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Do Cats Recognize Their Own Reflection in the Mirror?

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demien2k5

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...or do they think it's some other cat? I swear, everytime I pick up my little dude and show him his reflection in the mirror, he is completely non-plussed, but if he sees another cat out by the pool in our yard through the patio window, he goes absolutely ape-shit! If he does recognize his own image, who told him it was him in the first place? Me? Another Cat? The cleaning lady? I'm very confused....

Thoughts, people?

(Where the hell is Ceiling Cat when you need an informed opinion?)
 
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danmand

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demien2k5 said:
...or do they think it's some other cat? I swear, everytime I pick up my little dude and show him his reflection in the mirror, he is completely non-plussed, but if he sees another cat out by the pool in our yard through the patio window, he goes absolutely ape-shit! If he does recognize his own image, who told him it was him in the first place? Me? Another Cat? The cleaning lady? I'm very confused....

Thoughts, people?


(Where the hell is Ceiling Cat when you need an informed opinion?)
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My opinion is that cats not recognize anything in the mirror
 
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demien2k5

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danmand said:
My opinion is that cats not recognize anything in the mirror
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Then why doesn't he ever react when he sees his reflection...shouldn't he just think it's another real cat and go bananas like he does when he looks out the window?
 
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red

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cats cannot see their own reflection in the mirror
 
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danmand

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demien2k5 said:
Then why doesn't he ever react when he sees his reflection...shouldn't he just think it's another real cat and go bananas like he does when he looks out the window?
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My theory is that he does not "see" a cat. Not himself, not another cat.
 
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james t kirk

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They figure it out pretty quick. I've seen kittens go after mirror images, but not grown cats. (No smell?)

My one cat definitely knows who is who. She doesn't like women at all, especially brunette women. She will run away from women, or his and growl at them if they try to pick her up. So obviously they can differentiate between the sexes. One time I was out on the porch roof and I saw her laying on the bed and I came up to the window and she started hissing at me and assuming the cat attack posture, but the second I called out to her she immediately relaxed, stopped hissing and eventually laid back down. Clearly she recognizes me by voice as well as apperance.
 
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demien2k5

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SillyGirl said:
Maybe because there's no smell, he knows it's not real?
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But looking through the closed patio window in the house, he certainly can't smell another cat out in the yard either, unless he has some form of "cat super powers" I'm not aware of....
 
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demien2k5

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james t kirk said:
She doesn't like women at all, especially brunette women. She will run away from women, or his and growl at them if they try to pick her up.
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...it's a proven fact that too many "pussies" in the same room will inevitably wind up in conflict, so no surprises there...
 
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SillyGirl

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demien2k5 said:
But looking through the closed patio window in the house, he certainly can't smell another cat out in the yard either, unless he has some form of "cat super powers" I'm not aware of....
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hmmm...well, I don't know then.

I adopted my adult cat, and I've not held her in front of a mirror yet. I will when she wakes up and see what she does.

I have seen puppies react as though it's another dog, and it's the funniest thing! :p
 
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demien2k5

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eurotrash1970 said:
Do we really care if they realize it's not another cat?
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I'm just trying to get an answer to a puzzling riddle that's bugged me for about 9 years; it's not so much that I care if he recognizes himself, I just want to understand the mechanics of it...that, and if he's actually been mind fucking me for the past decade every time I hold him in front of the mirror. If so, he should win the Cat Academy Award, 'cause he's got that stone faced look down cold. No emotion or reaction whatsover. He's really a cool cat, man.
 
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browsing

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It's the same answer of why don't most dogs and cats react to other animals on television... animals don't use just vision to identify other critters. It's a combination of sight, smell and sound that make it real to an animal. Some might argue that their dog or cat will watch television, but for most of them, it might just be an amusing changing of shapes that captures them. They are smart enough to know it's not real, though they might not fully understand exactly what it is they're looking at.
 
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Ceiling Cat

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Cats have a very keen sense of smell. One time a outside cat got into the basement from an open window. When my kitty went down with me, she started to hiss. The most that cat could have done was walk around a bit, but that was enough to spread his smell.
 
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