<snip>
>My cat does know what her tinned food looks like unopened in a pseudo
>symbol processing manner. Importantly, she appears to me to exhibit an
>utter dislike for looking at herself in the mirror, unless at a
>distance. I've been interested in her mirror behavior, since I started
>reading this thread. Try it. Is there any data on whether a cat avoids
>looking directly into mirrors more than other surfaces? Notably, she
>does like sprawling over my computer screen and, with her head right
>over the edge, she sometimes takes an oblique interest in the mouse
>pointer.
It would appear that cats aren't particularly interested in mirrors after
the kitten stage.
However, I'm interested in the TV monitor issue. Our cat will
occasionally perk up when there are birds, complete with sound, on the
TV. Moreover, there are two videos available on the open market which are
targeted especially at cats. I found this hard to believe until a friend
showed me: played the video to her cats- and they were both transfixed.
I borrowed it and showed it to my moggie and: same reaction! Total,
absorbed attention, followed by a dramatic leap onto the screen, bounce
back, and frantic washing as a displacement activity as she tried to
regain her cool. Then back to watching the screen.
The topic of the video? A series of snippets of goldfish in bowls, and
small birds going "tweet tweet". Hard to believe, I know: but absolutely
true. Consistent, replicable behaviour. If I could think of a way of
making money from this phenomenon, I would.
kind regards,
Devi Jankowicz
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