Comment on Bonobos can "play pretend"

FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

• Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  When have you seen your dog or cat pretend to interact with an invisible object, like a toddler having an imaginary cup of tea?

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  • rollin@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    My cat did pretend once to eat some crisps I’d given her. She was sat on a chair looking at me pleadingly, so I put a couple in front of her and after a sniff she “accidentally” knocked them on to the floor whilst pretending to eat them.

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    • FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Cat pretending to eat (YouTube Video)

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      • whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Interesting to see but I’m pretty sure the music in that video died hundreds of years ago and only now walks the earth to torture the living

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  • FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    They pretend they have toys when they have nothing at all, sometimes. And I’d argue that even playing with toys the way they do is major make-believe. Which is also something they already do in the wild - practice hunting on dead animals or inanimate objects.

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    • Manjushri@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      I used to own a boarding kennel. We had several clients over the years who would condition place their plush toys face first in their food dish as if the toy was eating. I have have long supposedthat those dogs were pretending their toy was eating.

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  • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    I’ve known multiple dogs that put items in a spot, then brushed their noses over them, as if burying them with invisible dirt.

    However, I figure that’s an instinctual behavior, similar to digging/burying food. Not evidence of imagination. Just evidence of dogs interacting with invisible objects.

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• jwiggler@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Cats pretend aggression when playing with each other

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