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> Whereas other cats don't ever do this in mirrors. They try to reach the cat in the mirror, they try to outpace it, they try to attack it. In my experience, m
by rootusrootus 5y ago
> Whereas other cats don't ever do this in mirrors. They try to reach the cat in the mirror, they try to outpace it, they try to attack it.
In my experience, most animals, including cats, just flat out ignore mirrors. At least all the pets I've had and that my family has had over the years, none of them ever reacted to themselves in the mirror.
In a way that suggests they do have some kind of understanding that they are just seeing themselves.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- toast0 5y agoFor my three cats, there was only an interesting reaction to themselves in a mirror the first time (or the first time in a long while; or sometimes the first time they experienced a specific mirror) they approached the mirror; then they seemed to ignore it (not sure if any picked up the use a mirror skill, as some cats in the article appear to have; I didn't notice it anyway). If you miss that first encounter, you missed it.
- bagels 5y agoI had the same experience. My cat's first encounter with the mirror involved getting mad at the cat in the mirror and attacking it. Every other time after that, the mirror was completely ignored. They certainly did display cleverness in other contexts, such as figuring out how to open cabinets, or figuring out from the outside of the house which room we slept in so she could bang on the window to be let back in.