My best sideways walk will be sure to scare him off!
July 5, 2012 7:11 PM Subscribe
I think my mouth is broke from smile.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:22 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:22 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
I IZ ELITE PREDATOR! U FEAR ME!
posted by XMLicious at 7:26 PM on July 5, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 7:26 PM on July 5, 2012 [4 favorites]
"AH! GOD! FELLOW HUMANS! LOOK AT THAT CREEPY FURRY THING IN THE WINDOW! I WILL PROTECT YOU FROM IT, FELLOW HUMANS!"
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:29 PM on July 5, 2012 [13 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:29 PM on July 5, 2012 [13 favorites]
That Kitten Fu is AMAZING. I'm totally going to develop a style of combat based on this, which will mostly consist of running on all fours and doing a side ab crunch at the same time.
posted by Saxon Kane at 7:29 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Saxon Kane at 7:29 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
SO BRAVE!
posted by cooker girl at 7:34 PM on July 5, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by cooker girl at 7:34 PM on July 5, 2012 [4 favorites]
My mental anthropomorphic narration consists entirely of the kitten saying "What the fuck! What the fuck! WHAT THE FUCK! What the fuck? What the fuck!"
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:37 PM on July 5, 2012 [28 favorites]
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:37 PM on July 5, 2012 [28 favorites]
Hey, that's how I react when I see myself in the mirror, too.
posted by enlarged to show texture at 7:43 PM on July 5, 2012 [10 favorites]
posted by enlarged to show texture at 7:43 PM on July 5, 2012 [10 favorites]
He reminds me of Groucho. "Ha! I will trick this wiseguy with a funny walk!"
posted by Jode at 7:46 PM on July 5, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by Jode at 7:46 PM on July 5, 2012 [4 favorites]
I must vanquish... this... foe... but he appears... to be... very skilled indeed... he will not... yield...
posted by Rhomboid at 7:49 PM on July 5, 2012 [12 favorites]
posted by Rhomboid at 7:49 PM on July 5, 2012 [12 favorites]
It's like he knows what I am doing before I can do it! Truly this opponent is incredible!
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 7:53 PM on July 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 7:53 PM on July 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
Cats are dumb. Dumber than 6 month old babies, apparently.
posted by Nelson at 7:53 PM on July 5, 2012
posted by Nelson at 7:53 PM on July 5, 2012
Well, there go my plans for making a post.
*presses play again*
posted by Mezentian at 7:54 PM on July 5, 2012
*presses play again*
posted by Mezentian at 7:54 PM on July 5, 2012
I have always been disappointed that I've never had a cat freak out at a mirror. My eldest will watch me in it, which is sort of disconcerting, but she pays no attention to her own reflection.
posted by restless_nomad at 7:55 PM on July 5, 2012
posted by restless_nomad at 7:55 PM on July 5, 2012
I SEE THROUGH YOUR CUNNING PLAN. You get us to click through to that video, we start looking at the other videos that user has posted (laughing baby… orangutan uses towel after washing its face…) AND WE ALL DIE FROM AN OVERLOAD OF CUTE.
posted by Lexica at 8:13 PM on July 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Lexica at 8:13 PM on July 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
Cats are dumb. Dumber than 6 month old babies, apparently.
posted by Nelson at 10:53 PM
From that article: "However, later mirror test research indicates that while toddlers are usually fascinated by mirrors, they do not recognize themselves in mirrors until the age of 15 months at the earliest ...."
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:19 PM on July 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 10:53 PM
From that article: "However, later mirror test research indicates that while toddlers are usually fascinated by mirrors, they do not recognize themselves in mirrors until the age of 15 months at the earliest ...."
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:19 PM on July 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yeah, all I can think of when watching this is Groucho and Harpo, in Duck Soup, is it? Great movie.
posted by kiltedtaco at 8:25 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by kiltedtaco at 8:25 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
That's weird, because I've put at least a dozen, probably more, cats in front of mirrors and never had them react at all. I have always just figured that their eyes or brains work differently and they don't see reflections in the same way, but now I'm wondering if they were just toying with me.
posted by Forktine at 8:30 PM on July 5, 2012
posted by Forktine at 8:30 PM on July 5, 2012
The answer to any question involving a cat is yes, they are just toying with you.
posted by maudlin at 8:32 PM on July 5, 2012 [8 favorites]
posted by maudlin at 8:32 PM on July 5, 2012 [8 favorites]
I love the way the kitteh goes back and forth from dominant to submissive, trying to figure out where it belongs in the pecking order in relation to this newcomer.
Also, I've always wondered about that sideways crab-attack thing. Is that just to make themselves look as absolutely huge as they can? Or is it a great position to land attacks from? Or does it make defense easier? Never seen it in big cats, only in house cats.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 8:36 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, I've always wondered about that sideways crab-attack thing. Is that just to make themselves look as absolutely huge as they can? Or is it a great position to land attacks from? Or does it make defense easier? Never seen it in big cats, only in house cats.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 8:36 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yeah, all I can think of when watching this is Groucho and Harpo, in Duck Soup, is it? Great movie.
Yes.
posted by charlie don't surf at 8:39 PM on July 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
Yes.
posted by charlie don't surf at 8:39 PM on July 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
The kitten's not stupid, he just knows he needs to keep a firm grip on his spirit lest he switch places with the scentless ghost kitten.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 8:50 PM on July 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 8:50 PM on July 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
Also, I've always wondered about that sideways crab-attack thing. Is that just to make themselves look as absolutely huge as they can?
Yes.
posted by eye of newt at 9:03 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yes.
posted by eye of newt at 9:03 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Never seen it in big cats, only in house cats
Have you ever seen a big cat confront something much bigger than it? (I'm genuinely curious - I wonder if there's an equivalent behavior, or if apex predators just don't bother.)
posted by restless_nomad at 9:05 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Have you ever seen a big cat confront something much bigger than it? (I'm genuinely curious - I wonder if there's an equivalent behavior, or if apex predators just don't bother.)
posted by restless_nomad at 9:05 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Some babies react this way too. One of my nephews, when he was just a little kid, provided the family many hours of entertainment with the Mirror Dance.
posted by vidur at 9:06 PM on July 5, 2012
posted by vidur at 9:06 PM on July 5, 2012
The best thing is How the kitten seems to be formulating new attack approaches, no wait from the side, no now try down low, damnit, okay back back, back up hide and then BLAST IT, okay new plan-
posted by The Whelk at 9:15 PM on July 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:15 PM on July 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
Thanks, bicyclefish, for restoring an earworm that I had successfully defeated about 20 years ago after 10 years of struggle. I did love the cat, especially stalking itself and trying to sneak a peak around the corner and really freaking out when the other did too. Now, wubbba wubba wubba and a woo woo woo, back to work.
posted by TreeRooster at 9:16 PM on July 5, 2012
posted by TreeRooster at 9:16 PM on July 5, 2012
Oh many, reminds me of the classic stalking cat video. I still LOL whenever I see it.
Clever little beasts.
posted by darkstar at 9:36 PM on July 5, 2012 [16 favorites]
Clever little beasts.
posted by darkstar at 9:36 PM on July 5, 2012 [16 favorites]
I kept singing Dancing with Myself when I watched it. A little on the nose maybe, but it cracked me up.
posted by Lokisbane at 9:36 PM on July 5, 2012
posted by Lokisbane at 9:36 PM on July 5, 2012
I see, after initial 'fear', invitations to play. This poor cat is lonely.
posted by Goofyy at 9:41 PM on July 5, 2012
posted by Goofyy at 9:41 PM on July 5, 2012
This reminds me of when George Bluth fought his twin brother Oscar in the Arrested Development episode 'Meat the Veals' - they were perfectly matched.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:01 PM on July 5, 2012
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:01 PM on July 5, 2012
I was thinking more MJ.
I'm gonna make a pounce for once in my life.
It's gonna feel real good,
Gonna make a display
Going left and right.
As I puff up the guard hairs on
My glossy kitten coat
This twin is blowin' my mind.
Not like the cats on the street
'Cause this one sees me
Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see his feet.
A human's disregard,
A crab walk back and forth,
And this kitten's soul
We follow each other through the glass you know
'Cause he's got no where to go
That's why I want him to know:
I'm stalking - who? - the cat in the mirror.
I'm asking him to stay away!
No menace could have been any clearer.
If you want to make the room a better place
Take a look at yourself and make a face.
(Me-me-meow me-me-meow me-meow-meow)
posted by maryr at 10:02 PM on July 5, 2012 [11 favorites]
I'm gonna make a pounce for once in my life.
It's gonna feel real good,
Gonna make a display
Going left and right.
As I puff up the guard hairs on
My glossy kitten coat
This twin is blowin' my mind.
Not like the cats on the street
'Cause this one sees me
Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see his feet.
A human's disregard,
A crab walk back and forth,
And this kitten's soul
We follow each other through the glass you know
'Cause he's got no where to go
That's why I want him to know:
I'm stalking - who? - the cat in the mirror.
I'm asking him to stay away!
No menace could have been any clearer.
If you want to make the room a better place
Take a look at yourself and make a face.
(Me-me-meow me-me-meow me-meow-meow)
posted by maryr at 10:02 PM on July 5, 2012 [11 favorites]
My kitten has gotten in exactly one fight with her reflection. She stalked up and charged "mirror cat" at top speed. Somehow, "mirror cat" had crazy ninja reflexes and was able to hit her really hard in the head--faster than the eye could see, really--and ever since then, the two have had an uneasy truce.
posted by infinitywaltz at 10:19 PM on July 5, 2012 [8 favorites]
posted by infinitywaltz at 10:19 PM on July 5, 2012 [8 favorites]
Alrighty, no idea why my earlier comment seems to have disappeared into the ether, but whatever. Here's the same concept with some ... bigger cats. Extra points for a mirror POV cam.
posted by pwnguin at 10:21 PM on July 5, 2012 [18 favorites]
posted by pwnguin at 10:21 PM on July 5, 2012 [18 favorites]
BigCatRescue is THE BEST. I think I'll throw some money at them.
posted by maryr at 10:46 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by maryr at 10:46 PM on July 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
it's a stage kittens go through: my roommate's kitten did this for about 3 weeks, and then she figured it out.
sadly, she also stopped being interested in playing fetch, which was an awesome thing she did.
posted by jb at 10:58 PM on July 5, 2012
sadly, she also stopped being interested in playing fetch, which was an awesome thing she did.
posted by jb at 10:58 PM on July 5, 2012
I had a young cat do this for a while. Allegro was still pretty young when I moved into a new apartment, and he was racing around exploring the place until he turned one corner and came face to face with (dum dum DUM) another cat. He completely puffed up, but since he was the newcomer, didn't fight. For at least a month, he was extremely cautious coming into that room.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 11:31 PM on July 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 11:31 PM on July 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
All I can think of is that the cat is doing the best Igor/Hunchback-of-Notre-Dame impression I've ever seen.
"Yesh, mashter..."
posted by Cog at 12:23 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
"Yesh, mashter..."
posted by Cog at 12:23 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Hmmm. Binturong don't give a shit.
posted by cromagnon at 12:32 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by cromagnon at 12:32 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I used to have a cat who did a similar thing. She'd be fine during the day, but at night she was tormented by the horrible reflected evil glowy-eyed cat. She'd stalk her until her courage failed, and then dive under the blankets trembling with fear while we'd cry with laughter trying to bear up under the guilt of mocking her. Poor dim creature.
posted by Space Kitty at 1:12 AM on July 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Space Kitty at 1:12 AM on July 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
Hmmm. Binturong don't give a shit.
Binturong is srs bznz.
posted by moneyjane at 2:24 AM on July 6, 2012
Binturong is srs bznz.
posted by moneyjane at 2:24 AM on July 6, 2012
I feel like the main reason people own cats is because they're like little crazy people that it's socially acceptable to laugh at.
posted by DoctorFedora at 2:36 AM on July 6, 2012 [17 favorites]
posted by DoctorFedora at 2:36 AM on July 6, 2012 [17 favorites]
Cats can see the long-haired, white-gowned, well-dwelling ghosts who live in your mirror and come out at night to murder you in your sleep. It just looks like they're fighting their own reflections.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:41 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:41 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
At 1:18 the cat is like "Y AR U LAFFING HUMON this iz SERIUS!"
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:03 AM on July 6, 2012
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:03 AM on July 6, 2012
Vaguely connected: I'm not a big fan of zoos but I think having a go at this would be the bee's knees. My last kitty used to LOVE playing tug of war with a sock. Made laundry folding time her favorite day of the week. Here's some video as well, sorry about the NASCAR tie-in but it was the best footage of that tiger kicking ass.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 4:06 AM on July 6, 2012
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 4:06 AM on July 6, 2012
Is actually two kittens training for new show "PurrHissDie" for Cirque du Kit-tay.
posted by ersatzkat at 4:42 AM on July 6, 2012
posted by ersatzkat at 4:42 AM on July 6, 2012
I've never had a cat interested in a mirror, though I've had kittens try to attack the hockey puck on tv or the cursor on the computer screen. Sadly, they grew out of it (though they still play laser pointer).
The stalking cat is a Weeping Angel, right?
posted by jeather at 4:54 AM on July 6, 2012
The stalking cat is a Weeping Angel, right?
posted by jeather at 4:54 AM on July 6, 2012
My parents still have to close the blinds at night lest their cat, Moriarty, catch sight of the Evil Cat that lives in the dark windows. Moriarty is a little cat and not brave at all; she has been observed to be spooked quite thoroughly by a large dragonfly. A single glance of the Evil Cat transforms her into a black-eyed, foxtailed ball of fear, running around and around the room crying hoarsely (she is half-Siamese). The Evil Cat is a wily fellow and used to sometimes get into Moriarty's litterbox, which has a shiny black door, just when she wanted to use it. Turns out that putting masking tape on the door is great at keeping the Evil Cat out of the litterbox, though. Oddly, she doesn't mind seeing a cat in a mirror if you lift her up to it - I think I read somewhere that cats can only recognise other cats if they're walking or making obvious cat-movements.
posted by Acheman at 5:41 AM on July 6, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Acheman at 5:41 AM on July 6, 2012 [3 favorites]
That's weird, because I've put at least a dozen, probably more, cats in front of mirrors and never had them react at all. I have always just figured that their eyes or brains work differently and they don't see reflections in the same way, but now I'm wondering if they were just toying with me.Do they react to other cats? Most animals assume that their reflections are other animals of the same species. Sometimes they'll try to attack; maybe this cat thought he was playing with the reflection. Also, the reflections are optically identical. A mirror is going to look the same as something 'real' no matter how the eyes or brain work.
Alrighty, no idea why my earlier comment seems to have disappeared into the ether, but whatever. Here's the same concept with some ... bigger cats . Extra points for a mirror POV cam.Keep in mind the larger an animal is the more energy it takes to jump around and so on.
posted by delmoi at 6:38 AM on July 6, 2012
YouTube suggested this video of a pile of kittens and a playful bird, which was also fairly awwwwsome.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:20 AM on July 6, 2012
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:20 AM on July 6, 2012
You laugh now, but this is pretty much how the valiant Don Quixote was defeated in battle.
posted by yeti at 8:36 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by yeti at 8:36 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I wonder if the big cats respond differently to the "other cat" depending on their social system. For example, I was surprised that the male lion wasn't more concerned about the other male lion of equal strength, fitness, etc. because in the wild he'd be challenging him for a spot in the group. I also wonder if it freaks them out that they can't smell another cat, but they can see it.
posted by ChuraChura at 10:13 AM on July 6, 2012
posted by ChuraChura at 10:13 AM on July 6, 2012
Based on all of the Big Cat Rescue videos, male lions are the laziest creatures on earth and can't be arsed to do anything about anything.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:21 AM on July 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad at 11:21 AM on July 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
"A mirror is going to look the same as something 'real' no matter how the eyes or brain work."
Yes, but you're overestimating how much animals rely upon sight. Cats are extremely visual, as humans are, and so they're prone to reacting to mirrors. Dogs are much less visual and rely more strongly on sound and smell, and so don't much notice mirrors.
Also, if your premise and argument were strictly true, then humans wouldn't be able to differentiate reflections from reality. But we do, because we have other cues. So do animals.
And even given how visual cats are, they still have an attenuated sense of the reality of reflections in mirrors (as do we!), partly because of the lack of corresponding sensory stimulation in addition to sight, but also I think because highly visual animals almost certainly evolved to disregard most reflections. Put differently, (some) cats especially react to their mirrored reflections (sometimes) because their attention is highly concentrated on the cat image (and not all the discomfirming stuff), which looks and acts like a cat.
My previous cat never reacted to mirrors at all, ignoring them the way dogs do. But my current cat, like restless_nomad's, will watch me in the mirror and otherwise observe the room (also she does this sometimes with the glass in a hanging framed photo), which also makes me vaguely unconformable.
Anyway, the kitten in this video seems to me to be mostly playing and not "terrified". If it were terrified, it would be making a sound like an air-raid siren. Or swatting at the reflection in a frenzy. Or just run away. This cat is mostly playing.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:26 AM on July 6, 2012
Yes, but you're overestimating how much animals rely upon sight. Cats are extremely visual, as humans are, and so they're prone to reacting to mirrors. Dogs are much less visual and rely more strongly on sound and smell, and so don't much notice mirrors.
Also, if your premise and argument were strictly true, then humans wouldn't be able to differentiate reflections from reality. But we do, because we have other cues. So do animals.
And even given how visual cats are, they still have an attenuated sense of the reality of reflections in mirrors (as do we!), partly because of the lack of corresponding sensory stimulation in addition to sight, but also I think because highly visual animals almost certainly evolved to disregard most reflections. Put differently, (some) cats especially react to their mirrored reflections (sometimes) because their attention is highly concentrated on the cat image (and not all the discomfirming stuff), which looks and acts like a cat.
My previous cat never reacted to mirrors at all, ignoring them the way dogs do. But my current cat, like restless_nomad's, will watch me in the mirror and otherwise observe the room (also she does this sometimes with the glass in a hanging framed photo), which also makes me vaguely unconformable.
Anyway, the kitten in this video seems to me to be mostly playing and not "terrified". If it were terrified, it would be making a sound like an air-raid siren. Or swatting at the reflection in a frenzy. Or just run away. This cat is mostly playing.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:26 AM on July 6, 2012
"Oh...this cat is goood!"
posted by rhizome at 11:53 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 11:53 AM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I just showed this to my kids and a friend of theirs who's over, and the friend wandered away while it was playing. He has failed some test of humanity.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:41 PM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:41 PM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Breaking News: Cat Interrupts Reporter By Climbing On Her
posted by homunculus at 3:36 PM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 3:36 PM on July 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I just showed this to my kids and a friend of theirs who's over, and the friend wandered away while it was playing. He has failed some test of humanity.
Do you have any mirrors near your computer? Maybe he also passed a test of felinity.
posted by XMLicious at 6:56 PM on July 6, 2012
I feel like the main reason people own cats is because they're like little crazy people that it's socially acceptable to laugh at.
Yeah, and dig up their shit.
posted by zoinks at 1:53 AM on July 7, 2012
Yeah, and dig up their shit.
posted by zoinks at 1:53 AM on July 7, 2012
I'm not entirely sure what that budgie with a death wish is doing to those kittens. I mean, it appears to be grooming them, but I don't know what possessed it to do so. Do they have fleas? Up their noses? This bird doesn't seem nearly as interested in kitten snot.
posted by maryr at 11:46 AM on July 7, 2012
posted by maryr at 11:46 AM on July 7, 2012
This is a metaphor of US Foreign Policy.
posted by LordSludge at 7:41 AM on July 8, 2012
posted by LordSludge at 7:41 AM on July 8, 2012
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posted by likeso at 7:17 PM on July 5, 2012 [2 favorites]