A Michael Broad Blog
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
