Any parent wants to check in on their children—humans or pets—whenever they’re separated, and thanks to technology, a simple touch of a button can connect them.
Cat owner Emilia used the Amazon Ring camera technology to her advantage while away from home. Through the device, she could see what was happening at home and what her cats were up to. In a clip shared with Newsweek, Emilia didn’t spot her cats immediately. But as soon as she started speaking, one of the cat’s ears perked up and appeared at the bottom of the screen.
“While I was waiting for my husband, I wanted to see how my pets were doing,” owner Emilia shared with Amazon. “I was bored, so I decided to talk to my cat and make sure she heard me talking to ‘Alexa.'”
The cat realized Emilia was talking to them through the camera. She immediately wanted to get closer to her owner’s comforting voice and jumped up next to the camera. But what she did next took Emilie by surprise.
“When my cat recognized my voice, she wanted to show me affection by rubbing her cheek on the corner of the camera, and that’s why she accidentally knocked it over,” she said.
Emilia’s cat kept sniffing the area even after knocking the camera over. She knew her owner’s voice came from that direction, but she was confused about why Emilia wasn’t there in person.
Screenshots from a Ring video of a cat looking at the camera. Ring customer Emilia’s cat heard her voice and getting excited, she accidentally knocked over the Ring camera.
Emilia/Ring customer
Can Cats Recognize Voices?
It wasn’t a coincidence that Emilia’s cat jumped up when she heard her voice. Studies have revealed that cats can and do recognize their owners’ voices.
Ethologist Charlotte de Mouzon designed experiments that tested how various cat breeds would respond to recordings of their owners versus strangers talking to them. She discovered that when a cat heard a familiar voice, it’d respond in subtle but distinct ways, National Geographic reported. This included swishing its tails, pivoting its ears or freezing while grooming.
On the flip side, the felines did not respond when they heard their owners speak to other people or if a stranger spoke to them. The study revealed that cats can not only recognize their owners’ voices but also respond.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
