Here kitty kitty

Comments

• CidVicious@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Incidentally I don’t think this is actually evolution; more learned behavior. They repeat the tone we respond to the most. My cat also bites my foot when he wants attention because he has learned that it’s hard for me to ignore.

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  • samus12345@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Cats were perfectly positioned to coexist with humans - they eat the pests that feed on our grain, aren’t large enough to be much of a threat, aren’t a good food source, and are soft and nice to pet. Explains why they self-domesticated more than once in different parts of the world!

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    • SolarMonkey@slrpnk.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Domesticated is a bit of a stretch. 😜

      They tolerate us, and maybe often love us, but would not hesitate to survive without us.

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  • Glytch@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    They repeat the tone we respond to the most.

    I once had a cat that learned to imitate my text message notification sound (at the time it was Tiny Tina saying “pooow”) just to get my attention. He would also scream his lungs out if he thought no one was home.

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    • flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      That’s a great tone!

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  • A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    That’s a worthy distinction. The genetic vs the social. I’ll allow it.

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• Supervisor194@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  I don’t thikn they sound particularly like a human baby because I can’t stand the sound of a human baby crying but when my cat talks I melt into a useless gibbering idiot food dispenser.

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  • Venus_Ziegenfalle@feddit.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Yeah it’s one of those internet myths. What they do is mimic their own baby sounds aka meow even when they’re adults but that’s not really a manipulation tactic. We infantilize them by caring for them and they in turn display some of their infant behaviours. Adult tigers in captivity meow too.

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    • flicker@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Worse than that, it’s something incels tell each other about why women aren’t having babies. Because they have cats that satisfy the maternal urge.

      For the record, babies crying- doesn’t matter if I’ve given birth to it or not- is not a “cute” sound. It is an enraging sound. It makes us move quickly because we hate it.

      If we thought baby cries were cute things we wanted to listen to, we wouldn’t hurry to help the child, and thar completely defeats the purpose of it.

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• throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  We’ve tricked, we’ve been backstabbed, and quite possibly, OMG ITS SO ADORABLE, LEMMY PET IT 😍

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  • Lemminary@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    We’re gonna get to the bottom of this, right after these treats!

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• hazeydreams@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  I welcome my new overlord pet with open arms 🥰

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• hperrin@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  I’m pretty sure we provide them food and shelter because they catch rodents, not because they “sound like babies” (??)

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  • FrostyCaveman@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Mimicry in nature is never intentional on the conscious part of the mimic though (ok exception is maybe octopi). It evolves like that because it works. Perhaps cats are evolving to become more cute.

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    • LH0ezVT@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Mimicry not, but a lot of “cute” behaviour is absolutely learned. If our dog wants something, she pokes you with her paw while making a cute face. Must have learned that from her previous owners. Our previous dog (who we had for much longer) never did that. That shit is 100% conscious effort, as in she observed humans tapping each other on the shoulder and figuring out that it works for her as well.

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    • hperrin@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      They probably are, but that’s because of selective breeding.

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• Wilco@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  The process of cats domesticating humans was a a very long con job.

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• ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  My cat taught me to be patient in the face of stupidity, and that sometimes you will love something that is fully out of your control and unpredictable. She’s very cuddly though, so everything is forgiven, lol.

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• Una@europe.pub ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Why not both???

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• Apytele@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Tricks monkey into providing food and shelter like a boss

  …by murdering any creature it sees that’s less than half is size for fun, even if it ultimately decides not to eat the guts after ripping them out.

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  • FrostyCaveman@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    It’s not like they’re capable of understanding good and evil. Many creatures murder things for “fun” - it clearly serves an evolutionary purpose even if they don’t eat the kill

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    • Apytele@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      What is fun but an evolutionary drive?

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• A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Best variation yet

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