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Saturday, 29 May 2021

Domestic cats don't understand smartphone and iPad cat games

This video tells us that when push comes to shove cats are bemused by mice and fish wriggling around computer screens. They want to look under the device and are generally confounded by what they see. They have a similar or same reaction to looking at their reflection in a mirror or when watching television. I have seen cats look behind the TV to find the cat on the screen. Their mentality is rooted in reality. They can only understand natural events because they don't understand human devices. And rightly so. They are not meant to understand them. Link to this video (opens new tab/page)

Domestic cats are bemused and ultimately frustrated by phone cat games
Domestic cats are bemused and ultimately frustrated by phone cat games. Screenshot.



So, the question which comes from this observation is whether the phone and iPad cat games are a minor form of cat cruelty. A very minor form of it. They can't be defeated. The cats can't attack the mice and fish and eat them. This might cause minor frustration and confusion. It we deliberately frustrate our cat is that a form of minor cat cruelty? Maybe, but the intentions are very genuine. Cat owners want their cats to be entertained and there are a lot of apps on phones and iPads which purport to achieve this. 


It is just that they are unsuccessful in the long term. Short term they work but soon the cats realise they can't get at the prey animal leading to frustration. The bottom line is that the best cat toys are the old-fashioned ball of paper and string. They invariably work well and both can be damaged by the cat which mimics a real prey animal. Do cats scratch iPad screens when playing with games?

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

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