They might not come when you call them, but recent research reveals that cats recognize the voices of their caretakers — not thanks to their domestication, but thanks, instead, to their proximity to people.
Published in PeerJ Life & Environment, the research found that captive, undomesticated cats respond to the voices of their caretakers much more quickly and much more intensely when their caretakers are more familiar. Felines as ferocious as tigers, cougars, and cheetahs could tell people apart, and weren't afraid to pick favorites.
According to the authors of the research, the results challenge the traditional conception of cats as socially aloof, and suggest that some species — whether considered social or asocial — acquire the ability to recognize people’s voices as a result of close contact, rather than domestication.
