在说什么，还关注它们是如何说话的。”故选C。

4.What does Dr. Vitale’s research reveal about the relationship between cats and their owners?

A Cats don’t really care about their owners.

B The relationship between a cat and its owner is similar to the connection between a kitten and its mother.

C Cats prefer other rewards like food or toys over human interaction.

D The connection between cats and their owners is weak.

解析：选B。B 文章指出，Vitale博士的研究发现，猫和主人之间的关系非常重要，它复制了小猫和母亲之间的联系。故选B。

5.What did Dr. Jeannin say about the stereotype that dogs are closer to humans than cats?

A Dogs are actually closer to humans than cats.

B The idea that dogs are closer to humans than cats is a projection by humans.

C Dogs and cats are equally close to humans.

D Dogs are less close to humans than cats.

解析：选B。B 文章指出，Jeannin博士反驳了狗比猫更接近人类的刻板印象，他说“我们不知道狗到底在想什么”，狗爱上我们的想法实际上只是人类的投射。故选B。