How do these cats know that the great big dogs they’re teasing won’t hurt them? And how do those parakeets know that the cats they’re teasing won’t hurt them? Something very interesting is going on inside their heads, if only we could see it.
Or maybe they just like each other.
This reminds me of our young Aussie dog and the three cats who moved in. They get along better than I ever imagined these species could do.
Oh, and I was wondering if we had heard Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You
yet? It kept running through my mind on my trip to the city for shopping,
and I also felt the joy in the Lord as we drove.
I guess it’s been a few weeks since I posted that one, but I’m always glad to post it again.
The ability to tease, even teasing an animal of the same species requires something in the way of reasoning. When it is one species teasing another, it’s even more complex. I had a dog that would grab something from my hand and play keep away. That took smarts on his part because, hey, he had to know that he was taking from me, had to know that was not normal or expected and had to know that it wasn’t meant seriously.
My cat will sometimes play a game with me where she sees me coming and arches her back like I’m a threat. So I respond by pantomiming some exaggerated threatening motions and we go back and forth like we are adversaries. She knows it’s not real, but she also knows it’s fun to pretend that I’m a big scary predator.
My point is that this takes more than programmed instinctive reactions; she has to understand the reality of the situation before she can make up a game which piggybacks a fantasy on reality. Animals are smart!
Ow does the bird know that the cat won’t eat it? I have no idea, but I’ve seen enough videos of parakeets tormenting cats to be convinced that there is something the parakeets understand which allows them to feel safe, even though a cat is a potentially deadly predator to a small bird.
One vignette that stood out was a small black dog and a larger black cat. The dog was bounding about and driving the cat crazy. The cat finally responded like something out of a John Wayne movie, blocking its feline shoulders and doing its best to preserve its dignity, while coming off a bit stern towards the dog. All great fun, provided free of charge, by our Heavenly Father.
Yes, cats and dogs can make believe. Funny! In animals, that argues for a high order of intelligence. But in people, it can also mean a very low level of intelligence.
Good observation. One thing is for sure, cats are great companions and see, to intuitively understand humans, dogs too. It almost like it was planned that way, or something. 🙂