131–140 of 229 posts
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rabbits are just prey animals and that shows in their behavior and attitude, whereas cats do a lot of predation themselves.
However, cats are far from the top of the food chain themselves, which is reflected in a lot of their behaviors.
https://lithub.com/house-cats-and-wild-cats-arent-actually-t...
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In nature, cats form colonies where they take communal care of the young, old and infirm. One of the core behaviors of cats is hunting and providing for colony members who are too weak to do so. Cats being "solitary" animals is largely a misunderstanding of cat behavior towards humans due to cat affection being expressed differently than dog affection.
feral cats tend to form colonies but wild cats are solitary, like the european wildcat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_wildcat
Much of the myth that cats are naturally solitary creatures comes from people studying the behaviors of the European wildcat and attributing them to housecats, which is wrong because that's not what housecats are descended from.
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Probably says a lot about how much brutality we've engineered out of daily living. I recall having a visceral reaction to hearing about the kittens as a child, and I imagine it's fairly natural to feel that way. I'm glad I lived in a time and place where that kind of desensitization wasn't necessary.
Unfortunately it is still fairly common in small villages (in Hungary at least - which is quite poor outside of its capital). Spaying is expensive and cats do produce plenty of offsprings, and it is not even like with dogs that you can just keep inside the backyard.. (Though what I heard about is not drowning, but slamming them hard to something :/)
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My can knows the names of all family members and can sometimes respond appropriately to "where's mom, go find mom". This is of course only if she wants something and came to me for it.
I have definitely noticed that. The cat I had growing up we had a close bond. He stayed with my parents though when I moved out. Any time I was coming to visit my parents would mention my name and he would perk up. I don't think it is tied to anything I gave him because I wasn't really taking care of him, I was rarely the one that fed him. He just slept on my bed and we spent a lot of time together. So there has to b…
We think that she must have heard and understood when my parents talked about upcoming visits, but it's always hard to tell with cats. Maybe she was picking up on emotions instead of words, or maybe she was psychic.
I have two cats, one is quite clever and responds to her name, dinner, hop up (for it's ok if you want to sit on my lap) and a few other things. I can ask her to get one of her toys too if she wants the play. She also very rarely meows. The other cat is not so bright, if you ever say anything to him directly he'll only meow back and come over for a pat, that's it. It's just a back and forth screaming match if you tal…
I have 7 cats now and have had had 15 cats in my life. My whole extended family has always had lots of cats. Two things stick out at me: 1) Cats really do respond to being talked to and interacted with. Cats that are talked to often get more responsive and communicative. 2) There is huge genetic IQ gaps, lol. Some cats are so smart they blow your mind, others are mouth breathers. The normal distribution is real.
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I have 7 cats now and have had had 15 cats in my life. My whole extended family has always had lots of cats. Two things stick out at me: 1) Cats really do respond to being talked to and interacted with. Cats that are talked to often get more responsive and communicative. 2) There is huge genetic IQ gaps, lol. Some cats are so smart they blow your mind, others are mouth breathers. The normal distribution is real.
This. Not limited to cats either. I've noticed the same in dogs and even some cows. Same rules apply to humans as well. Interaction early on develops personality and intelligence varies genetically by a wide margin.
I have tried to train my two cats with just these words: 1. "Let's go" - morning meal 2. "Upstairs" - I am going to bed 3. "Dinner" (plus clink bowls together) - evening meal 4. "Lie Down" and their names. Emerald, who prefers being upstairs, definitely responds to "Upstairs": she charges upstairs when I say it. Jade remains enigmatic and skeptical: that seems to be her nature. But if she is in the mood for a tummy r…
I feel skeptical, I think cats and also most dog breeds understand only pitches that sound excited, because that means walk or tummy rub or food, but the actual said words could be anything, every time
I have two cats, one is quite clever and responds to her name, dinner, hop up (for it's ok if you want to sit on my lap) and a few other things. I can ask her to get one of her toys too if she wants the play. She also very rarely meows. The other cat is not so bright, if you ever say anything to him directly he'll only meow back and come over for a pat, that's it. It's just a back and forth screaming match if you tal…
I have 7 cats now and have had had 15 cats in my life. My whole extended family has always had lots of cats. Two things stick out at me: 1) Cats really do respond to being talked to and interacted with. Cats that are talked to often get more responsive and communicative. 2) There is huge genetic IQ gaps, lol. Some cats are so smart they blow your mind, others are mouth breathers. The normal distribution is real.
I'm very curious about how well someone with a "lot of experience in digital advertising" is positioned to define "genetic IQ gaps", "smart", etc. as it applies to cats & others. Perhaps instead of throwing these terms around like they're candy, you should submit your findings to an scientific journal (and get rejected :) ).
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Cats destroy the assumption that animals should do what we tell them to, because that's how it works. Of course they have agency and their own goals. It's fascinating that humans are surprised and sometimes baffled by this.
Humans are regularly surprised to discover that the preponderance of evidence strongly suggests the universe was not created exclusively for themselves.
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> Jade remains enigmatic and skeptical: that seems to be her nature. Its been shown in the past (not got the links to hand, and cba to google right now, but I'm sure they wont be hard to find) that cats know their name, its just often they don't give a shit when you call them. Which pretty much any cat servant will understand. Wouldn't be surprised that also applies to other words/commands. EDIT: My own cat knows her…
That's weird, my cat will come no matter what name I call her as long as I use the same intonations. I'm not convinced she knows her name but rather that she knows pitches. Similarly my cat won't do tricks without the hand gestures despite me always using the same commands. Maybe my cat is just dumb or stubborn, or both. I have seen her run head first into a wall before.