Researchers spent months getting to the bottom of an eternal question: Is my cat ignoring me?

The answer is most likely, yes.

A study released Thursday revealed what most cat lovers (and haters) already believed: Cats know when you’re addressing them, they just may not care.

Japanese researchers found most domestic cats (scientific name Felis catus) could distinguish their own names from other similar nouns. According to the study of 78 cats, that doesn’t mean they’ll come when they’re called.

Science still has less understanding of cats’ cognitive and social abilities, compared with the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Past research has shown dogs can recognize humans’ emotional states, and the pitch of a human voice can affect dog behavior and how they follow commands. Highly trained dogs can even distinguish between over 1,000 different words or symbols, according to one 2011 study.