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A comment on Scientist: Cats think you are just a big, stupid cat. Parent comment

Re:Scientist: Cats think you are just a big, stupid cat by georgemcbay on Sunday January 12, 2014 @11:53PM (#7048982)
I haven't read the book this is based on so maybe that makes it more clear, but reading just the article I agree this is inane. I grew up with cats and have a cat now and they clearly act differently not only when it comes to strange humans vs strange cats, but also humans of different types, eg. genders (my cat trusts human females inherently but it takes her a long time to trust males, I adopted her from a shelter when she was 2 and assume she used to be abused by a male or something).

All that aside, cats do use their own body language towards us quite a bit, like the head-bump, the "making biscuits" thing and the slow eye blink. But they also customize things for us as well, like I've read other researchers who say cats don't meow (in a non-growl way) with each other after they are kittens, that is reserved for talking to humans.

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Re:Scientist: Cats think you are just a big, stupid cat by gizmo686 on Monday January 13, 2014 @12:56AM (#7049184)
>I've read other researchers who say cats don't meow (in a non-growl way) with each other after they are kittens

I remember reading that domestication tends to cause juvenile traits to carry into adulthood.

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Re:Scientist: Cats think you are just a big, stupid cat by krrrh on Monday January 13, 2014 @02:05AM (#7049336)
It's called neotony. Domesticated dogs rarely howl, and domesticated cats rarely roar. Both of them keep the urge to play much longer than their wild counterparts.

One interesting side-note is the idea that humans are also domesticated animals, and that we self-domesticated. A large part of what makes us human is that we maintain a degree of brain plasticity as we age and don't ever fully become adults. A fascinating piece of evidence for this is the way that baby chimps resemble baby humans, both in looks and behaviour.

http://www.gmilburn.ca/2009/03/30/chimpanzees-and-neoteny/

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Re:Scientist: Cats think you are just a big, stupid cat by linker3000 on Monday January 13, 2014 @03:49AM (#7049537)
"Domesticated dogs rarely howl"

You clearly haven't met our neighbours and their delightful King Charles Spaniels.

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Re:Scientist: Cats think you are just a big, stupid cat by auctiontheory on Monday January 13, 2014 @01:16AM (#7049233)
my cat trusts human females inherently but it takes her a long time to trust males

Huh. What's your best guess how she tells males and females (of another species: humans) apart?

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Re:Scientist: Cats think you are just a big, stupid cat by ricardobeat on Monday January 13, 2014 @01:30AM (#7049257)
Most likely by smell, that is how they identify each other and other animals, since their daytime vision kind of sucks. Sometimes they can tell when you're arriving way before you get to the door.
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Re:Scientist: Cats think you are just a big, stupid cat by simcop2387 on Monday January 13, 2014 @01:23AM (#7049246)
I'd guess largely on some visual cues like facial hair and some ol'factory ones.
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