Fascinating because cats don't pass the mirror test, they don't possess "theory of mind." So they aren't consciously imitating humans. If true means their mirror neurons come into play with humans, which was already pretty clear I guess. I've heard it stated that cats don't think they're people, they think we are big cats. A lot of fascinating work has been done on animal cognition in recent decades, animal consciousness is far more complex than was once thought. (Pic just for fun, because ... cats!)

The whole concept of trying to get animals to act like us is missing the point. Scientists particularly in the U.S. need to realize that we ARE ANIMALS and look for similarities in this case in learning and behavior. Any cat owner knows cats learn easily. I see no reason they can not learn to imitate us with a little encouragement. They are animals after all.