• switcheroo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    I’m fine with that. Better that being a tall ape descendant slash servant.

    Cats are great. 😊

  • Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    No, they have absolutely no idea about nuclear war and apparently no clear sense that we might be some other species, despite not quite having the strokably hairy torsos they enjoy.

    Speak for yourself, my torso hair is luxurious.

    • SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      This will totally dox myself to anyone who might be in or know someone in an old friend group.

      I’m a very furry person - I joke that I put the hair suit in hirsute - but at least it’s soft! Years upon years ago, I had a one night stand with my then future partner’s (now ex’s) best friend. It was bad. Really, awkwardly bad. The kind of bad where I woke up the next morning and, instead of trying for another go, groaned inwardly because they were still there, a living reminder of how bad it was.

      I took out my phone and hastily messaged my best friend, asking her advice on politely dealing with this. Unbeknownst to me, my guest was awake, messaging my future partner. She described being barely awake in the early morning, petting my cat. I didn’t have a cat or any pets. As she became more aware, she realized she was petting my chest.

      Apparently some humans think I’m a big stupid cat too.

      P.s. She also thought the sex was awful.

    • Uli@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      My cat knows about nuclear war. He simply hasn’t chosen to exercise the knowledge.

      • Ignotum@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        9 months ago

        True, it’s common knowledge that all cats know the exact time and date when the first bombs are going to fall, leading to the fall and eventual extinction of the human race
        But they all refuse to tell us because they’re silly furry goobers

  • Fedegenerate@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    Easy test at home. Bring a strange human into your house, note the reaction. Bring a strange cat into your house, is the reaction the same? If not then cats are smart enough to mark a distinction between people and cats.

    • lectricleopard@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      I agree and disagree. If you did a large enough trial mleith many animals and people, for each of many test cats in homes, then the data might show this. I just think that even if this hypothesis is true, the reaction to every cat/person won’t be the same for a given test cat. That could be a noisy signal.

      • Fedegenerate@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
        0·
        9 months ago

        It was more a plea to cat owners that know their cat. The cats I know don’t tolerate cats on the street outside their house, let alone inside, plenty of people around though. I’m sure there’s exceptions, I don’t know cats well. As a rule, I think they’re intolerant of strange cats being in “their” space, less so humans.

        • lectricleopard@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          9 months ago

          I see what you mean. I have 3 cats, all girls and spayed. Our neighbor has an outdoor cat (socially acceptable animal cruelty imo), a boy and intact.

          They make goo goo eyes at each other through the windows. I dont know what would happen if I let them out, but they look like they’d be friends.

            • lectricleopard@lemmy.worldEnglish
              0·
              9 months ago

              They live much shorter lives outdoors. Im not sure how someone could not care about the length of life of something they care about.

              • quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                0·
                9 months ago

                Maybe they care more about their quality of life than their life span. I my opinion it is the other way around, the socially acceptable cruelty is to have them confined their entire lives, doesn’t matter how big and comfortable is the cage.

            • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
              0·
              9 months ago

              One of the big things is their robust appetite for murder. Domesticated cats destroy bird populations. At minimum they should have a collar with a bell.

        • DaTingGoBrrr@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          9 months ago

          I have never seen a cat beg another cat for food. I have seen plenty of cats beg humans for food. I am pretty sure cats are smart enough to realize we are not cats. For one, we have hands we can use to open doors and give pets

    • TeamAssimilation@infosec.pubEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      And they KNOW humans provide sustenance on a regular basis, and protection, so I can’t believe they think we’re just giant hairless monstrous cats. They’d have to think everything else is a cat otherwise. Look at the flying cats, mom! I’m gonna catch and eat one!

    • mbfalzar@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      The thing I’ve seen is that when they show dogs an image of their owner while the dog is in a PET scan, and show the dog pictures of other animals, the same part of the brain lights up, while showing the dog pictures of other dogs lights up a different but close area of the brain. Doing the same test on cats had one area lighting up for other animals, but the same part lighting up when shown their owner and when shown other cats

      • Johanno@feddit.orgEnglish
        0·
        9 months ago

        While it is scientific people should provide the context that we don’t really understand brains fully yet and this doesn’t mean that his belief or conclusion is correct

    • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      3 college professors (1990) suggested we read Desmond Morris’ books. Don’t know how the science has stood up, but he believed this. Dogs and cats think humans are weird versions of their own species, that we’re basically their parents, and act accordingly. Nothing IRL has dissuaded me from that notion.

      One interesting idea I got from him; When we’re small we love huge animals, see them as parents. As we get older, we like small animals, see them as our children.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Morris

      Again, don’t know how it stands up, but The Naked Ape is damned thought provoking.

      • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        9 months ago

        Nothing IRL has dissuaded me from that notion.

        Cats react differently when seeing an unfamiliar cat than they do when seeing an unfamiliar human.

      • over_clox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        9 months ago

        Also, people should keep in mind, that kittens are born with their eyes still sealed shut for a while. So once they open their eyes and finally get to see the world, they naturally accept the creatures that have been and continue to care for them.

        • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          9 months ago

          Think Morris touches on that! Been 35-years since I studied him though. Afraid to read it all again in case he turned out to be so very wrong.

  • JackbyDev@programming.devEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    I don’t buy this because cats will react totally differently to cats than people. Regardless of posture. If my cat sees someone walking down the street she doesn’t get angry. If my cat sees a cat outside she’s already on the defense.

    • Fedizen@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      I think people are leaving out purring and kneading as behavior. Both are kitten behaviors. Suggesting to humans they click into “kitten mode”