We tested whether cats (Felis catus) could recognize human attentional states when begging for food from one of two unfamiliar actors. Cats were tested under three conditions that differed in the actors’ actions: Visual only condition?the actor looking at the cat silently versus facing sideways silently; Visual and Auditory condition ?the actor looking at and calling to the cat versus looking at the cat silently; and Auditory only condition?facing down and calling to the cat versus facing down silently. In the Visual and Auditory condition, cats preferred the actor who was calling to them. In the Visual only and the Auditory only conditions, the cats showed no preference for the actors’ attentional states. There was a modest difference in the preference between the Visual and Auditory condition and the Auditory only condition. These results suggest that cats can use vocal cues of attention toward them only in situations in which humans are looking at them.

Key words: domestic cats, Felis catus, human-cat interaction, attentional states