Animal experts say it is highly unlikely a pet cat in the Northern Territory can speak several words in English, as claimed by its owner.
Darwin man Robert Duncan is convinced his two-year-old pet Mischief knows the meanings of several words and is able to say them.
"He can say seven words all up: mum, no, now, what, f***, prick and why," Mr Duncan told the Northern Territory News.
But animal experts have cast doubt over whether the cat would be physically capable of making the sounds, let alone with any cognizance.
"Cats don't engage the lips and tongue in the way a human does, which is needed to make consonants," said animal behaviour expert Gisela Kaplan from the University of New England.
"Birds mimic consonants very well, [but] there's no evidence that a cat's got that ability."
Victorian veterinarian Lisia Sturm said she had never heard a cat say anything other than "meow."
"I find it very hard to believe — their mouths aren't that mobile," she said.
"How does a cat say a 'p', anatomically? I don't think it's possible."
It was more likely Mischief could make vowel noises that sounded like "why" or "now", the experts said.
The cat may also have learned to repeat certain noises hoping to get a specific response, such as a meal.
"Nothing is impossible, but it's a very long step between making sounds and having specific purpose and intentionality," Professor Kaplan said.
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