This is an interesting video because the person who made it says that the cat in the video soothes the crying baby to sleep by placing his paw on the baby’s head. You can see that the cat holds his paw on the baby’s head for a long time. It really does seem that this cat is doing this deliberately to calm the baby down. But is this really happening?
http://youtu.be/PWXigjFm4TM
I asked this question because…for a domestic cat to deliberately place his or her paw on a baby’s head in order to calm the baby down and return the baby to sleep, the cat has to recognise that:
- The baby is sleeping
- The baby is crying and therefore not sleeping properly
- The baby needs to be soothed back to sleep
- The baby needs to sleep
- The baby needs his or her sleep because it is good for the baby
- Placing his or her paw on the baby’s head will calm the baby down, which in turn will induce the baby to sleep again.
I know, and I fully realise, that the domestic cat is intelligent but let us not forget that the domestic cat does not have the same requirements or have the same lifestyle requirements as humans. Instinctively, a cat should not know the above information…but and this is a big but, this cat may have watched the baby’s mother placing her hand on her baby’s head because this is the kind of thing a mother does.
My initial conclusion is this. The cat is not placing his paw on the baby’s head in order to calm the baby down and soothe him back to sleep but to copy what his caretaker does which is placed a hand on the baby’s head. The cat is copying his caretaker because the caretaker is his mother and the cat is dependent upon his mother/human caretaker and will learn from the human because cats are very good at learning by observation.
That is the way I see it and I think my assessment is more accurate than the assessment of the person who made the video but I am fully open to suggestions.
I am not sure whether it is the US or UK video, myself. And claws did come to my mind as well. You can see, though, that this cat places his front paw on the baby’s head very gently and then he sniffs the head. Cats seem to like the smell of babies just feel like the smell of their owner if they are on good terms with their owner 😉
I’ve seen that video before and wondered then as I wonder now, is it a British video or a US one and does that cat have claws? My other thoughts are what a gorgeous little cat, I laughed when he/she had a little nibble at the baby’s head. If the cat has claws I am full of admiration for her carer for including the cat with the baby. If the claws are gone then my opinion on that is well known already.
What a beautiful cat! It did look like she was copying the baby’s mother in comforting him and looking towards her now and again for approval that she was doing it right.
hmm its interesting never seen that before. Maybe the cat senses what the mother was doing and yes i agree with all you said. i tend to agree. Its amazing how cats can sense things they are amazing animals.
I am pleased that you agree with me. That is the way it looked to me and of course it is effective because as you say the touch is soothing.
Yes, the cat’s paw is imitating the parent.
The touch, though, is what the baby needed to soothe him.
Cats are so, so smart.