Before answering the question, we have to define the word ‘deceive’. Definition: to deliberately cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, especially for personal gain. I have never seen any cat behaviourists try to work out if domestic cats try to deceive each other. The activity of deception as carried out by humans …
A cat has no concept of its own death and so it cannot anticipate it, no matter how ill it feels. – Dr Desmond Morris If an old domestic cat left to their own devices falls ill, they don’t think that they are dying. They feel pain and discomfort and what it means to …
Cats have no fear of death which is an enormous advantage over us Read More »
This is a philosophical question even if it does incorporate poo which is quite a nice juxtaposition. It is said that humans are hardwired to be repulsed by their own excreta. And apparently Charles Darwin identified human beings’ disgust at excrement as an essential human emotion. Further, Prof Valerie Curtis, a self-styled “disgustologist”, argued that …
Why are humans disgusted by their faeces but cats aren’t? Read More »
True feral cats are smarter than domestic cats. This gives them an advantage in survival. I’m thinking here of the true Australian feral cat living in the outback and surviving on an abundance of marsupials and small mammals that are native to that continent. It is said that the feral cats of Australia have become …
It is 4:30 in the morning and I’ve just fed my cat. He came in hungry after much activity. There was some old cat food lying around, which had been there for 12 hours. As he was hungry he dived in and began to eat it. Meanwhile I was preparing some fresh. He hadn’t give …
Cat’s brain is unencumbered which makes the cat instinctively quick Read More »
No, cats do not fear death. The reason is straightforward. Cats are not self-aware by which I mean self-conscious. Some people will dispute that statement. I’ll proceed though. As they are not self-aware when they are in pain or discomfort due to a chronic illness which is killing them or a sudden trauma and injury …
This super cute, two legged cat has compensated brilliantly. It is so impressive. I think she is female. Her back muscles have become incredibly strong to the point where she holds her body at various angles effortlessly. She then runs away from her sleepy bulldog companion like an ostrich. It is astonishing. Her balance is …
Sometimes people ask: “Why are cats so cunning?” It implies that domestic cats are cunning, but are they? In a light-hearted fashion, the great cat lover, Mark Twain, thought that a cat purring was a very cunning manoeuvre because he could never resist a purring cat. “I simply can’t resist a cat, particularly a purring …
What types of things confuse cats? I am referring to domestic cats. I am sure that you can think of quite a few things that confuse your cat but the following things come to my mind fairly quickly. Domestic cats are confused by doors. If a house does not have a cat flap (cat door) …
The answer to the question is, No. I could leave it there but Google’s search engine won’t allow it. I think the question is anthropomorphising the domestic cat. It is humanising the domestic cat to put it another way. I don’t think domestic cats think like this at all. They don’t question those sorts of …
Is it possible that house cats know that they have big relatives? Read More »
If you kiss a cat, how does she interpret it? It is a fair question. Before answering, people should realise that we can’t answer this sort of question with absolute certainty. As yet, we do not know enough about how domestic cats think. We have to admit that we are still learning about our cat …
Do cats understand if you accidentally step on their tail or paw? A lot of people profess to know the answer to this question but the truth is we don’t know for sure. We can guess by a cat’s reaction but even then we can’t be certain and text books written by experts don’t help. …
Do cats understand if you accidentally step on their tail or paw? Read More »
This is a well worn question but what it is really asking is whether a domesic cat will suffer psychologically if he/she is kept indoors. You could answer the question by saying that millions of Americans keep their cats indoors. The cats seem to be fine. They quite possibly are okay psychologically but we don’t …
