My last cat was with me for 20 years and neither of us seemed to feel the need for a name. We both knew who he was, and why bother beyond that? I think the difference is that dogs who live with humans tend to look to us to help them understand who they are, while cats never want telling no matter how close the association.

I didn't use the "pet voice" with him, either. Dogs, sure, but generally when I have something to say to a cat I say it like I would to a human, and that seems to mostly work okay.

That said, I find as with dogs that cats respond more to pitch than to content; I'm not sure their theory of mind for us extends far enough to recognizing that we also have language, but they certainly do learn some of the sounds we make.

When I needed him to come find me, I'd whistle just above the highest pitch I could hear, and he came running because I'd taken care to associate that sound with treats in his kittenhood. As his hearing range contracted in his dotage, I switched to the more usual "pspspsps" sort of sound, which worked about as well.

Granted, I grew up with cats, and my mom was of a mind that the best way for me to learn their style of manners was to let them teach me directly. This worked well enough that it's long since ceased to be a surprise when someone says something like "but our cat doesn't like anybody!" So I don't know how well my experience is likely to generalize.

My neighbors' father would also think nothing of drowning unwanted kittens among other "old world" type of things that seem ghastly now.