Many cat owners wonder what language their feline friends think in. Cats clearly have complex thoughts and emotions, but they don’t use verbal language like humans. So what’s going on inside a cat’s mind? Do cats think in a language, or is their cognition based on something entirely different than human thought? This article will explore what science tells us about how cats think and the nature of feline cognition.
Cats Have Complex Minds
Cats have demonstrated notable intelligence and complex cognitive abilities. Research has shown that cats have excellent long-term memories. They are able to retain learned behaviors for years and can remember solutions to problems for months at a time (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_intelligence). Cats are also adept problem solvers. In tests designed to challenge their intellect, cats have proven capable of manipulating objects, understanding cause and effect relationships, and deciphering how mechanical devices work in order to get rewards (https://www.science.org/content/article/cats-rival-dogs-many-tests-social-smarts-anyone-brave-enough-study-them).
Studies have found that cats understand object permanence and can mentally map their environment. Their memory capacities allow them to effectively navigate spaces and remember locations of interest (https://bondvet.com/b/how-smart-are-cats). Cats are observant and attentive, constantly taking in information about their surroundings. Their inquisitive nature demonstrates an active working mind.
While cats have traditionally been viewed as more independent and less trainable than dogs, research shows their intellect is much more complex. They are capable of learning words, commands, and routines even if motivation varies. Their ability to retain information and make deductions reveals advanced cognitive abilities.
Cats Communicate Nonverbally
Cats primarily communicate nonverbally, without the use of spoken language. Their main forms of communication are through body language, vocalizations, and pheromones. Cats use subtle movements of their ears, tails, whiskers, and posture to convey a variety of messages and emotions https://www.petmd.com/news/view/cat-language-101-how-do-cats-talk-each-other-37620. For example, an alert cat will have perked up ears and an inquisitive look while a content cat may half-close its eyes. A cat will also communicate feelings like irritation or aggression through body language by flicking its tail, folding its ears back, or crouching down.
Cats have an extensive vocal repertoire including meows, purrs, trills, chirps, growls, and hisses to communicate messages https://www.loc.gov/item/how-do-cats-communicate-with-each-other/. The meaning behind these vocalizations can vary based on pitch, volume, and intonation. For instance, short meow sounds are used as greetings while longer meowing can signal distress. Cats also release pheromones, airborne chemical signals, that convey information about reproductive status and mark territory. Overall, cats have an intricate nonverbal communication system for interacting with other cats and expressing themselves.
Parts of a Cat’s Brain
Cats have complex brains that share some similarities with human brains. Like humans, cats have a temporal, occipital, frontal and parietal lobe in their brains (source). Additionally, cat brains also contain gray and white matter and the same neurotransmitters as humans, like serotonin, dopamine and acetylcholine (source).
The frontal lobes of a cat’s brain comprise 3 to 3.5% of the total brain. This is where higher cognitive functions like problem solving, memory and learning take place. Cats also have an olfactory bulb for processing smells and a vomeronasal organ that detects pheromones (source).
Other important parts of a cat’s brain include the amygdala for processing emotions, the hippocampus for spatial memory and navigation, and the hypothalamus which regulates basic functions like body temperature, hunger and circadian rhythms (source).
While cats have smaller brains than humans overall, the regions associated with cognition, emotion, sensory perception and coordination are very similar between cats and humans.
Cats Understand Some Human Words
Studies indicate that cats can associate certain human words with meanings. According to research from the University of Tokyo, published in Nature Scientific Reports, cats can distinguish their own names from other random sounds (Source 1). When cats heard their names, specific areas of their brains activated related to processing meaningful stimuli. Cats also turned their heads or moved their ears or tails in response to their names. So cats seem able to recognize when humans address them specifically.
Additional research from universities in France and Scotland found cats could tell apart different vocabulary words based on the frequency and consistency those words were used (Source 2). Words frequently used in context, like “food” or “treat,” saw more response from cats. However, the cats did not associate these words with their broader dictionary definitions. Instead, the cats linked the words to the contexts in which their owners used them regularly.
While cats do not comprehend language the same way humans do, they can learn to associate certain commonly used words with meanings through repetition and conditioning. With consistent, repetitive use, cats may understand that words like “dinner,” “treat,” or their name have significance. However, their understanding is limited compared to human language processing abilities.
We Can’t Confirm Cats Have Language
While cats communicate effectively among themselves and sometimes with humans, there is no scientific evidence that cats have true language abilities.
Language requires complex grammar, syntax, assigning meaning to symbols, and combining those symbols in new ways to express ideas. Humans acquire language through social learning. We actively teach language to our young.
Cats do not have a comparable process of teaching kittens language skills. Their vocalizations, body language, and other signals are mainly instinctual and not taught. Kittens meow simply because it gets humans to feed them, not because adult cats intentionally train the kittens to meow.
Studies have failed to demonstrate cats combining vocalizations or nonverbal signals in novel complex ways, a hallmark of true language. While cats can associate some human words with meanings, they do not have an ability to flexibly manipulate or understand the semantics of language itself.
So while cats are adept communicators in their own way, there is no evidence they possess their own language abilities comparable to human languages. Cat “language” is not taught nor as systematically structured as human languages.
Cats May Have Mental Imagery
There is evidence that cats are capable of visualizing images in their minds, despite their limited range of color vision. Research has shown that cats form mental maps of their surroundings and can navigate even in the dark [1]. They are able to visualize and remember where things are located, like their food bowl or litter box [2].
Cats also seem to visualize goals and motivate themselves through mental imagery, like picturing a toy or treat they want to obtain. So while cats may not experience visual imagery the same way humans do, they likely rely on mental images and memories to understand their environment and make plans.
Cats May Have Proto-Language
There is much speculation about the possible cognitive abilities of cats before the development of human language. Since cats lack the physical ability for complex vocalizations like humans, their communication has evolved mostly through body language and vocal cues like meows, growls, and purrs. However, some experts theorize that cats may have had precursor abilities to human language and syntax.
Proto-language in cats may have included mental concepts and imagery attached to vocalizations, along with combinations of calls and body movements to communicate more complex ideas. For example, a combination of a purr and rubbing on an owner may represent a request for food. Or a hiss combined with arched back and erect fur may signal a warning. While not as advanced as human language, some believe this may have served as a proto-language for cat cognition and communication.
The speculation remains unconfirmed, but it suggests cats may have more sophisticated mental abilities than we realize. Their interspecies communication shows an ability to adapt calls in a meaningful way for human comprehension. Given their attachment to humans as social companions over thousands of years, cats may have developed precursors to formal language by necessity long before domestication.
A Species-Specific Understanding
Despite the complex cognitive abilities of cats, we ultimately cannot confirm if and how cats have their own language or inner mental representations. As humans, we can only speculate based on observations of cat behavior and limited neural studies. While we may ascribe human characteristics like spite or gratitude to cats, we cannot actually get inside a cat’s mind. As expressed in a review on cross-species psychology, “the challenge of cognitive cross-species comparison” means we may never fully understand another species’ subjective experience (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
Cats have evolved as a distinct species with their own needs and ways of perceiving the world. Their minds have adapted for the environmental niche they occupy, relying more on spatial memory, motion detection, scent cues, and nonverbal communication. So while a cat may understand some human words, its inner thoughts likely remain beyond our grasp. We can study the structure of a cat’s brain, but cannot confirm if cats experience imagined scenarios or possess an innate language. Interspecies communication faces inherent barriers. Ultimately, cats have a species-specific intelligence and psychology that we cannot fully translate.
Conclusion
In summary, despite some understanding of human words and their own forms of communication like meowing, the evidence does not confirm that cats have an internal language comparable to human language. Cats likely have mental imagery that helps them think, and they can understand the association between some words and outcomes. But their cognition remains fundamentally different from humans. While we may never know exactly how cats think, we can enrich their lives by interacting positively, respecting their communication signals, and studying their amazing abilities. The close bonds between cats and humans show that language barriers can be overcome through patience, love, and mutual understanding.