I think that this video tells us a bit about the domestic cat’s mentality. It gives us a clue as to what they are thinking.
But I’d like to know what people make of this video. It’s a simple, innocent video of a cat behind a window and his owner sprays water at him with the window protecting him from the water.
In the video the cat appears to know that the glass will protect him. Or does he? Perhaps he does not understand that it is water being sprayed at him and therefore he is not anxious about it hitting him because he has no thoughts about being sprayed with water.
If that is the case – and I think it is the more likely reason why he is so laid back – it means that this particular cat has never, thankfully, had water sprayed at him with this device. He has not learned that water is coming out of the nozzle and therefore he fails to recognise it as something which would be unpleasant if it made contact with him (unless he loves water and some cats do).
It is about a learned event. If I am correct, it also means that he remains ignorant, after this incident, of the fact that something unpleasant (water) comes out of this yellow device and that it is to be avoided. The only way to learn that it needs to be avoided is for him to get wet.
I am sure that he has not rationalised the situation by deciding that (1) water is coming out of the nozzle of the device and (2) he doesn’t have to get out of the way because there is glass between him and the nozzle. If he thought that he’d be thinking like a human. It may be possible but I don’t think it’s what happened.
That’s my assessment but I am speculating and there will be a lot of people who might well disagree with me.
The video also reminds us that domestic cats have to learn what is safe and harmful like us. But if their experiences are narrow and limited their learning is also limited. This makes them more vulnerable. It is why the domestic cat often fails to avoid vehicles on the road. They have little or no experience of dealing with a fast vehicle bearing down on them on the road. They misjudge how to avoid vehicles and dart in front of them or are totally nonplussed by traffic until they are hit.
It is also why they never learn that antifreeze is dangerous. The first time they experience it, it normally kills them by damaging their kidneys.
