One theory...
http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html
An excerpt:
If you were a dog or a cat or a horse you wouldn't realise that the image was a reflection of yourself. Most animals in this situation think that they are face to face with another member of their species.
The exception is the great apes – chimps, gorillas and orang-utans are capable of recognising themselves in the mirror – and of course the Naked Apes: us.
What's interesting is what the other apes do when presented with a mirror: they use mirrors to groom themselves, pick food out of their teeth and make faces at themselves for entertainment – i.e. more or less the same reactions as us Naked Apes.
Another theory...
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Cats-1606/2009/12/cats-mirrors.htm
An excerpt:
Question
Why is it that some cats cannot see themselves in the mirror, and other cats do., or is our cat who is oblivious to the mirror just being ornery when it is walking by it and no indication that he can see himself in the mirror. thanks
Answer
Each cat's behavior will differ when they see a reflection in the mirror due to their individual intelligence and understanding. Some cats immediately recognize that reflections in a mirror are two-dimensional and will usually pay them no further mind. Most cats perceive depth (volume) in mirrors and see the reflected objects as ACTUAL objects when they are first introduced to mirrors. This is when you see cats who react to their reflections as if they are another cat, often with hissing and hair-raising. Kittens usually go about this for the longest, because their intelligence is not yet fully developed. With some investigation, most adult cats quickly develop an understanding that mirrors are reflective, not clear glass, and that there is no object or cat on the other side of the glass. The mirror loses much of its entertainment value after this point. However, some very intelligent cats can use the reflections in mirrors to see what's going on behind themselves.
The jury is still out as to whether cats can recognize that it's THEIR reflection that they're seeing in the mirror. Scientists use mirrors to try to determine whether or not animals are self-aware, aware that they are unique, individual beings. The test records animals' reactions when they see their reflection, and then again after a change has been made to their appearance - for instance, a dot placed on the animal's head. An animal who tries to remove the dot from his own head rather than the dot on his reflection is considered self-aware. Cats have failed this self-awareness test, but there is a lot of criticism against this test when used on species such as cats and dogs. They may fail simply because their visual accuity is not as great as other species' for the purposes of the test, or they don't have the intelligence level to use the mirror to help them remove the spot on their head.
Most likely, your cat has recognized that his reflection is only a reflection and is not really interested in it anymore.
PW
http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html
An excerpt:
If you were a dog or a cat or a horse you wouldn't realise that the image was a reflection of yourself. Most animals in this situation think that they are face to face with another member of their species.
The exception is the great apes – chimps, gorillas and orang-utans are capable of recognising themselves in the mirror – and of course the Naked Apes: us.
What's interesting is what the other apes do when presented with a mirror: they use mirrors to groom themselves, pick food out of their teeth and make faces at themselves for entertainment – i.e. more or less the same reactions as us Naked Apes.
Another theory...
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Cats-1606/2009/12/cats-mirrors.htm
An excerpt:
Question
Why is it that some cats cannot see themselves in the mirror, and other cats do., or is our cat who is oblivious to the mirror just being ornery when it is walking by it and no indication that he can see himself in the mirror. thanks
Answer
Each cat's behavior will differ when they see a reflection in the mirror due to their individual intelligence and understanding. Some cats immediately recognize that reflections in a mirror are two-dimensional and will usually pay them no further mind. Most cats perceive depth (volume) in mirrors and see the reflected objects as ACTUAL objects when they are first introduced to mirrors. This is when you see cats who react to their reflections as if they are another cat, often with hissing and hair-raising. Kittens usually go about this for the longest, because their intelligence is not yet fully developed. With some investigation, most adult cats quickly develop an understanding that mirrors are reflective, not clear glass, and that there is no object or cat on the other side of the glass. The mirror loses much of its entertainment value after this point. However, some very intelligent cats can use the reflections in mirrors to see what's going on behind themselves.
The jury is still out as to whether cats can recognize that it's THEIR reflection that they're seeing in the mirror. Scientists use mirrors to try to determine whether or not animals are self-aware, aware that they are unique, individual beings. The test records animals' reactions when they see their reflection, and then again after a change has been made to their appearance - for instance, a dot placed on the animal's head. An animal who tries to remove the dot from his own head rather than the dot on his reflection is considered self-aware. Cats have failed this self-awareness test, but there is a lot of criticism against this test when used on species such as cats and dogs. They may fail simply because their visual accuity is not as great as other species' for the purposes of the test, or they don't have the intelligence level to use the mirror to help them remove the spot on their head.
Most likely, your cat has recognized that his reflection is only a reflection and is not really interested in it anymore.
PW
