Showing posts with label cats learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cats learning. Show all posts

Friday, 2 February 2024

Cat takes mighty leap to successfully hit a Ring doorbell to be let inside

Determined and athletic cat leaps from parked car at the Ring doorbell to be let in. Where is the cat flap?!

The picture above comes from the video below which won't last long so enjoy it while you can! I can't find the original Ring.com video and I think this one is a rip-off. But it is okay. 

It shows how domestic cats are amazingly resourceful in getting their way particularly to get inside their home. They learn how to attract attention. 

These must be homes where there is no cat flap. The cats get left outside. I wonder about that and ask why owners don't install cat flaps if they intend to let their cats go outside unsupervised.



Here is another video of a resourceful cat employing the same technique to be let in:


There are many examples on the internet. All are a testament to the intelligence and learning ability of the domestic cat plus there athleticism and resourcefulness. Impressive guys aren't they?

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Sunday, 11 April 2021

Son and daughter kittens copy their mom when grooming

 


Pretty clear that the kids are copying the parent. And kittens learn a lot this way: observational learning. It's cute when they are in sync like this. It is another example of synchrony or synchronicity. 

Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Example of domestic cat copying a human

This is a nice little video (terrible image quality) on Reddit.com of a young cat who copies his human companion's hand movement. It is very interesting to see as it confirms that our savvy cat companions observe us and sometimes copy us. In fact they do it all the time which is why you see cats opening doors to rooms and fridges and turning on bathroom taps etc.. The embedded video does not work so I'll provide a link instead. It may disappear and if so I apologise but I can't control it.





Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Do cats learn from other cats?

Mum taught me - Photo by yajico
Yes, cats are "excellent observational learners". They can learn by watching another cat do something and they do this quite quickly. Kittens learn fastest when they watch their mother. This form of learning usually applies to learning hunting skills. The mother starts by bring dead prey back to the nest (den) and then live prey when the kittens are about four weeks of age. Thereafter the kittens might accompany their mother hunting and learn from that experience. If a kitten's mother is present when her kittens are being introduced and socialized to people, they learn more quickly. Kittens also learn social skills from observation. (1)

As humans are surrogate mothers, cats learn from us sometimes. An examples is opening doors. There are many examples of cats opening doors by depressing a door handle having jumped up to it. I remember a video of a cat watching TV. The program showed a boxing match. The cat was waving his arms around as if boxing. Individual cats might learn from watching TV.

Observational learning of social skills is important in groups as communication between cats is important for the well being and survival of the group. Cats learning from other cats is an efficient way to problem solve.

Cats who live together often teach each other certain forms of behavior. A typical example in a household is a new cat learning how to use the cat flap (door) by watching an existing cat use it. My older cat has taught my younger boy cat that the garden is safe to visit and certain parts are good places to rest and watch.

Although mother cat provides the main source of learning, other relatives and particularly fathers play a role. In colonies of ferals cats and multicat households learning social skills from parents and indeed other cats is important for the harmony of the colony.

Some commentators say that learning by watching is not so much about copying mother doing something but more about acting "as a stimulus for the cat to focus attention on the problems..." (2)

See: Cat Training Fundamentals | Cat Clicker Training

Notes:

(1) The Welfare of Cats by Irene Rochlitz - ISBN-13: 978-1402061431

(2) The Cat It's Behavior, Nutrition & Health - ISBN 978-0-8138-0331-9

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