I know that cats actually don't see very far so they rely more on recognizing familiar motions and general shapes rather than detailed features.
Chickens see more like us: they recognize faces and remember them well, and have a preference for attractive, symmetrical features.
They live in a smaller world than humans, so it ought to be okay for them to only recognise someone from less than 10 meters, while humans can possibly recognise a familiar person from dozens of meters. If a cat couldn't recognise someone from 1-2 meters, they might as well be blind as far as hunting goes, as well. That being said, if it was a brain issue, it's a different thing, but that's why I said they do use their eyes a lot also when moving in the world, hunting, and such. Cats aren't giants of intelligence, though, so it's possible their brain simply isn't wired for it, leaving it for the portion of brain handling hearing and smell. However, if someone tried to tell me that a cat can't recognise a person based on their hearing, I'd just say get out of here.