my cats trust me

[anotheranon]

Would you wind between the legs of a creature that is not only 10 times your size, but also in a rather unsteady position?

Miss Spice lurves walking around under me when I'm doing wall slides. Either she has no sense of cause/effect or is confident that I won't slip to the floor, squishing her and causing her to make a loud noise/deploy pointy bits.

Nah, I think it's probably the same philosophy that guides her to sit in my lap ONLY when I'm at the computer or sewing machine :P

Comments

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Based on my own experiences, I'd say it's Option A: cats have no functional understanding of cause and effect. They not only are unable to imaginatively project what might happen if they walk in front of or between the legs of a human carrying awkward loads that impede vision ... they are unable to remember what happened the last time they did so.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Oh, I quite agree - cats are brilliant in their ways but they are NOT rocket scientists :P

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

Y'know I used to crawl under cows quite a lot (no, not for amusement, but to get hold of and fasten the other end of the belt slung 'round them to hang the milking machine on) ... now you've got me wondering what they were thinking about the whole thing. Especially since under the cows is the one place the barn cats never ventured ... ;p

Clarification: I wonder what the Ayrshires, a very intelligent breed with good memories, were thinking ... I know that the Holsteins, legendary for having solid bone where the brain should be, weren't thinking at all.

tangent

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

When I think about what dangers human beings must have gone through to domesticate large farm animals I marvel that it was ever done at all. A few strategic kicks and I have to admit I'd have suggested we give it up!

If you're literal about wondering what the cows were thinking, you might want to check Temple Grandin (http://www.templegrandin.com/)'s work. She's a high-functioning autistic and argues that some species' brains work rather like those of autistic humans. In particular, I think she's worked with cows.

Re: tangent

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

Yes, Grandin has designed several corral/shelter set-ups for cattle (the college library had all her books, so I'm familiar with her work and her writings).

Most of our large domestic animals were a lot smaller when humans first started to keep 'em around ... some breeds from marginal crop/grazing areas still are: Ayrshire, Jersey, and Galloway cattle are all shorter than me and it's possible even for me to hold my own in a leaning contest. All the big breeds were deliberately bred for size from the small ones ... in cattle, unfortunately, this size increase seems to lead to a major drop in intelligence. I'd swear some of the stuff our Ayrshires did was deliberate practical joking, while a Holstein that had seen you twice a day, every day, for four years would freak out and try to climb the walls on your approach due to being incapable of remembering your existence.