146
I've made an important discovery (ponder.cat)
submitted 5 months ago by PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat to c/casualconversation@lemm.ee
13 comments fedilink hide all child comments

If you sit down next to a cat, and throw your arm over the back of the sofa while someone reaches over from behind and starts to pet the cat, and then after a little bit you stand up and leave while the phantom arm is still petting the cat, the cat understands that something really freaky is happening, gets scared, and runs away.

I would have thought they'd be happy that whatever weird thing is happening is petting them, but apparently not. An arm with no human is alarming and bad. I think it's cool that their mental model is that similar to ours.

all 15 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Natanael@slrpnk.net 59 points 5 months ago

They too have an understanding of object permanence for things outside their field of vision. They want to understand what's near them and what's touching them.

If they realize the thing touching them is unknown and it can't make sense of what it might be then it might be something dangerous (and this instinct will still be there in a safe space in your home).

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 30 points 5 months ago

It's even more than that. The cat thought it knew who was doing the petting, then the world model with that explanation was yanked out of existence.

[-] DABDA@lemm.ee 23 points 5 months ago

I vaguely recall Monty Python conducting some studies on confusing cats too. Thanks for your contributions to the ongoing research!

[-] aramis87@fedia.io 14 points 5 months ago

https://imgur.com/gallery/this-works-on-cats-too-7lkybNv

[-] lvxferre@mander.xyz 14 points 5 months ago

Mammals in general are so smart that I wonder if this mental model is shared by the whole class, or at least the Boreoeutheria (clade that includes both carnivores and primates, plus a lot more critters). And, like, the evolutionary benefits of that model are obvious - if whatever tore your arm apart is still lying around, you need to run away ASAP.

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

Birds are very smart too, some of them are much smarter than the average mammal.

[-] KnightontheSun@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

I remember an article not long ago about a songbird that “riffs” within its song. Something like a jazz musician might. I’m fuzzy on the details, but this was stated as a sign of intelligence. The theory is that neural density might be variable based on the species…or something. Basically even that a bird brain can be intelligent and capable of some level of free thinking. We all know about crows and their street smarts too.

[-] lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 points 5 months ago

Some of them are really smart indeed, and I wouldn't be surprised if they developed a similar mental model through convergent evolution.

this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2025
146 points (98.0% liked)

[Migrated, see pinned post] Casual Conversation

3369 readers
8 users here now

We moved to !casualconversation@piefed.social please look for https://lemm.ee/post/66060114 in your instance search bar

Share a story, ask a question, or start a conversation about (almost) anything you desire. Maybe you'll make some friends in the process.

RULES

  1. Be respectful: no harassment, hate speech, bigotry, and/or trolling.
  2. Encourage conversation in your OP. This means including heavily implicative subject matter when you can and also engaging in your thread when possible.
  3. Avoid controversial topics (e.g. politics or societal debates).
  4. Stay calm: Don’t post angry or to vent or complain. We are a place where everyone can forget about their everyday or not so everyday worries for a moment. Venting, complaining, or posting from a place of anger or resentment doesn't fit the atmosphere we try to foster at all. Feel free to post those on !goodoffmychest@lemmy.world
  5. Keep it clean and SFW
  6. No solicitation such as ads, promotional content, spam, surveys etc.

Casual conversation communities:

Related discussion-focused communities

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
orangeNgreen@lemmy.world
neidu2@feddit.nl
BoozeOrWater@lemm.ee