do kitties respond to name like a dog?

I accepted my kitty, which is about a year old, into my home. She appeared to be a few months old and was stray.
I have never been a cat fan, but Splat is different! lol
I love this kitty to death. I cannot learn how to outwit her, but I wonder if cats will come by calling names...
I have called her Splat since day one several times, but she doesnt even flinch or respond when calling her by name.....is this normal?

I certainly would think about renaming her. Most cats respond to your tone of voice, but some will respond to their name. I guess i have lost to many outside kitties to a hungry road to be comfortable naming a cat Splat.

I think it depend on the cat and how often they hear their name. Our 3 adults all know their names and the 2 kittens are learning fast...but we are also here all day long and there is 6 people talking to them on a daily basis.

lol...I have thought of renaming her, but I think she is almost human and we don't change our names.
I say her name in a pleasnat falsetto tone......no need to scare her....
The vet laughed when I told them her name as well...I assure you, it is a cute name...not an experience related name

I think Splat is a cute name. My cat Muffin doesn't really respond to her name either!

it is short for Splatter

My kitten responds to her name...when she wants to, of course.

if she wants to respond...thank you for the enlightenment

Kandie will if in the mood she knows it... Zoey is very good about coming when called

Mine all respond to their names -- if they feel like it. You never saw a kitty move faster, or with more purpose, when they want to come -- or ignore you more completely, when they are otherwise engaged

I thought ALL cats responded to the "Mom" tone of voice. you know, when they've done something they know they shouldn't, and you catch them. . .

BelLAAA!!!!

Bella actually responds to "down" as in "get down off that counter NOW!"

Both of mine respond to their names too. If I say "Willow!", Willy will lift her head and look at me. When I say "Buffy!" Buffy will look at me and, if she's not currently busy, she'll run over to see what I'm doing that's so important to gather her attention. I haven't tried calling them individually when they're next to each other, so I don't know if they're responding to their names or just my voice.

sara doesnt have a choice if she wants to respond or not... if i say her name and she ignores me... i just keep saying her name faster and faster and i get a higher pitch every time till she acknowledges me... i know, i am weird, but the 'mom, what the hell could you possibly want' look and meow that i get is so funny... i irritate her so bad

she responds fairly well to the deep toned sara-bear(which is only used when something very bad has been done)

If you want to maximize the chance of your cat responding to their name, pick a name (or nickname) that has an "ee" sound at the end. Look at all the cat names in this thread:

Hissy
Kandie
Zoey
Willy
Buffy

For instance, Nano responds to Nano -- but if she was having trouble, I'd consider using "Nanny" as a nickname. I don't really "call my cat" but she definitely recognizes her own name.

Originally Posted by rapunzel47

Mine all respond to their names -- if they feel like it. You never saw a kitty move faster, or with more purpose, when they want to come -- or ignore you more completely, when they are otherwise engaged

Click to expand...

And when you shout upstairs to them asking " Do you want some dinner?", then they move like the wind!!!

I have never had a cat that didn't learn its nname - some took longer, that's all. If you repeat the name over and over while sitting petting it, and always use the name when feeding, then they quickly learn it is to their advantage. They won't always come though - sometimes mine look at me and decide what the chances are of me doing something that is more interesting than what they are already doing. But that's the joy of cats.

I have had Luke since he was (we think) about 4 weeks old. His first name was Princess Leia until about a month or so later when he presented.....well you know. So we changed his name to Luke. He KNOWS his name. When I hollar for him he will come depending on where I am and if he is otherwise engaged. For instance, If he is sunning himself then he has no time for others.

His favorite game is hide from mom in the morning. He likes to dart outside and grab a piece of grass from the edge of the porch so when the kids run for the bus he stations himself for the escape. So each morning before I leave I make sure they did not let him out. He hears me call his name in the morning him and he hides from me knowing I won't leave the house until I find him.

My Mitts responds to his name and other calls mostly if I use my 1st grade teacher's soothing voice. The other tones get a response only if he feels like it lol.

Respond is one way to put it. They will look at us when we say their names, and then decide if what we're doing warrants their attention or not.

Herhsey learned his name with in a week. My moggie just came to "kitty".