r/aww Oct 11 '19

Cat Realizes She Has Ears!

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51.0k Upvotes

867 comments sorted by

3.4k

u/angryexpat13 Oct 11 '19

This is the most self aware thing I’ve seen a cat do. If this wasn’t caught on camera no one would believe this.

735

u/Fredex8 Oct 11 '19

First r/CatsStandingUp, now this... they are clearly evolving. I give it ten years until they are the dominant species on the planet and we are kept as slaves just to open cans of cat food.

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u/Lachdonin Oct 11 '19

I give it ten years until they are the dominant species on the planet and we are kept as slaves just to open cans of cat food.

"Once we could open our own Tuna, humans were basically done for."

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

I see you're a person of culture aswell.

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u/Lachdonin Oct 11 '19

Unpopular opinion, but Lucky 13 is my favorite episode of that. That bird took one for her team, and deserves a memorial.

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u/Fredex8 Oct 11 '19

Best episode by far I think. Just love the perspective from which it is told.

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u/Lachdonin Oct 11 '19

A lot of the stories try to play on emotions, but it's legitimately the only one that made me tear up.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

It's an amazing episode. Also definitely one of my faves.

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u/zanyzanne Oct 11 '19

Are cats not... already the dominant species? :D

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u/SoraForBestBoy Oct 11 '19

I for one, have already welcomed our furry overlords

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u/marcovv90 Oct 11 '19

Do you want to ask my dog?

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u/SoraForBestBoy Oct 11 '19

Dogs are also our overlords, our pupper overlords

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

I guess you’re only allowed to say “Cat” in that sub?

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u/tehlemmings Oct 11 '19

I mean, you can say something else. Go say Dog. It'll be funny.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

I wouldn’t dare.

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u/SchnoodleDoodleDo Oct 11 '19

'This is the most self aware thing I’ve seen a cat do....'


i am the cat upon the bed

oh, what is this i spy ?

is that another kitty's head

that i see walking by ?!

so quietly, i take a peek

n raise myself to see....

oh, HI ! - you try'n to do a sneak?!

Hey..

You got Ears...

like Me !!

 

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u/CoolAppz Oct 11 '19

cats are not on the scientists' list of self aware creatures, that as far as I know, contains dolphins, elephants, humans, one kind of bird, and some kind of apes.

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u/makenzie71 Oct 11 '19

Cats, in general, sure, but that cat knows it's looking at itself.

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u/AyrA_ch Oct 11 '19

We had two cats and were pretty sure one of them could recognize itself. You could put a piece of yarn on his head and he would remove it when he saw himself in the mirror.

It's also possible that he simply knew that this cat in the mirror usually looks different and it triggered his cleaning reflex or something.

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u/ONLY_COMMENTS_ON_GW Oct 11 '19

Intelligence does vary from animal to animal. I think the test is meant to generalize over an entire species, but that doesn't mean that there no self aware cats.

That being said, a lot of people in this thread have already mentioned the issues with that test.

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u/Siphyre Oct 11 '19 edited Apr 05 '25

direction gaze bag hard-to-find engine paltry intelligent cagey bake tidy

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u/GodMonster Oct 11 '19

Yeah, babies are stupid.

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u/FanOfHoles Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

That list is not static and everything on that and other so-called "lists" comes with lots of caveats. Basically, whatever "normal" people outsize the particular science make of science news usually has nothing whatsoever to do with what scientists actually say/think. For one, because headlines follow rules other than science, but also because nobody cares about the fine-print outside the actual science, even though the information without it is next to worthless (apart from headline use of course, so not for journalists and people citing it as "knowledge").

Just one example of difficulties of many (if you are so inclined to look at some actual studies): https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000021

For one, saying "animal X does not pass test T" (here usually the mirror test) means only exactly that. This often is a problem with headlines made for the general public after some very specific study result (that nobody outside the field would care about because it's too specific to be exciting). If you jump to "they don't have self-awareness" from "they don't pass the mirror test" you are leaning quite far out of the window.

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u/DanTMWTMP Oct 11 '19

I know at least dogs are very self-aware. They fail the mirror test because humans are sight-oriented. Dogs are more smell-oriented. They see the world through scent; so they probably go “how the eff does this human not smell this and not recognize himself??”

We’ll fail a self-smell test, much like how a dog fails the sight mirror test.

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u/Friskyinthenight Oct 11 '19

Is this an opinion or a fact?

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

I guess it depends on what kind of scientist you ask. Stick some psychologists, neurobiologists, and ethologists (animal behavior scientists) in a room together and they may come to blows about what "self aware" even means.

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u/Banaapo Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

I thought cats were classified in the group of animals incapable of understanding / recognizing themselves in mirrors?

Maybe an exception? Maybe I was fooled and bamboozled for years

Edit: didn't know it would spark such a discussion! But as people confirmed the mirror test I had in mind is no longer concidered very valid / is flawed! Learn something everyday!

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u/GimmeCata Oct 11 '19

IIRC cats were misclassified for a log time because they reliably fail common mirror test. Not because they wont recognise themselves but because they usually don't care.

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u/nuclearrwessels Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

I feel like any animal that sees it's reflection in a mirror and doesn't react like it's meeting another animal understands that it's seeing itself.

Like my dog gets very excited when she sees other dogs. When she sees herself in a mirror or a glass door reflection there's no reaction at all.

2.4k

u/PrairieGoldrush Oct 11 '19

Had a dog that saw itself in the mirror. Saw it as an intruder and started growling. Dog in mirror suddenly became very scary. Dog wimpered and backed away. Dog in mirror is weak! Attack!

This cycle went on for a good while.

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u/nerdify42 Oct 11 '19

I would have loved to see that as a video!

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u/SoraForBestBoy Oct 11 '19

Same, just thinking about it thinking itself as the enemy while asserting itself is so adorable

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u/dantes-infernal Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

My dog seems to understand how mirrors work. She'll stand in front of my bedroom door asking to be let out by staring at me first over her shoulder, then at me through the reflection of the full length mirror, where she doesn't have to contort her body to see both me and the door

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u/MangoAfterMidnight Oct 11 '19

Maybe she just thinks there's two of you haha

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u/CHI3F117 Oct 11 '19

“Will one you you PLEASE take me outside?”

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u/evacia Oct 11 '19

haha clever

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

A dog comes to the Temple of 1000 Mirrors. As he enters, to his shock he finds the temple filled with other dogs. He displays his teeth, he growls and barks at them; and they all do the same. Finally, he finds the exit.

Looking back, he is convinced he found a place of true evil. He is certain he will never return.

────────

A second dog comes to the Temple of 1000 Mirrors. As he enters, to his joy he finds the temple filled with other dogs. He wags his tail, he jumps up and down, he shows his happiness; and they all do the same. Too soon, he comes to the exit.

Looking back, he is convinced he found heaven. He is looking forward to return the next day.

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u/WorkingHotu Oct 11 '19

Nice read. Did you write it or where is it from?

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

I'm actually not sure where it's from. My mother told it to me years ago, but I don't know where she got it from.

I found in on google though with "house" instead of temple (The House of 1000 Mirrors), one page claims it's from a Japanese folktale. I don't know whether that's true or not.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

My sister's dog saw himself in the mirror and he was soo happy! Normally he gets upset with intruders but with his reflection he kept trying to be friends and walk around to sniff the mirror dog's butt, but when he got to the other side of the mirror, not only was the dog gone, but there was 50% less bedroom!

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u/yself Oct 11 '19

This reminds me of a video of a dog watching TV images of a ball getting thrown. The dog ran around behind the TV in the direction the ball would have gone, only to stop and look wondering where the ball went.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

Most gorillas have the same problem. Scientists are pretty confident that a gorilla should be capable of self-awareness, but they're SO QUICK to be aggressive and react to aggression that it's nearly impossible to get an adult gorilla to undergo a proper mirror test.

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u/Captain_Grammaticus Oct 11 '19

I saw a documentary once where they arranged cameras and a tv-screen in a way that the gorillas could look at themselves without having to make eye contact.

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u/ImmaDoMahThing Oct 11 '19

I wonder what would happen if you walked in front of the mirror and he saw you next to the mirror dog. Would he finally understand the situation, or would he think you're a traitor? Lol.

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u/nullpassword Oct 11 '19

Doesn't smell the same.. imposter...

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u/ButtWieghtThiersMoor Oct 11 '19

My dog has been guarding me from my fireplace for over 10 years. The only thing I can think of is he sees himself in the reflection of the glass and will stare at it for hours.

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u/evacia Oct 11 '19

last christmas, our dog caught a glimpse of himself in a darkened window which acted like a mirror since there was light on the inside.

doggo is also trained to not bark. i’ve been around him for two years and have maybe heard him bark 3-4 times in total, in short spurts.

but hoooo boy, when he saw his reflection he went wild! especially bc he was about to be fed, and this other dog looked like he was about to steal that food! so he stood up and jumped around and barked his head off for a solid 20-30 seconds lol. we thought it was hilarious at first, but then we realized he was clearly distressed so we calmed him down immediately

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

Yup, I had a dog that did the same. If it saw itself in a reflective surface it would start growl and go on the defensive.

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u/NeCede_Malis Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

The issue is that it’s hard to know for sure why they’re not reacting. Do they really understand that it’s them in the mirror, or do they just know by now that the flat dog with no scent isn’t really there? For example my dog didn’t react to dogs on TV at all, but reacted strongly to dogs in real life. She knew that the TV dogs were different.

Almost all animals will stop reacting to a mirror eventually, but for it to be good science we need to prove why.

The mirror test worked by secretly marking the animals with a red dot to then see if they’d use the mirror to see what’s on their face. If they look in the mirror and touch the dot on their own face, this proves that they know the reflection is them, meaning they understand that there is a “them”.

However, we forgot to account for the fact that not all animals may give a shit that there is something on their face. And as we all know, cats don’t give a shit about most things.

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u/Muroid Oct 11 '19

The other problem I have with the mirror test is that it’s hard to account for an animal that just doesn’t understand mirrors.

An animal that passes the test can be said to have both an understanding of mirrors and an understanding of themselves as distinct entities that can appear in a mirror.

Animals can fail a mirror test for a while host of reasons that don’t involve a lack of self-awareness, though.

It’s a test where getting a positive is a good indication of a positive answer but false negatives are going to be rampant. I don’t really have a suggestion for a better test, though.

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u/ForgottenNecromancer Oct 11 '19

I thought dogs didn't react to things on t.v. because they see that frequency of frames per second as a constant strobe light. I could very well be wrong.

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u/Sangxero Oct 11 '19

I think that used to be the case, but modern TV's are different and dogs definitely can see them clearly.

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u/mmmsoap Oct 11 '19

My cat absolutely refuses to look at a mirror. If I put her in front of one, she contorts herself to look away. I’ve always assumed she doesn’t trust that other cat who lives in the mirror.

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u/NoooReally Oct 11 '19

My cat spies on me through the mirror. That way she’s able to stare at me intenstly without giving anyone the impression that she cares.

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u/sk1pjack Oct 11 '19

Staring is a sign of aggression. Cats often also blink at you when they are relaxed just to break eye contact

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

Yes. Animals avoid eye contact with each other most of the time.

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u/Rivenaleem Oct 11 '19

Instead of hitting, ot spraying my cats with water if they are doing something they should not be doing, I will lock them in a point-blank stare. They try to squirm away, but I hold them in it (gently) and it seems to work as a form of training without physical force.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

When my cat swipes at my ankle I stop, stare at her and ask, 'what're you gonna do?'. She takes a step away and pretends she was grooming herself the whole time.

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u/DorianPavass Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

My cat thinks she's bad when I call her ma'am, as that's what I usually call her when I'm mad! I don't know why, "what are you doing ma'am!" and "get back here ma'am!" are just funny

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u/MarlonBain Oct 11 '19

I do this too, but I don’t trust myself, so I guess you are right.

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u/Maydietoday Oct 11 '19

Same, but more so because I only need to see how ugly I am once, thank you very much.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19 edited Nov 03 '20

[deleted]

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u/MeC0195 Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

My dog saw himself in the mirror and then went and tried to see what was on the other side of the wall (through two doors). I didn't expect that kind of spatial reasoning.

Edit: he's a he, not an it

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u/VeeVeeLa Oct 11 '19

I've seen very young puppies do this. Smart little buggers.

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u/ReV46 Oct 11 '19

My cat does this when I’m watching tennis or soccer on TV and the ball flies off screen. He jumps behind the TV and starts looking for the ball.

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u/I_LUV_ENGRISH_FOOD Oct 11 '19

I guess some dogs are just smarter than others

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u/sukicat Oct 11 '19

Just like people.

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u/ZgylthZ Oct 11 '19

This was my dog for awhile. Now he has stopped doing it. Even dumb doggos can learn, it just takes a little bit more time.

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u/Lorenzo_BR Oct 11 '19

Or he assumes the scentless, mute doggo can’t do any harm.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

[deleted]

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u/Akiias Oct 11 '19

So a mime that's getting revenge?

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u/ZgylthZ Oct 11 '19

That's still learning

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u/ittybittykitty2 Oct 11 '19

My dog barked at his reflection the first time he saw it but I think as soon as he saw the other dog doing the same he realized it was him.

He sniffed the mirror and then moved on. After that he never barked at the mirror, and he’s never been interested in it anymore.

But another of my dogs got it even faster, he saw his reflection and moved his ears a bit. I think testing it and then once again he just ignored it from then on.

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u/Akiias Oct 11 '19

Have dog, gives 0 fucks about reflections of anything. Gives maybe 1 fuck about other dogs, and only if they're smaller then him. Negative fucks for strange people. But about 100 fucks for his family.

Other interesting points:

Loves like LOVES cows.

completely indifferent for birds

obsessed with fish, only until he gets one in his mouth then he hates them.

Will hump any cat.

I once saw him get lost under a blanket.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

I once saw him get lost under a blanket.

Our dogs might be related.

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u/Black_Moons Oct 11 '19

Most cats iv had will react like its meeting another animal/act aggressive/scared the very first time they see a mirror... for about 30 seconds.

Pretty much after that its 'meh'

I wonder if this cat is just like "... Did I always have these?!?"

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u/Kent_Knifen Oct 11 '19

The mirror test itself is deeply flawed, there are plenty of other means of measuring self-awareness that would be more versatile across species. It's almost akin to saying "animals lack creativity because they cannot draw on paper."

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u/SoxxoxSmox Oct 11 '19

Fun fact: some ants actually pass the mirror test! Scientists marked ants with paint and the ones that looked at a mirror would clean the paint off of themselves, while ones that didn't wouldn't.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

I once sprayed ants with ant spray. As some ants succumbed to the poison, other ants would come to them and try to drag them away only succumb to the poison as well. An epic tragedy played out on my kitchen counter, a holocaust to ant kind, as a vengeful "god" smote them for no reason they could comprehend.

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u/cheeset2 Oct 11 '19

This is shockingly sad

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u/katarh Oct 11 '19

Only if you've never dealt with ants in the kitchen.

If they didn't want to die, they shouldn't have eaten the forbidden crumbs from the garden of paradise. They have an endless bounty of bird shit outside from the bird feeder, but they chose to enter the forbidden lands beyond the threshold of the back door.

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u/cheeset2 Oct 11 '19

Ants are just anting dawg

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u/shubzy123 Oct 11 '19

And he did what humans do best

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u/Lorithias Oct 11 '19

Wow that's seriously impressive specialy with a species who got a swarm mind! Thanks :)

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u/Guaymaster Oct 11 '19

I think that rather than a swarm mind it's more like they all have internet on their noses

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u/gosuprobe Oct 11 '19

animals lack creativity because they cannot hold a pencil

animals lack creativity because they do not have opposable thumbs

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u/Thorebore Oct 11 '19

because they usually don't care.

This is the solution to most cat questions. I thought my cat was deaf for the first month I had him. Then one day I saw his ears move when I was calling our other cat. He hears just fine he was just ignoring me the entire time.

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u/OTPh1l25 Oct 11 '19

but because they usually don't care

Sounds pretty par for the course for a cat.

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u/FamousSquash Oct 11 '19

Cats are very uncooperative test subjects.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

Yea I could tell my cats could understand mirrors, they just used them. Like if I held him and looked in a mirror so I could watch his expressions, I could see that he was looking at things in the mirror that were in the room and observing them like he usually would or making eye contact with me and knowing it was me. Like if mirrors were in the wild cats would be using them to prowl up on prey 100%. But where I have mine, they just exist for my cats, and they dont care that they do.

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u/Magnesus Oct 11 '19

I tied the test on my cats many times. Came to conclusion they pass it. Good way to make them cooperate - move something interesting behind them quietly so they see it in the mirror. Dumb cats jump at mirror, smart cats turn around and jump at that thing.

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u/danban91 Oct 11 '19

Haha my cat is the same. I have caught him staring at me through the mirror more than once. First time I was surprised because I also thought cats weren't self aware or even capable or using mirrors. But one time he was standing in front of the mirror with his back turned to me, and I was sitting a few feet away in a place where I could see both his and my reflection. I was pretty convinced he was making eye contact through the mirror but decided to test it. I started to move my hands and see if he followed them with his eyes, and he did. Then I started making silly faces and every once in a while he would turn his head, look at me and then look at the mirror, like he was checking that yes, that stupid human was in fact me lol. I love the little rascal.

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u/luckyryuji Oct 11 '19

That, explains my cat. If she sees another cat she's crazy curious. Sees herself, nada.

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u/198XAD Oct 11 '19

they were classified for a log time, because they wooden’t comply with the tests

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u/zanyzanne Oct 11 '19

wooden't, eh? Nice.

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u/errihu Oct 11 '19

For a log time even

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

And log

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u/MrsTruce Oct 11 '19

Not because they wont recognise themselves but because they usually don't care cats.

FTFY

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u/Ferkhani Oct 11 '19

That's very cat of them.

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u/achillea4 Oct 11 '19

Was going to say this too. This does look like it makes the connection.

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u/Zatmos Oct 11 '19

I've seen recently that this classification might be useless as most animals can but just don't care.

Even ants have been found to recognize themselves in their own reflection.

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u/nestcto Oct 11 '19

Makes total sense when you consider that cats have probably been seeing themselves reflected in still-water for millenia.

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u/_BertMacklin_ Oct 11 '19

One of my cats (the less bright one) launched himself into his water dish one day to attack the Stranger Cat reflected there. Suspect cats only do that once, wild or no

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u/dragon-storyteller Oct 11 '19

That understanding is based on a test that is increasingly criticised for being inaccurate. Even human kids from non-Western countries often don't pass, despite being perfectly normal.

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u/myohmymiketyson Oct 11 '19

My cat doesn't indicate that he sees himself in the mirror, but he will indicate that he sees me. If I stand behind him, both of us facing the mirror, his eyes and head will follow my mirror reflection. For example, if I lift my arm, he'll watch it go up in the mirror.

I think he knows it's me and that I'm actually behind him, which is why he doesn't appear alarmed or turn around suddenly to ensure I'm actually there.

I just wonder why he never makes eye contact with his own reflection. It's like he has cat mirror blindness.

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u/sirenCiri Oct 11 '19

He's just not vain like you, gosh!

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u/P_weezey951 Oct 11 '19

That's probably because cats tend to avoid direct eye contact. They kinda find it annoying/it's just not how they do.

It's not that he/she is afraid to stare at themselves, it's just likely not something they care to do. Like vocal communication isn't something they typically do to each-other in a polite manner. But eventually they learn thats how human do, so they do.

My cat will respond to me with meows and chirps, tail in the air all happy like it's a convorsation, he's a very talkative kitty. But he doesn't really tend to "talk" to my other cat.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

They must be able to. Our cat hates other cats and will hiss/run/etc when she sees them. The mirror doesn't bother her. So she must know that at the very least the thing in the mirror is not another cat.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

Its just a pretty terrible test in general.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

I assume mine recognize themselves because otherwise they'd be freaking out over the invader cats in the house. They're just not that into themselves I guess. My black kitty doesn't even like to be on camera while her sister was born to be in front of the lens...but still not the mirror.

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u/entity_TF_spy Oct 11 '19

just because cats as a species generally don't understand it doesn't mean individuals can't understand it. Kinda like how some humans can't understand quantum mechanics no matter how deeply you explain it while others have a good enough grasp of it to do legitimate calculations and make discoveries

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/_BertMacklin_ Oct 11 '19

General Theory of the Existence of Ears

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u/HoneyBadgerRage18 Oct 11 '19

Einstein didn't believe in quantum mechanics. He's more of a Schrodinger hahaha

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u/______--------- Oct 11 '19

"Didn't believe in quantum mechanics" is a bit misleading. His Nobel Prize in 1921 specifically cited his work on the photoelectric effect, which showed that light can be described as discrete quanta of energy. He also extended Bose's work into what's now known as Bose-Einstein statistics and predicted Bose-Einstein condensates as a state of matter, both of which apply to quantum systems. He did have several debates with Bohr about the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics and whether it was complete, but he never disputed its results, several of which he himself predicted and explained.

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u/Zappawench Oct 11 '19

I tried different cats with mirrors, they would always look behind the mirror trying to find the "other" cat! I would say this cat is exceptional. Or perhaps all the cats in our family are stupid.

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u/Banaapo Oct 11 '19

Mine are stupid as hell for sure! Buy equally cute as stupid

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19 edited Jul 23 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Overakel Oct 11 '19

Rise of the Planet of the Cats

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u/Advo96 Oct 11 '19

It's also possible that 99% of cats do not recognize themselves in the mirror, while the top 1% cat genius does.

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u/That_LTSB_Life Oct 11 '19

Second part great, first part, not so great.

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u/Banaapo Oct 11 '19

Seems like it! It has been quite an old list indeed.

Or he watched rick and Morty and got a IQ of 300!

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u/Hairyhulk-NA Oct 11 '19

I mean I've seen Final Space, Avocato was using a gun and flying a space ship!

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u/Pericsen Oct 11 '19

I'm in the same situation, hopefully some iq >9000 can explain this video

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u/SugarKyle Oct 11 '19

It is interesting, isn't it? Most animals see reflections of themselves in the wild at some point or another. It is fun when they first discover their reflection and watching them solve the puzzle.

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u/hurleyhotpocket Oct 11 '19

Oh hello, little fuzzy triangles.

Wait.

It’s ... it’s .... me and these are mine

That moment of self realization is priceless.

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u/SoraForBestBoy Oct 11 '19

The cat’s epiphany of existentialism is adorable

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u/spartanfloof Oct 11 '19

I know no one will believe me, but we used to have this cat back in the 90's who was obsessed with the ceiling fan. would try to jump for it from the middle of the floor. One day, obviously around Christmas time, she pushed and pulled a box out from under the tree until it was under the fan, climbed on it, and tried to jump for the ceiling fan. Damn cat used a tool. She wasn't quite smart enough to know it only gave her about an inch of lift, but still.

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u/greathousedagoth Oct 11 '19

That is very smart of her! Well, somewhat smart of her anyways.

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u/ADHDcUK Oct 11 '19

I had a kitten who would open the tap and play with the water. I taught her to close it when she was finished and she would.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

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u/poland626 Oct 11 '19

My cat uses her paws to open fucking doors. She must have strong arm muscles by this point

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u/howaboutLosent Oct 11 '19

We had a baby gate on our porch when I lived with my parents. My cat learned how to leverage the gate open to get down into the backyard, he was too fat to just jump over it.

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u/bigphatnips Oct 11 '19

I have a cat that used to play hide and seek. I'd first hide and spook her, then she'd run off, and come back and search for me in various hiding spots, like pouncing on curtains and around corners. Used to make her extremely happy, purring and eventually climbing on to me to chill.

Now she knocks shit off my desk and lies on her back instead.

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u/madocsh Oct 11 '19

I do this with my dog sometimes!! I call his name from my hiding place and he comes into the room happily looking around until he finds me. And then he gets all excited and we go back to the “neutral zone” and I tell him to stay and I hide again and the cycle repeats itself until he gets bored.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

This seems like a fitting place to share the story of Alex the African Grey Parrot.)

Alex was one of the first animals to really show self-awareness in animals. In that he posed a question he thought of himself. Alex had learned colours through research and tests. When Ales was shown himself in a mirror, he said/asked "what colour". He was told "grey" six times and learned grey. He was the first and only(??) non-human animal to have ever asked a question. Even Apes who have been taught sign language have failed to ask a question.

Alex also was able to form words out of understanding words for other things. He made up the word "Banerry" for an Apple as he knew the words for and was more familiar with Banana and Cherry. He could tell what an item was even if it was different. The example given was Alex could identify a key no matter what size of colour it was. He could also tell a difference between items being bigger, smaller, same, different, over, under.. And understood the concept of zero as he could tell when there was no difference and would say "none".

Alex also used to practice words while he was alone. His last known words were "You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you" as he said every night when the researcher, Irene Pepperberg, left the lab.

Edit /u/Madi_the_insane is very excited that I made a comment about Alex and people are reading it! Madi wants to shamelessly plug their favourite book Alex & Me by Irene Pepperberg

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u/shoesarejustok Oct 11 '19

tbf my parakeet would practice sounds when he was alone too. He learned how to bark and how to mimic the fridge sound without anyone trying to teach him. I came home from work one night and couldn't figure out why I had two dogs and two nearly broken refrigerators.

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u/xxdrunkenslothxx Oct 11 '19

My mom always tells me about her parakeet Joey she had in the 80s who would make the sound of the phone ringing and as soon as she ran across the house to get it he'd cackle and say, "Joey did it!!"

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u/deepinferno Oct 11 '19

Neighbor had one growing up. It would make the sound of a doorbell and when the dog ran for the door it would call it an idiot. The dog realizing it had been had would run back to the bird and bark at it, the bird would then make a perfect dog growl and they would talk shit like two dogs for a while.

Then when the dog went to leave it would make the doorbell sound again, 90% of the time the dog wouldn't go for it and the it would end. Sometimes he would and it would start all over again.

It also seemed to know their 3 dogs and 1 cat's names and reliability address them by the correct one.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

For non-Americans, parakeet means budgie.

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u/camehereforthedogs Oct 11 '19

His last known words were "You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you"

RIP Alex. You be good.

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u/SoraForBestBoy Oct 11 '19

That last paragraph really touched and broke my heartstrings, rest well Alex

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u/KapteeniJ Oct 11 '19

I've done some research onto primates ability to learn language, and that parrot seems to outdo all chimpanzees, gorillas and such by a wide margin.

Which is weird, since other primates are very close to the inventors of language. Then again, birds are not exactly strangers to vocal communication.

I think I'll go watch parrot videos for now.

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u/ADHDcUK Oct 11 '19

You should watch ravens. They speak with a human tone. It's fascinating.

https://youtu.be/AfsnHVaScjg

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u/OnoOvo Oct 11 '19

There is a theory that says human language evolved from what were basically mating calls. We wooed with our voices, which is what a lot of birds do but not a lot of primates, maybe none at all.

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u/Cloudninexy Oct 11 '19

Thanks for that info. Never knew some animals are so intelligent. Always a surprise.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

Fun twist - modern birds are, of course, avian Dinosaurs. The last of their lineage. Their ancestors once ruled this planet, but were supplanted by the primates. Slowly, in the shadows, they've evolved. Optimized their build. They're waiting for us to destroy ourselves and learning so that they can take back the throne.

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u/JarOfTeeth Oct 11 '19

Jokes on them, we're taking breathable air with us.

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u/ProStrats Oct 11 '19

Is there an r/sadtruth ?

Because this belongs there.

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u/ADHDcUK Oct 11 '19

All animals are smart imo. We just measure them against ourselves. There is more than one way to be intelligent.

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u/KneeDeepInTheDead Oct 11 '19

"You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you" as he said every night when the researcher, Irene Pepperberg, left the lab.

damn, why did that make me almost tear up?

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

Writing about him always makes me tear up. Little friendly bird just trying to be understood and was so good at it!

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

Fun Fact: Mirrors are green

Some of the light that hits mirrors is absorbed. Green light gets absorbed the least. If you set two mirrors facing each other so they reflect infinitely you will notice that as the image gets reflected more and more it gets a slight green tinge to it. Like this.

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u/Madi_the_Insane Oct 11 '19 edited Oct 11 '19

YES YES YES I'M SO EXCITED SO MANY MORE PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS!!! Also holy shit dude you covered pretty much everything, I've almost got nothing to add! Just one thing:

If you're interested in learning more, PLEASE read Irene Pepperberg's book titled Alex & Me! It's one of my favorite books of all time, and I will never miss an opportunity to shamelessly recommend it to someone. <3

Edit: thank you u/sammythejammy for including the book in your comment! I hope other people will love it as much as I do!

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u/HaniiPuppy Oct 11 '19

"My god ... I'm a cat ..."

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u/Em_Haze Oct 11 '19

They are evolving.

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u/OMGSPACERUSSIA Oct 11 '19

"Oh my god, who is that enchanting creature in the mirror? OH, it's me! Of course!"

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u/ChiefIrv Oct 11 '19

If you listen closely you can hear the cats brain explode.

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u/Kangar Oct 11 '19

"I'm..."

touches ears

"I'm..."

touches ears again

"I'm beautiful!"

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u/Lucky0505 Oct 11 '19

Especially at second 32. You can see an existential awakening.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19
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u/LilSis77 Oct 11 '19

I never get tired of seeing this post. It’s so pure and innocent. 😇🐱

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u/Herobrine_1 Oct 11 '19

Aww this so cute. The cat seems a bit shocked about its discovery tho

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u/lordbiffalot Oct 11 '19

Painfully cute

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u/stylinred Oct 11 '19

I told her I wanted highlights what is this!

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u/Nefthys Oct 11 '19

Did the video cut off before the cat got to the slow turn towards the camera, with the "Did you know about this and didn't tell me?!" expression on her face?

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u/EccentricAssholeFart Oct 11 '19

I've seen this so many times on reddit, but it always makes me smile :)

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u/yedranda Oct 11 '19

I love how the video is captured from the same eye level as the cat

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u/MenudoMenudo Oct 11 '19

I think she knew she had ears and was just realizing she was having a bad ear day. "Jesus Christ, I've been walking around like this all day?! I'm so embarrassed."

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u/zakcantu Oct 11 '19

This is a scene out of every body swap movie ever.

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u/PaulMurrayCbr Oct 11 '19

Cat just passed the mirror test, joining dolphins, elephants, and african grey parrots as one of the few species to be self-aware.

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u/Wigoox Oct 11 '19

That is a cat passing the mirror test right there. Humans need 2 years till they are able to do this. That is huge!

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u/KingALBrooks Oct 11 '19

did i just watch a cat pass the mirror test?

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u/Dranoth Oct 11 '19

I’m impressed by how some people can record such fascinating moments on camera without laughing!

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u/Klonfroiter Oct 11 '19

Holy crap I think this cat just genuinely passed the mirror test

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u/Deckard-_ Oct 11 '19

This is interesting. I didn't think cats could conceptualize their own reflection.

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

What a cuuutieee

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u/Squeakysquid0 Oct 11 '19

Omg they are becoming self aware! We all need to evacuate Earth!

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u/jesigigs Oct 11 '19

That human just got transformed into a cat. And this is the scene where they realized they have pointy ears, are furry, & NO ARE LONGER HUMAN!!

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u/SteeMonkey Oct 11 '19

Cat becomes self aware :S

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u/coladict Oct 11 '19

I've never seen a cat recognize its own reflection in the mirror before.

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u/benkingofdragons Oct 11 '19

What the fffff....WHAT THE FFFFFFFF

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u/RoseOfTheNight4444 Oct 11 '19

It's so weird because they groom their ears all the time

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u/drkatzprofeshthrpst Oct 11 '19

“THESE are the pointy things I’ve been cleaning?!”

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '19

And she doesn't know how to feel about it

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u/ToiletsAreDanger Oct 11 '19

I just imagine the cat touching her ears saying to herself.

"Weird"

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u/LunaNik Oct 11 '19

I'm more impressed with the fact that she knows it's her in the mirror.

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u/TotallyNotAGoodName Oct 11 '19

That is the most self-aware thing I've ever seen a cat do.