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[-] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 204 points 2 weeks ago

Eh, any time someone ascribes motivations to animals, my butthole spasms.

The best that should be said is that the behaviors they exhibit are similar to the behaviors they exhibit for kittens or sometimes sick cats.

Somehow, somebody decided that meant they think we're bad hunters, and the idea took off because it's funny, but you can't know what goes on inside the thoughts of other humans reliably, much less other animals.

There's competing possibilities that the cats are showing off their kills to their social group, which is not only a common behavior when cats are young, but when they're mated, but you don't see people crowing about them bringing us food to get in our pants.

Overall, cats seem to treat us like other cats. Not exactly the same, but with less distinction than other domesticated animals. Horses, as an example, have a much wider distinction, for equally unprovable reasons.

My personal pet idea is that any sufficiently social animal, including humans, is instinctively going to seek out groups. They/we will negotiate the lack of a unifying language as best as possible, but with plenty of misunderstandings. It isn't so much that other animals see us as being the same as them. It's that they don't really have the need for the distinction; there's the in group (pride, pack, clan, whatever you want to call it) and out groups. When dealing with the family group, any animal will perform the same basic behaviors that their instincts tell them to.

Domestication just means that a given type of animal has developed or been bred to have, a stronger instinct for social bonding than wild animals, to the degree that they'll accept other species as family easier.

[-] leftytighty@slrpnk.net 78 points 2 weeks ago

To add to this, an outside observer would say humans think their pets are little humans, throwing birthday parties, dressing them in clothing, talking to them.

[-] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 24 points 2 weeks ago

You can pry Mr. Scruffles' humanity from my cold, dead hands!

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[-] Zerush@lemmy.ml 127 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)
  • Dogs: He give me a home, he protect and feed me, he must be a God
  • Cats: He give me a home, he protect and feed me, I must be a God
[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 50 points 2 weeks ago

Ancient Egyptians: That cat makes a great point.

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[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 93 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Dog brings you things because you asked, it's asking to play, or because they wanted to reward you.

Cat brings you things because it thinks you fucking suck at hunting and feeding yourself.

[-] saltesc@lemmy.world 65 points 2 weeks ago

My dog gives me stuff all the time. At first I thought it meant he wanted to play with the object, but, nope. He's just spent the last fifteen minutes fighting the other dog away from it, running around the house with it in his mouth. Then when he's finally "won", he gently places it down right in front of me, sits and stares at my eyes, "This is very important to us dogs, but I love you the most, so you can have it."

picks up slobbered cow hoof with a pinch "Thank you so much, buddy! How about I hold it, you can chew; we can share."

He does do this with the other dog at times too, though. Usually when she's calmed down and snoozing, he'll bring a treat over to her, watch her accept it, and goes on his way.

Gifting is his love language.

[-] far_university1990@reddthat.com 47 points 2 weeks ago

"I take care of my human. I bring them mouse once a week, twice after new moon because so dark. Hope they survive on that."

[-] starlinguk@lemmy.world 41 points 2 weeks ago

My cat played fetch, just like a dog. Cats like playing.

I hate it when people just assume stuff about cats, treat them that way, and then say stuff like 'cats are so aloof and they only like me because I feed them.'

Meanwhile, my neighbour's cat loves my family even though we don't feed her, because we snuggle her. The person who feeds her just chucks her outside when she gets home. And then she comes to us for scritches.

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[-] InvalidName2@lemmy.zip 85 points 2 weeks ago

I have doubts that any credible and serious scientific discovery would involve this degree of anthropomorphism when it comes to assigning motivation to an animal's behavior.

But let's say I ended up with a hecking case of brain worms who devoured the vast majority of my critical thinking skills and was able to completely ignore that first point, this still doesn't quite compute. If you've ever had cats and/or dogs in your life, then you are probably also aware that each one has its own unique personality and behaviors. Even if we assume that they have human-like rationalizations and emotional capacity, does it even make sense to believe that they all uniformly perceive people in the same uniform manner?

[-] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 47 points 2 weeks ago

It's based on way too many reinterpretations of descriptions of studies into how cats communicate. Basically cats without human interaction will only meow as kittens communicating to their mom and their mother might meow back, and as they grow older they will learn to communicate with each other purely by body language and pheramones. Cats who interact with humans have learned that meowing at us like kittens gets our attention and is effective at communicating with us.

Some have interpreted that to mean cats see us as really strange kittens, which of course gets miscommunicated by well meaning people repeating something they half-remember. It seems the reality is just cats have learned to adjust their behavior to better coexist with humans.

Impressively, cats and their humans also will develop complex enough communication that humans can interpret the need of the cat purely from their meow

At least this is my memory of research I half-remember reading about

[-] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 2 weeks ago

I love research telephone :D

[-] AppleTea@lemmy.zip 15 points 2 weeks ago

I have come to accept the research telephone. Yeah, my understanding of the actual research is filtered through countless interlocking individuals and who knows how many narrative frameworks. The best I can do, without just getting a degree in the field, is to try to sample as many of these narrative interpretations as possible.

When I see the point made that we believe science like a new religion, I cannot help but see the glimmer of truth in that interpretation. Ok, sure, fine by me. I trust the mechanism of passive-aggressive peer review more than any holy text or hierarchy of clergy.

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[-] I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 56 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, she knows I'm much better than her at opening wet food cans.

[-] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 45 points 2 weeks ago

“This cat is awful, but I’ll keep it around because it knows how to open the food stones.”

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[-] hperrin@lemmy.ca 52 points 2 weeks ago

I’m pretty sure my cat understands that people are not cats. She hisses at any other cat she sees, but has no problem with people.

[-] jalkasieni@sopuli.xyz 39 points 2 weeks ago

It’s because the other cats might actually be a threat, whereas the furless elongated ones are just terribly incompetent.

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[-] Ricaz@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 2 weeks ago

Cats have a completely different language when interacting with humans. They mostly just meow around us

[-] breecher@sh.itjust.works 45 points 2 weeks ago

That is not a "scientific fact". That is just something somebody wrote for the likes.

[-] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 day ago

"observational maybe"

[-] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 14 points 2 weeks ago

My favourit scientivic fact is that tiktok i saw some kid made and is the only source of that fact.

[-] nonentity@sh.itjust.works 41 points 2 weeks ago

Dogs have owners.
Cats have staff.

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[-] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 31 points 2 weeks ago

All I'll say is cats meow at humans and they don't meow at other cats except their own mom. To me this instantly defeats this take.

It's just a fun post though so I'm not judging.

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 42 points 2 weeks ago

I have 2 cats. One of them meows at people, cats, dogs, birds, butterflies, toys...

The other only meows when she's suffering horrible torture, like being picked up, or needing to scratch at the door the times without it opening.

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[-] starlinguk@lemmy.world 40 points 2 weeks ago

Cats meow at other cats besides their mother too. It's a complete myth that they don't.

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[-] Droggelbecher@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

I kind of am judging. Misrepresenting how science works and what it can and can't do ia a dangerous game on the age of intentional misinformation. Even if you're just trying to be cute and fun.

[-] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 2 weeks ago

You know what, you're right, framing it as a "scientific discovery" isn't cool.

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[-] Iheartcheese@lemmy.world 31 points 2 weeks ago

Am science. Can confirm.

[-] Soot@hexbear.net 21 points 2 weeks ago

We have strong evidence to the contrary. Cats only meow to humans, not to other cats. So they know we're fundamentally different.

[-] leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 2 weeks ago

Kittens meow to their mothers.

But yeah, cats have evolved to meow in just the right tone that makes us go all “aww, I need to help this cute little varmint, even if it will scratch me for the effort”, so you've got a point there.

[-] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 day ago

afaik it's not that cats have evolved to meow at us, it's much more simply that they notice that meowing is really effective at getting our attention, and if they happen to make other noises that catch our attention and help them get what they want, they'll also use those noises.

like, go watch the channel "lucy and stitch", Stitch consistently and almost exclusively makes little "eh" noises, it doesn't have to be meows.

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[-] PyroNeurosis@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 points 2 weeks ago

Is that how it works? I've had dogs try breeding my leg, cats not so much. That anecdote presents an opposite case.

[-] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 day ago

cats are just basically asexual outside of mating season afaik, whereas either wolves already don't have a specific mating seasons or dogs just inherited our lack of one..

it's one of my favourite things about cats, you almost never have to worry about petting them in the wrong place (you know, provided the cat trusts you) nor do you have to worry about a red rocket sighting

[-] optissima@lemmy.ml 30 points 2 weeks ago

Ive seen a dog hump inanimate objects so I don't think thats a great gauge.

[-] leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 2 weeks ago

Cats have standards.

[-] djsoren19@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 2 weeks ago

You clearly weren't interacting with horny cats.

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[-] Licksrocks@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago

My cat hates every other cat it meets, but loves every person it meets. I think it knows the difference.

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[-] alzymologist@sopuli.xyz 17 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not so sure my cats and dogs identify as different species tbh

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this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2025
733 points (94.7% liked)

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