Cats can beat babies at a word association game.

Cats are brainier than babies when it comes to word association

Cats are brainier than babies when it comes to word association

A team of animal scientists has found that the common house feline can link human words with images without the need for prompting or rewards.

31 adult house cats were recruited to take part in a word test that was initially designed for babies and the results show that the moggies can assign a meaning to a word in just minutes and appeared visibly confused when the wrong words were displayed.

This is similar to how babies learn languages but the tots take longer to make links between words and pictures.

Saho Takagi, leader of the study at Azabu University in Japan, said: "Even if cats don't respond, it's possible that they comprehend much of what is being said.

"I encourage owners to talk to their cats more and engage in communication with them."