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Cats love routines (thelemmy.club)
submitted 1 week ago by to c/cat@lemmy.world
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[–] 52 points 1 week ago (11 children)

I was clearly an indoor house human and not allowed outside.

I read somewhere that scientists could prove Dogs know we are not dogs but Cats do not know we are not cats; to cats we are just weird looking cats that are very generous as we constantly share "our" food

So to your cat you are just a weird indoor cat! And they can tell who is allowed out and who is not because we have 3 cats and only 1 is allowed out (long story). When she is coming back, another one of our cats eagerly awaits and sometimes tries to poker head out and our outdoor cat will scold and hiss at her until she comes back into the house completely

This behaviour is so strong that the curious indoor cat got used to sniffing the outside air from under the open door (instead of just peaking out) to avoid the scolding

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  • [–] 35 points 1 week ago (6 children)

    I don't believe this. Our cats will watch a cat on TV, but not a human. Our cats act differently to my wife and I than they do each other.

    Cats have powerful senses of smell and use it for identification. We do not smell like cats.

    Cats demonstrate competitive bonding with each other, but not with humans.

    Cats use different vocalizations with humans than other cats.

    Cats will observe human facial expressions rather than body language. They recognize we communicate with our face, not body.

    All kinds of things. Cats may not know what we are, know we are potential allies (for the most part), but they also know we are not cats.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    I don’t believe this. Our cats will watch a cat on TV, but not a human. Our cats act differently to my wife and I than they do each other.

    So here is an article about the book that discusses this:

    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/140127-cats-pets-animals-nation-dogs-people-science

    Please note that I did not mean to imply cats do not know us from them. What I was trying to convey is that they treat us like they would treat a [giant] cat (discussed in the article).

    Cats are individuals and treat each other differently, they know one cat from the other and they can distinguish each member of the household as they do different things with each of us; however, what they do with us, with the exception of meowing, are things they would do with other cats... i.e. they will snuggle, try to groom us, head butt us, show us their butts, expose their bellies or hiss at us in the same way they would to other cats

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  • [–] 23 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    I actually have read the book, and the book doesn't say or even imply that cats think of us as cats.

    Please note that I did not mean to imply cats do not know us from them.

    Fair. But there is a lot of nonsense around that subject on the Internet because people misinterpret what it says. Even in the article you linked, they ask that question and he corrects them.

    In the book [I say] that cats behave toward us in a way that's indistinguishable from [how] they would act toward other cats.

    Specifically that. Because dogs operate in unit groups and they recognize a hierarchy. Cats, even in social groups do not have a hierarchy and treat us as members of their colony. They socialize with us as such, but in an equal but different capacity. That's misinterpreted a lot.

    I apologize for assuming that was the point you were trying to make.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 week ago

    Oh cool... thanks for the clarification. You can see how the line quoted from the author easily twists into "cats can't tell we are not cats" but the clarification is welcome and the difference is huge!

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  • [–] 15 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Cats demonstrate competitive bonding with each other, but not with humans.

    You haven't met our cats.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago

    yeah, ours will pick their person, say me, and be their shadow all day, then cuddle on my wife's lap while staring at me, daring me to complain that i'm not getting kitten cuddles.

    it was so sweet the way my prettykitty chose me at the shelter. we bonded instantly. i can tell she's telling me "i love her too" when she does this stuff and it's adorable but i am still envious of the kitten cuddles.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    We had a cat that we got probably too young, and my wife and I both worked at home so we were all around each other 24/7. That cat definitely thought we were all the same kind of thing. After a few years (5?), we got another kitten and I swear the older one had a full-blown identity crisis.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    Oh I believe you 100%. One of our cats (the one that is curious but can't go out) was a rescue and we had her, spayed and at home, by the time she was 10 weeks! (usually they stay with mom for 12 at least)

    One of the things we learnt is that when they are kittens they meow but Mom teaches them to stay quiet because they are predators. In time, they realize us humans respond to the meow so they do it for us; you certainly noticed that when they see a squirrel or bird out the window, they make completely different noises.

    Well, this cat never learnt because Mom was not around so she does not meow to us at all, she chirps at us all sorts of weird sounds and seems to establish a full on conversation (it's not just one odd sound, it's a series of chirps and wails hahaha)

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    We found our oldest in the woods at about 5 weeks. She has never meowed. She vocalizes, but not like any other cat i have ever heard. I would describe it similar to yours, chirps, yowls and wails.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago

    My two kitties were rescued by my sister when they had just barely opened their eyes, and we ended up with them a few weeks later. One of my cats tries to mimic human speech regularly, and the other makes a “Maa!” Noise that is the closest she’s ever been to a real meow lol

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