Posted on 02/23/2019 11:53:59 AM PST by ETL
Evans, a psychology graduate student at the University of Liverpool, recently devised a survey for owners who think that their cats are psychopaths.
The survey asks owners to describe the allegedly psychopathic behaviors, and so far they have included bullying other pets, taking over the dog’s bed, and waiting on the kitchen counter to pounce on unsuspecting family members. In short, pretty typical cat behavior.
These answers get at the tricky semantics of calling a cat a “psychopath” when it is just … a cat.
There’s always an implicit comparison when we talk about cats as aloof little jerks, says Mikel Maria Delgado, a postdoctoral researcher on cat behavior at the University of California at Davis.
And that comparison is with dogs, which humans have spent thousands more years domesticating and molding in our image.
Cats, she pointed out, simply don’t have the facial muscles to make the variety of expressions a dog (or human) can.
So when we look at a cat staring at us impassively, it looks like a psychopath who cannot feel or show emotion.
But that’s just its face. Cats communicate not with facial expressions but through the positions of their ears and tails.
Their emotional lives can seem inscrutable—and even nonexistent—until you spend a lot of time getting to know one.
Dogs, on the other hand, have learned to mimic humans.
They do that thing where they pull their mouths back into something resembling a smile.
They hang their heads in a way that looks super guilty.
Just as humans have shaped the physical appearance of dogs, we’ve bred them to be extremely attuned to human social cues.
Dogs that repeatedly raise their brows to make cute puppy faces are more likely to be adopted out of shelters.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Some cats have facial expressions.
We’re down to 5 cats and 4 are super affectionate. The 5th is still half feral and will only tolerate an occasional petting but he’s a nice little guy. One is my little shadow who helps with everything. One is shy but loves cuddling. Another acts as the patriarch who brought in his half siblings when he decided they needed a good home. The one with the “It’s all about ME!” attitude must have his hugs mid morning and mid afternoon. They bring me presents a dozen times a day. What’s strange is they’re very talkative and even have voice modulations as if they’re trying to speak human. Wish I could understand because they seem to have the most wonderful stories.
They rub all over the dog who ignores them.
Cats are psychopaths. Why is there a discussion on this?
Settle science.
Settled science.
Dogs love you for who you are, cats will put up with you for what you can do for them - it’s as easy as that.....
You brood sounds like out six. All have unique personalities. The only male has a distinct Eddie Haskell personality. He’s so funny.
Yep. All of my cats have been affectionate. EXCEPT DaisyJane who has been with me for 18 months. Adopted her from a shelter, cutest kittie in America if not the entire world. Vet laughed when I brought her in..."hahaha, you got yourself a fierce kitty. A tri-colored tabby."
That's funny? Ever since, there's been lot of bloodshed, plus being ignored full-time.
I threaten her with extinction daily, but she does cuddle at night. Until I roll over, and then she bites me.
My cat told me he disagrees.
Well, I know for a fact that my Dog is a Democrat.
The Cat obviously never watched the Movie “Alien”.
Yep. The real psychopaths are bottlenose dolphins. We humans think a dolphin looks friendly and playful, just because its mouth is shaped like a human smile. In reality, dolphins are evil.
That’s right. I grew up on a ranch and we shot many wild running dogs because they’d take down a calf or colt just for sport.
ha!
nice one
we may THINK cats are psycho
but the cats KNOW we are psycho
I threaten her with extinction daily, but she does cuddle at night. Until I roll over, and then she bites me.
Ours was about 9 weeks old when we had her spayed. We knew it was time, when she’d wander around in the house, at night, crying, for all the world, like she was calling out, “Ohhh nooo!” Funniest thing you’ve ever heard! She almost never says that anymore.
Did you rinse it off and give it back to them? :)
Ran, not Dan. Sigh.
Our current resident cat was a shelter cat that had been collared by the authorities and neutered a few weeks before we got him. While niteowl77 was looking at the potential adoptees, the little guy practically jumped in her lap and begged for a skritching. We don't know where he came from, but we suspect he was someone's former pet who had been dumped with the other two cats who were picked up with him.
He is the only cat we have ever had who came into the house knowing how to play "fetch." Quite a character, he is.
In other news...birds fly.
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