• kadu@scribe.disroot.org
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    2 days ago

    That’s a myth and a bizarre misinterpretation of how ethology studies work. It’s incredibly bothersome to still see this being repeated around.

    I get it sounds cute and the media loved posting about it, but no, your cat does not see you as a big awkward cat that can’t hunt.

    • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 days ago

      they are however actually quite social animals and they’re clearly bringing it to you, so it’s a good bet they want to share, not because they think you’re incompetent but just because family helps each other.

      “hello human i love you very much, let’s eat this mole together :3”

    • AxExRx@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      My cat stopped bringing me his kills pretty immediately after he saw me catch a rabbit barehabded that he was going for to remove it from the yard.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Also, cat behavior can vary wildly from one to another. I had a cat that hunted and ate his kills. Cleared my mice-in-the-walls problems! He never left me a present.

      Had another cat that not only showed zero hunting behavior or play, she showed none of the typical behavior we joke about.

      Also, none of my cats have ever brought me a present.

      It’s been 35-years back, but after 4 professors from different disciplines recommended Desmond Morris’ books, I dived in. He believed that cats and dogs saw us as cats and dogs, just a different sort. I may be misremembering, but he did write about that idea in relation to dogs.

      So that’s no longer the thinking? I never felt that my cats viewed me as one of them, but my dogs seemed to. But that’s probably me anthropomorphizing.

      • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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        2 days ago

        i think it might be that dogs view themselves as one of us, we did specifically breed them to be more like humans after all and they’re constantly surrounded by us.

        Obviously they recognize there’s some difference though, since they clearly treat other dogs differently. They don’t really expect a human to go running around with them, but another dog is expected to share in the zoomies.

    • Novaling@lemmy.zip
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      2 days ago

      Okay, but at least cat cares about you and wants to meet your needs. What does an unsolicited dick pic do for anybody?

      Dick pic is selfish, kitty is not