I've spent most of my childhood and teens with my two cats. I often had this conversation with people:
Them: Cats don't understand us like dogs.
Me: They do, they know their names. They just don't always care to obay.
Them: They don't obay because they don't understand you.
Me: Well, whenever I call one of them by name ether the right cat comes or no cat comes. Never the wrong cat comes.