This is a good example, provided the video is genuine which I believe it is, of a young domestic cat copying the hand movements of his/her human companion and caregiver. The human taps her hand and her tabby cat copies the movement directly and immediately. In a way it is quite startling to see because it’s very positive. It confirms what we already know which is that domestic cats observe us and sometimes copy what we do. This is why cats end up opening doors to rooms and fridges or turn on bathroom taps (faucets).
It’s why, too, they modify their behaviour and fit in with our routines. They are learning all the time to improve their lives. And I think this innate desire to copy and learn starts with their genuine biological mother. We also know that in the wild, the wild cat ancestor to the domestic cat (N. African wildcat) teaches her offspring how to hunt. She brings prey animals back to the den and teaches them how to kill the animals and then takes them out into her home range to hunt with them. The inherited skills of the cat are honed and refined through first-hand experience based upon mother’s lessons.
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/jqx1bp/no_u/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
So, to cut a long story short, domestic cats are good at learning through observation and here we have a good example of it. I can’t embed the video from Reddit.com because it does not work properly so I’ve provided a link instead which takes you to the Reddit.com website where you can see it. But please note that sometimes videos disappear over time for various reasons so perhaps in a few years time or even sooner this video may no longer be available. I can’t control that but if it has happened I’m sorry.
Below is a screenshot of the video, not the video itself. Please click the link above to see the video. Thanks.
