If you sit down next to a cat, and throw your arm over the back of the sofa while someone reaches over from behind and starts to pet the cat, and then after a little bit you stand up and leave while the phantom arm is still petting the cat, the cat understands that something really freaky is happening, gets scared, and runs away.

I would have thought they’d be happy that whatever weird thing is happening is petting them, but apparently not. An arm with no human is alarming and bad. I think it’s cool that their mental model is that similar to ours.

  • Natanael@slrpnk.netEnglish
    551·
    3 days ago

    They too have an understanding of object permanence for things outside their field of vision. They want to understand what’s near them and what’s touching them.

    If they realize the thing touching them is unknown and it can’t make sense of what it might be then it might be something dangerous (and this instinct will still be there in a safe space in your home).

    • Nougat@fedia.io
      334·
      3 days ago

      It’s even more than that. The cat thought it knew who was doing the petting, then the world model with that explanation was yanked out of existence.

  • DABDA@lemm.eeEnglish
    232·
    3 days ago

    I vaguely recall Monty Python conducting some studies on confusing cats too. Thanks for your contributions to the ongoing research!

  • edric@lemm.eeEnglish
    18·
    3 days ago

    Did you just see this on youtube? I was mindlessly scrolling while not logged in or anything and I saw a thumbnail of a video of that exact scenario.

  • Lvxferre@mander.xyzEnglish
    13·
    3 days ago

    Mammals in general are so smart that I wonder if this mental model is shared by the whole class, or at least the Boreoeutheria (clade that includes both carnivores and primates, plus a lot more critters). And, like, the evolutionary benefits of that model are obvious - if whatever tore your arm apart is still lying around, you need to run away ASAP.

      • Lvxferre@mander.xyzEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        Some of them are really smart indeed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they developed a similar mental model through convergent evolution.

      • KnightontheSun@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        3 days ago

        I remember an article not long ago about a songbird that “riffs” within its song. Something like a jazz musician might. I’m fuzzy on the details, but this was stated as a sign of intelligence. The theory is that neural density might be variable based on the species…or something. Basically even that a bird brain can be intelligent and capable of some level of free thinking. We all know about crows and their street smarts too.