Provided with a board full of buttons, some pets appear to be communicating with their humans – and researchers are investigating
There are plenty of reasons why we talk to our pets. Some research suggests our chattiness can be motivated by loneliness, a need to feel control over the dynamic of our relationship with them, or even just our perception of animal consciousness. It’s likely that most pet owners would simply feel weird not greeting their wagging pup at the door with a shower of “oh, hellooo”s or cooing baby-talk to their purring cat.
What’s altogether unexpected is the idea that pets might talk to us – but new research is exploring whether and how they can.