that's one mellow cat
April 8, 2012 7:25 AM Subscribe
Little parakeet just won't leave kitty alone. I mean, really. Doesn't matter if kitty is drinking, or trying to sleep. He just won't leave kitty alone. I mean, really. Kitty's cool with it, though, and they enjoy the same food. And neither of them are especially interested in the beetle.
Cats! You go to all the trouble of getting them a toy with lots of feathers and sound effects and realistic movement, and they just go back to sleep.
posted by Jeanne at 7:34 AM on April 8, 2012 [7 favorites]
posted by Jeanne at 7:34 AM on April 8, 2012 [7 favorites]
oh what the heck.... how come the cat is not eating the bird?
posted by rebent at 7:36 AM on April 8, 2012
posted by rebent at 7:36 AM on April 8, 2012
I thought I'd seen a decent amount of pet role-reversal last night when the cat chased the dog up and down the stairs and then meowed angrily when the dog wouldn't play anymore.
This bird wins.
posted by teleri025 at 7:40 AM on April 8, 2012
This bird wins.
posted by teleri025 at 7:40 AM on April 8, 2012
Ok, fifth video: Why is kitty in a plastic bag? Get kitty out of the plastic bag!
This cat has to be declawed. Otherwise this would have ended longed ago...
posted by PhillC at 7:41 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
This cat has to be declawed. Otherwise this would have ended longed ago...
posted by PhillC at 7:41 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
Why is kitty in a plastic bag?
It was the only way to get that bird to SHUT UP! You'll note the uncharacteristic silence from the parakeet during that clip. That plastic really threw him!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:43 AM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
It was the only way to get that bird to SHUT UP! You'll note the uncharacteristic silence from the parakeet during that clip. That plastic really threw him!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:43 AM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
After being treated first to a mormon.org ad, I skipped the whole thing.
posted by kinetic at 7:45 AM on April 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by kinetic at 7:45 AM on April 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
After being treated first to a mormon.org ad, I skipped the whole thing.
Yeah, it's unfortunate, but ads are a reality at YouTube. Heck, we even got 'em here at Mefi, too.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:48 AM on April 8, 2012
Yeah, it's unfortunate, but ads are a reality at YouTube. Heck, we even got 'em here at Mefi, too.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:48 AM on April 8, 2012
I enjoy videos like this, but I can't help wondering: how does a decent pet owner confirm that this friendship is going to work? If a dog and a cat won't get along, they'll both survive one encounter, but a budgie -- ? Presumably you don't have to be a terrible owner to try it, because Marnie's mom has a whole houseful of animals that get along and I'd believe that she knows what she's doing, since they're all healthy. Still, it's uncomfortable to think that some rando behind the camera might have thought a pet bird's life was worth risking for the possibility of Youtube views.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:58 AM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Countess Elena at 7:58 AM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
in the first video, is the bird in the back talking about them in japanese?
posted by mlo at 8:01 AM on April 8, 2012
posted by mlo at 8:01 AM on April 8, 2012
gilrain: "Ads are an unreality with a good ad blocker. They even block video ads, you know."
I did not know this. After being tricked with a hollow chocolate bunny, my day has brightened considerably.
posted by kinetic at 8:02 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
I did not know this. After being tricked with a hollow chocolate bunny, my day has brightened considerably.
posted by kinetic at 8:02 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
Anyone know why the videos suddenly stopped being updated?
posted by cjorgensen at 8:11 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by cjorgensen at 8:11 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
That bird is the Frodo of his people.
posted by CarlRossi at 8:26 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by CarlRossi at 8:26 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
Why is there a beetle? Why are they letting their birdy get so close to that beetle? Oh good God, the beetle is going to pinch them! Get them away before it goes pinch! What is going on!?
posted by meese at 8:32 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by meese at 8:32 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
Back when I still had rodents, my cats acted like they were just tiny strange kittens who liked to live in cages most of the time. The cats would give the ocasional curious sniff, but most of the time, the rats would sniff back andwhiskers would collide, which made the cats recoil to much amusement on the part of the rats.
posted by radwolf76 at 8:40 AM on April 8, 2012
posted by radwolf76 at 8:40 AM on April 8, 2012
Yeah, I've got a little mouser that goes in the field adjacent to our house and brings back presents all the time. Mouse manages to get in the house? She thinks I brought it home to live with us.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 8:47 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by The Hamms Bear at 8:47 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
.....if that was the wild, that would so be a genetic trait that wouldn't get passed on.
Claws or no, that cat is perfectly able to eat that bird, based on how well my cats were able to train my dog not to chase them as a puppy.
Wow, that is a lot of pets. A lot of very expensive pets. At least they will never be lonely (The main worry about my cat now, since his brother and our dog have passed on in the last couple of years. He is a lot more needy now, and demands treats just to case them, so I think he is very bored a lot of the time. My brother is home in the day now, but once he gets better my poor kitty will be all alone, and he doesn't react well to new cats, so I can't exactly get him another one to keep him company.)
posted by Canageek at 8:50 AM on April 8, 2012
Claws or no, that cat is perfectly able to eat that bird, based on how well my cats were able to train my dog not to chase them as a puppy.
Wow, that is a lot of pets. A lot of very expensive pets. At least they will never be lonely (The main worry about my cat now, since his brother and our dog have passed on in the last couple of years. He is a lot more needy now, and demands treats just to case them, so I think he is very bored a lot of the time. My brother is home in the day now, but once he gets better my poor kitty will be all alone, and he doesn't react well to new cats, so I can't exactly get him another one to keep him company.)
posted by Canageek at 8:50 AM on April 8, 2012
My pet theory: either the cat was raised around birds since birth, or that larger bird had a conversation with kitty and kitty decided the larger bird was right about how eating birds isn't nice.
posted by gjc at 8:50 AM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by gjc at 8:50 AM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
@gjc Probably both, looking at the size of the other birds in that house. I mean, some of those are twice the size of a cat.
posted by Canageek at 9:02 AM on April 8, 2012
posted by Canageek at 9:02 AM on April 8, 2012
That is the mellowest kitty ever. My cats would have tried to eat the beetle, at least, and gotten pinched for it.
I do love how the beetle video clearly shows the parakeet and the kitty are in cahoots:
Kitty: psst. hey bird do we let this guy in our club too?
Parakeet: NAH, MAN! LET'S JUST IGNORE HIM UNTIL HE GOES AWAY.
Later, pinchy beetle gets too close to sleeping kitty, and the parakeet is clearly whispering in kitty's ear WAKE UP! THAT ANNOYING BUG DUDE IS BACK!
posted by misha at 9:07 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
I do love how the beetle video clearly shows the parakeet and the kitty are in cahoots:
Kitty: psst. hey bird do we let this guy in our club too?
Parakeet: NAH, MAN! LET'S JUST IGNORE HIM UNTIL HE GOES AWAY.
Later, pinchy beetle gets too close to sleeping kitty, and the parakeet is clearly whispering in kitty's ear WAKE UP! THAT ANNOYING BUG DUDE IS BACK!
posted by misha at 9:07 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
Or, if you prefer:
RICK
RICK
RICK
THAT BIRD IS BACK, RICK.
HE WON'T LET ME SLEEP.
BRING HOME MY CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY.
RICK?
RICK.
RICK!
IT'S THE PLASTIC ONE.
posted by misha at 9:08 AM on April 8, 2012 [19 favorites]
RICK
RICK
RICK
THAT BIRD IS BACK, RICK.
HE WON'T LET ME SLEEP.
BRING HOME MY CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY.
RICK?
RICK.
RICK!
IT'S THE PLASTIC ONE.
posted by misha at 9:08 AM on April 8, 2012 [19 favorites]
Declawed or not, this is a potentially fatal situation for the bird, as cat saliva is toxic to birds.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 9:21 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by WinnipegDragon at 9:21 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
The reallly unnerving thing is how the bird sounds like a deranged robot.
posted by The Whelk at 9:35 AM on April 8, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 9:35 AM on April 8, 2012
Damn it, what's with all the Mormon ads on YouTube today?
posted by JHarris at 9:46 AM on April 8, 2012
posted by JHarris at 9:46 AM on April 8, 2012
Ads are an unreality with a good ad blocker. They even block video ads, you know.
...to the point that I actually did not know that youtube had ads. Huh.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:50 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
...to the point that I actually did not know that youtube had ads. Huh.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:50 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yeah, it's unfortunate, but ads are a reality at YouTube. Heck, we even got 'em here at Mefi, too.
It's not just ads, it's how intrusive they are. We don't have to watch a 15 second commercial before reading a comment thread dammit.
posted by JHarris at 9:50 AM on April 8, 2012
It's not just ads, it's how intrusive they are. We don't have to watch a 15 second commercial before reading a comment thread dammit.
posted by JHarris at 9:50 AM on April 8, 2012
I think I understand: the cat is on diazepam and the bird is on MDMA.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 10:07 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 10:07 AM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
I was wondering if the cat was declawed too. But having grown up with lots of cats, I've learned that some cats are so determined to be nice, like this cat, that they learn to always, always pull their punches, which, for a cat, means leaving the claws in.
Nevertheless I looked through the videos, and never saw a claw, until this.
The cat is not declawed.
posted by eye of newt at 10:17 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
Nevertheless I looked through the videos, and never saw a claw, until this.
The cat is not declawed.
posted by eye of newt at 10:17 AM on April 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
Bird: Kitty?
Cat: Yeah?
Bird: Kitty, there is a Beetle over there.
Cat: Yeah, weird, huh?
Bird: Kitty, Beetle?
Kitty: What do you want me to do? Try Saying "hi."
Bird: Hi, Beetle, Hi!
Beetle: ....
Bird: Kitty! Beetle is ignoring me!
Later
Beetle: So, anyway, that's what was going on....
Bird: Gosh!
Cat: Whatever.
Beetle: Hey! Dude is poking me!
Bird: Kitty! Beetle's getting poked!
Cat: Who wants a nap? Me, for one! Oh, to hell with it, I will show you poking!
Beetle: Get me the fuck out of this place! (Beetle gets the fuck out)
Cat: Thank heavens, now I will nap.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:31 AM on April 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
Cat: Yeah?
Bird: Kitty, there is a Beetle over there.
Cat: Yeah, weird, huh?
Bird: Kitty, Beetle?
Kitty: What do you want me to do? Try Saying "hi."
Bird: Hi, Beetle, Hi!
Beetle: ....
Bird: Kitty! Beetle is ignoring me!
Later
Beetle: So, anyway, that's what was going on....
Bird: Gosh!
Cat: Whatever.
Beetle: Hey! Dude is poking me!
Bird: Kitty! Beetle's getting poked!
Cat: Who wants a nap? Me, for one! Oh, to hell with it, I will show you poking!
Beetle: Get me the fuck out of this place! (Beetle gets the fuck out)
Cat: Thank heavens, now I will nap.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:31 AM on April 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
Damn it, what's with all the Mormon ads on YouTube today?
I'm guessing it's an Easter thing, hence all the "hey, we love Jesus, too!" messaging.
posted by lunasol at 10:31 AM on April 8, 2012
I'm guessing it's an Easter thing, hence all the "hey, we love Jesus, too!" messaging.
posted by lunasol at 10:31 AM on April 8, 2012
You notice what ads are for? How weird. Somehow, I manage to rarely notice.
The cat and bird now, um, am I the only one to suppose the cat thinks the bird is mother? The cat is young.
posted by Goofyy at 10:43 AM on April 8, 2012
The cat and bird now, um, am I the only one to suppose the cat thinks the bird is mother? The cat is young.
posted by Goofyy at 10:43 AM on April 8, 2012
Damn it, what's with all the Mormon ads on YouTube today?
Romney.
Great videos -- inter-species dangerous love.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 11:40 AM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Romney.
Great videos -- inter-species dangerous love.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 11:40 AM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Cats! You go to all the trouble of getting them a toy with lots of feathers and sound effects and realistic movement, and they just go back to sleep play with the twist tie from the toy's packaging. Then they go back to sleep.
Also, in my experience if you stop playing with a kitten when they scratch or nip they learn quickly to use soft paws with humans. It's worked for me anyway with our little grey and white fuzzbucket.
Also the LDS is running an Easter ad blitz, so you should stop seeing the ads in a day or two.
Also those were very cute videos.
posted by Blue Meanie at 12:43 PM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, in my experience if you stop playing with a kitten when they scratch or nip they learn quickly to use soft paws with humans. It's worked for me anyway with our little grey and white fuzzbucket.
Also the LDS is running an Easter ad blitz, so you should stop seeing the ads in a day or two.
Also those were very cute videos.
posted by Blue Meanie at 12:43 PM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also the LDS is running an Easter ad blitz
I do wonder about the logic, though -- hey, maybe this guy looking at Japanese cat videos will be open to our religious message! Who thought that one through?
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:13 PM on April 8, 2012
I do wonder about the logic, though -- hey, maybe this guy looking at Japanese cat videos will be open to our religious message! Who thought that one through?
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:13 PM on April 8, 2012
I had a friend that had a parrot and a bird that lived in utter peace and harmony for eight years. One day they came home and feathers were still scattered about and the cat was licking its paws. Predators have their limits.
True conversation. My wife was talking to a bird expert at Pectco, Petsmart, or fill-in-the-blank giant Pet Store.
Wife: I'd like to have a bird but we have four cats.
Bird Lady: No problem, an African Grey or Cockatoo can hold their own against cats.
Me: We have four Maine Coons
Bird Lady: YOU CAN'T HAVE BIRDS!
posted by Ber at 2:05 PM on April 8, 2012 [8 favorites]
True conversation. My wife was talking to a bird expert at Pectco, Petsmart, or fill-in-the-blank giant Pet Store.
Wife: I'd like to have a bird but we have four cats.
Bird Lady: No problem, an African Grey or Cockatoo can hold their own against cats.
Me: We have four Maine Coons
Bird Lady: YOU CAN'T HAVE BIRDS!
posted by Ber at 2:05 PM on April 8, 2012 [8 favorites]
Declawed or not, this is a potentially fatal situation for the bird, as cat saliva is toxic to birds
yea, I want to find these cute, but they just make me uncomfortable
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:57 PM on April 8, 2012
yea, I want to find these cute, but they just make me uncomfortable
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:57 PM on April 8, 2012
this is a potentially fatal situation for the bird
But so much of the cuteness we enjoy every day is, after all, potentially fatal.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:42 PM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
But so much of the cuteness we enjoy every day is, after all, potentially fatal.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:42 PM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Wow. That was an amazing experience watching those videos. My jaw dropped at the relaxed camaraderie of the cat. Wondered if the little budgie has Toxoplasmosis and cannot help being obsessed with the cat or it's a natural budgie curiosity thing?
Whatever. The lovely warbling of the budgie was such sweet music! All while obsessively nit picking, preening, nagging, bothering, being mischievous. What a musical contrast of sorts. The budgie like a little piccalo, trilling away or soft argeggios and the cat like, what, a didgeridoo, rolling, oceanic, bong music.
A weird symphony of love, enthralling. Thank you for this Easter joy dear flapjax.
posted by nickyskye at 4:16 PM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
Whatever. The lovely warbling of the budgie was such sweet music! All while obsessively nit picking, preening, nagging, bothering, being mischievous. What a musical contrast of sorts. The budgie like a little piccalo, trilling away or soft argeggios and the cat like, what, a didgeridoo, rolling, oceanic, bong music.
A weird symphony of love, enthralling. Thank you for this Easter joy dear flapjax.
posted by nickyskye at 4:16 PM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
Wow. Even I wanted to eat that bird.
posted by angrycat at 4:56 PM on April 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 4:56 PM on April 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
I think those who have said the cat might have been taught by a bigger bird are on to something.
I grew up in a house full of animals; at the very least we might have a very large dog, three cats, a parrot, and a tank full of cichlids. Then there was an iguana for awhile, the chameleons my mom kept at school and brought home during holidays, my bunny in the backyard... my pony for awhile, at the stable, various little baby wild birds I was nursing back to health.
Everyone knew their place. Even when the parrot was a little Senegal -- less than 6 inches tall, but loud and bitey -- the cats and dog avoided him. One nip from that bird had them convinced they didn't need to mess with him -- or anything with feathers that was inside the house. The cats still killed birds outside and brought me trophies, but never touched even my doves.
Now my folks have a cat, another Rhodesian Ridgeback, and an African Grey -- the Senegal having moved to my grandmama's house -- and let me tell you, the cat and dog do not even entertain the idea of messing with the Grey. And I don't either. That beak.
posted by fiercecupcake at 5:03 PM on April 8, 2012
I grew up in a house full of animals; at the very least we might have a very large dog, three cats, a parrot, and a tank full of cichlids. Then there was an iguana for awhile, the chameleons my mom kept at school and brought home during holidays, my bunny in the backyard... my pony for awhile, at the stable, various little baby wild birds I was nursing back to health.
Everyone knew their place. Even when the parrot was a little Senegal -- less than 6 inches tall, but loud and bitey -- the cats and dog avoided him. One nip from that bird had them convinced they didn't need to mess with him -- or anything with feathers that was inside the house. The cats still killed birds outside and brought me trophies, but never touched even my doves.
Now my folks have a cat, another Rhodesian Ridgeback, and an African Grey -- the Senegal having moved to my grandmama's house -- and let me tell you, the cat and dog do not even entertain the idea of messing with the Grey. And I don't either. That beak.
posted by fiercecupcake at 5:03 PM on April 8, 2012
After being treated first to a mormon.org ad, I skipped the whole thing.
YouTube just started bombing me with LDS ads today too. It makes me really irrationally angry - I consider them a hate group; I'm just going to stop watching YouTube for a while.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 5:43 PM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
YouTube just started bombing me with LDS ads today too. It makes me really irrationally angry - I consider them a hate group; I'm just going to stop watching YouTube for a while.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 5:43 PM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
No one makes a Tweety and Sylvester joke? Nobody?
posted by msali at 7:39 PM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by msali at 7:39 PM on April 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
I did. ("Birds Anonymous")
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:16 PM on April 8, 2012
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:16 PM on April 8, 2012
Wow, that budgie really wanted to hump the cat in some of those videos! I would be a little worried about the budgie though - there's the cat saliva, yes, but the cockatiel seems to barely tolerate it. There's some defensive posturing and hissing going on any time the budgie gets close to it. I can't let my budgie and cockatiel be out together - Muffin would surely rip Feisty apart. Sometimes even parrots of the different species can't be together.
posted by Calzephyr at 5:30 AM on April 9, 2012
posted by Calzephyr at 5:30 AM on April 9, 2012
rebent, PhillC, Canageek, et al: Animals don't instinctively know what prey is (it's not a genetic trait). They learn. Small predators will attack everything - each other, dead things, butterflies, bees (once!), sticks - and learn, partly from this, and partly from what Momma/the Pack brings home what is good to eat.
It's fairly easy to raise an animal to not chase and play rough with any other specific animal; there are numerous videos out there of odd predator/prey pairings. My dog will want to make friends with anything I introduce to him carefully; OTOH if it flees, he will instinctively chase it, and possibly kill it - the death-clutch-shake is instinctive. But he won't eat it. He's on a raw diet, and believe all meat comes pre-skinned.
Another example: I attended a falconry exhibition at The Royal Armoury in Leeds. Scads of pigeons on a nearby building-top watched the hand-raised raptors hunt fur-covered lures, which were traded for meat (pinkies, probably). Afterwords, I asked the falconer why his birds didn't go after the fat, dumb city birds. "They don't know that those are prey."
posted by IAmBroom at 6:22 AM on April 9, 2012
It's fairly easy to raise an animal to not chase and play rough with any other specific animal; there are numerous videos out there of odd predator/prey pairings. My dog will want to make friends with anything I introduce to him carefully; OTOH if it flees, he will instinctively chase it, and possibly kill it - the death-clutch-shake is instinctive. But he won't eat it. He's on a raw diet, and believe all meat comes pre-skinned.
Another example: I attended a falconry exhibition at The Royal Armoury in Leeds. Scads of pigeons on a nearby building-top watched the hand-raised raptors hunt fur-covered lures, which were traded for meat (pinkies, probably). Afterwords, I asked the falconer why his birds didn't go after the fat, dumb city birds. "They don't know that those are prey."
posted by IAmBroom at 6:22 AM on April 9, 2012
"Animals don't instinctively know what prey is (it's not a genetic trait)."
Such a strong categorical statement. I'd like to see a citation for it, please. Until then, I'm going to assume that it's a grossly inaccurate extrapolation from your personal experience.
I'm perfectly willing to believe — indeed, already believe — that predators don't have some platonic ideal of their prey imprinted in their DNA. But I'm inclined to also believe that there exist some predators who do have something innate that functionally comes close to this; while, in contrast, other predators are more opportunistic with regard to what they consider prey, being necessarily more flexible ecologically.
Indeed, your argument is almost self-refuting because you are assuming a platonic ideal of "predator" about which categorical statements can be made that universally apply; yet, if evolution worked that way (assuming it's reasonable and possible that it did), then it would be much more reasonable to assume that predator would innately know prey, as well. But, in fact, this isn't how evolution works. Not all predators are alike in their predatory nature.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:08 AM on April 9, 2012
Such a strong categorical statement. I'd like to see a citation for it, please. Until then, I'm going to assume that it's a grossly inaccurate extrapolation from your personal experience.
I'm perfectly willing to believe — indeed, already believe — that predators don't have some platonic ideal of their prey imprinted in their DNA. But I'm inclined to also believe that there exist some predators who do have something innate that functionally comes close to this; while, in contrast, other predators are more opportunistic with regard to what they consider prey, being necessarily more flexible ecologically.
Indeed, your argument is almost self-refuting because you are assuming a platonic ideal of "predator" about which categorical statements can be made that universally apply; yet, if evolution worked that way (assuming it's reasonable and possible that it did), then it would be much more reasonable to assume that predator would innately know prey, as well. But, in fact, this isn't how evolution works. Not all predators are alike in their predatory nature.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:08 AM on April 9, 2012
Fair enough, Ivan.
Many predator animals don't seem to instinctively know what their prey is.
And, further, for many of these the prey species are actually variable: different pods of orcas specialize in hunting different prey types (seals vs penguins vs fish, IIRC); to an orca trained in hunting seals since birth, penguins aren't prey, since they (1) don't look like a normal dinner (kinda like those plastic-wrapped sandwiches in the gas station look to me), and (2) will not be as easy to fill up on, since their hunting methods are geared towards seal behaviors.
For a cat with a filled food bowl, a budgie is a damned poor and unlikely food source. Once a social link is made, even the joy of the chase is dulled by "oops, you're a friend, sorry...".
posted by IAmBroom at 8:25 AM on April 10, 2012
Many predator animals don't seem to instinctively know what their prey is.
And, further, for many of these the prey species are actually variable: different pods of orcas specialize in hunting different prey types (seals vs penguins vs fish, IIRC); to an orca trained in hunting seals since birth, penguins aren't prey, since they (1) don't look like a normal dinner (kinda like those plastic-wrapped sandwiches in the gas station look to me), and (2) will not be as easy to fill up on, since their hunting methods are geared towards seal behaviors.
For a cat with a filled food bowl, a budgie is a damned poor and unlikely food source. Once a social link is made, even the joy of the chase is dulled by "oops, you're a friend, sorry...".
posted by IAmBroom at 8:25 AM on April 10, 2012
There's an origin story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs5x8s8aSYI&feature=relmfu , looks like at one point they might have been the same size...
posted by ironjelly at 1:59 PM on April 10, 2012
posted by ironjelly at 1:59 PM on April 10, 2012
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posted by leotrotsky at 7:30 AM on April 8, 2012