Whooo's a pretty girlie? Whooo's the best boy boy? These are some of the things I say when I talk to my cats, and I'm not alone! Do you talk to your cat in baby talk? Studies have shown that cats do respond to baby talk when their owners talk to them, so we're on the right track!
First off, what do we mean by baby talk? It's when we use a higher pitched voice, draw out our vowels and ask short questions, like my examples from the beginning.
Science.org tells us of a study done by Charlotte de Mouzon where cats were played recordings of their owners voices. The recordings included 5 phrases like “Do you want to play?” or “Do you want a treat?". The 1st 3 phrases were recorded in regular talk, (as if you were talking to another adult, or what the article calls "adult-directed" speach.) Then, the 4th phrase was reccorded in baby talk, and the 5th back to adult speach. They they gauged the cats reactions to hearing the recordings by looking at things like whether the cats swiveled their ears or paused their grooming when they heard the recording. They created a scale from 0 to 20 with 20 being the biggest reaction to the sound. According to the article, the cats reacted to the 1st phrase they heard at around a level 13, then their interest dropped when the next 2 adult-directed phrases played, down to around a 4, but when that 4th baby talk phrase was played, the cats reaction jumped up to around a 14! After that it dropped again down to about a 6 for that 5th phrase which was back in adult speak.
They also tried playing recordings of a stranger's voice to the cats. Like when they were listening to their owner's voices, the cats started with some interest at the beginning, then their reactions dropped off. Interestingly, when listening to the stranger's voice, they did not perk up again when they heard the baby talk phrase, which suggests that for cats, the relationship between the person talking and the cat also plays a big role in their reactions.
Catster.com says that one theory as to why cats react better to baby talk is that cats evolved to hear high pitched sounds, like the squeak of a mouse, so their hunting skills make them respond more to higher pitched sounds, like those you make when talking in baby-talk!
Reader's Digest suggests that the pattern of reactions from cats where they perk up when hearing baby talk means that cats can tell the difference between when you are talking to another person and when you are talking to them. The cats heard the owners voice and perked up, but then when it continued in adult speak, they lost insterest because they thought their owner was talking to another person, not to them. They perked up again when they heard the baby talk because that is a sound they are familar with being directed toward them! So, using baby talk with your cat cues them in that you are talking to them, even if they don't understand each word, they know from the tone that you are interacting with them!
Do you talk to your cat in baby talk? If not, maybe you should give it a try!
Cover photo by Humberto Arellano on Unsplash
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