When you were naming your cat, you probably didnât consider your feline friendâs hearing range. But according to Vancouver, Canada-based veterinarian Uri Burstyn , you probably should haveâat least if you want your cat to pay attention when you talk to it.
According to Dr. Uri, the name he goes by in his adorable YouTube videos, Felix isnât a great cat name. Nor is Garfield. But Fluffy? A great choice.
Cat ears are finely attuned to high-pitched noises. Since most of their prey communicate at high frequenciesâthink mouse squeaks and bird chirpsâcats are not as good at hearing low-frequency sounds. Ideally, you want your catâs name to end in a high frequency, since thatâs the kind of sound cats hear best and naturally pay attention to.
For human speech, that basically means that it should end in an âeeeeeâ sound rather than a consonant. Grumpy Cat? A bad name. Just âGrumpy?â Perfect. That's why "kitty kitty" works pretty well to get a cat to pay attention or come toward you. It's a squeaky sound.
Luckily, many nicknames in English tend to end in an ie or a y , so you probably already have a cat-friendly name for your pet waiting in the wings. Now you know why your cat is more likely to respond to your high-pitched, baby-voiced nicknames than its full name.
Enjoy Dr. Uri's explanation, and his helpful demonstration with his noble friend Lancelot, in the video below.
Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations