A cat responds defensively to the sounds and movements emanating from a computer printer. We know what twitching is but we should realise that it is an involuntary action. It happens automatically. We don’t control it and it is caused by our muscles tightening up or contracting. That is the twitch and this cat is not twitching when she sits near a printer. She is responding very rapidly in a defensive way to the sound and movements she hears.
The computer printer is making the sound of printing; a sound which is unknown to this cat. As she is unsure what it means she is naturally defensive because it might mean that there is danger close to her which could cause her harm. But she is curious and so she stays and investigates. The defensive action results in her very rapid movement away from the printer which you see in the video. This is a voluntary movement. To stress, it is not involuntary and therefore cannot be a twitch.
Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.
Further, the printed paper is being pushed out of the device and those quick movements by the printer are also a cause for concern. She’s not sure what it means and the movement is in conjunction with the sounds she hears. These strange events mimic somewhat the sound and movement of a possible prey animal or a predator to a cat. And therefore, she is inherently cautious and defensive which explains her sharp movements.
Her movements are sharp because she has a lot of fast-twitch muscles in her body which allows her to run very quickly and jump exceptionally well. It also allows her to escape very quickly. Often, we see domestic cats jumping out of the way of strange objects like cucumbers in an explosive jump. It’s those fast-twitch muscles which come into effect again. The description ‘fast-twitch’ means that the muscles contract rapidly but they tire fast. The opposite are muscles which contract more slowly but have stamina. Cats are sprinters while dogs are long-distance runners.
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