I just held my cat up to a mirror; he acted pretty apathetic. I thought maybe he would think there was another cat there and try to sniff or paw at his reflection, but he didn’t. He seemed to understand that it was just his mirror image.
Is this true of all dogs, cats and other pets? Is it true of other animals in the wild? Has anyone studied this definitively?
People have studied it and I have read articles on it but I don’t have them in front of me. I am pretty sure that some chimps can and maybe some types of birds like parrots. I will see if I can something.
Here is one good article of African Grey Parrots and how they do such experiments. The results are inconclusive in this study though but I am certain that there are more recent studies.
My cats do the same.
I read one article which claimed that cats do this because the reflected cat has no scent, therefore they don’t think it’s a cat.
I think that’s patently bogus because birds on the other side of a window have no scent and they sure enough know those are real birds!
Elephants can too:
Here is an easy to read article that says the Great Apes and maybe dolphins can do it:
Birds don’t rely on scent any near as much as most mammals. In fact, there’s reason to believe that many species of birds have a sense of smell even weaker than humans.
Some birds do, apparently, have the ability to recognize their reflections as reflections. Some don’t seem to be able to. It also appears to be variable within a species - for example, some crows seem able to do this, some don’t.
Yes, but I’m pretty sure TheFatKid was talking about cats smelling birds, not the other way around. Also, my cat will go crazy if she spots another animal outside. Although, for some reason, my cat especially hates cats more than any other animal and I doubt she can smell through the window.
But every time I’ve held her up to the mirror, she’s been extremely unimpressed.
You are correct, sir.
My cats also often sit in on the sill of the window above my tub (why they put a window above the tub in this house, I’ll never know) and will look at me around the edge of the shower curtain via the mirror, and I will look back at them.
If they want something, they’ll jump down and come out to interact with me one-on-one.
They seem to have no problem accepting what the mirror is. They know where I am in real space, and they’re not confused by my reflection.
As far as I can tell, they’re as comfortable with the mirror as I am. They don’t give it a second thought.
My Golden Retriever puppy gave my wife and I some amusement by barking at her reflection in the dishwasher face. It’s only happened a couple of times and seems to occur more out of her playfulness than actual confusion. She can just poke her head over the bathroom sinks and see her reflection in the mirror; this doesn’t seem to interest her particularly.
Good Question. With cats, I think the answer depends on the cat, its mood, the age of the cat, and the placement of the mirror.
Whenever I get a new kitten, we always make it a point to bring out the big mirror. We take it down and lean it against a wall. The kitten will approach, see mirror kitten and play in a variety of ways with the reflection. It will try sneaking up low-crawl style, pawing at the mirror cat, and my favorite, reaching around to the back of the mirror to try and touch the kitten they have decided is on the other side of the glass. Then they ALWAYS physically go behind, looking for the cat they can’t reach.
Meanwhile, if an older cat walks by, they usually seem completely uninterested.
On the other hand, I had one older cat that would sit and stare admirably at herself in the bathroom mirror.
My dog, did not enjoy the mirror game at all. As a puppy, she was terrified of the creature in the glass, and would go out of her way to avoid it. We then used it as a shield to protect the sleeping elderly cat when the pup came inside to play. We just propped it in front of the cats chair and it worked like a forcefield. Once the dog became an adult, she had no reaction to the mirror.
So I get the impression that the effect is best when the mirror is low and the animal can approach it on their own. And it seems to only really impress the younger animals who are new to the experience. Kind of like when a baby discovers its own foot. It’s the most awesome thing ever for about a day. From then on, its just a foot.
When Sparty was a pup I was walking him and we happened to pass by a broken mirror that was on the sidewalk. He stopped, looked directly at it, then looked at me with with a look that said, “That’s the absolute most handsomness living creature that I have ever seen.”
So, based on that anecdote I have to assume that he was able to recognize himself.
Will an African Grey ask if her ass looks fat while perched in front of the mirror? The answer is no. Trust me.
That sounds like an ideal spouse and much cheaper too.
Most cats seem totally indifferent to the mirror. The two exceptions in my experience were the two smartest cats I ever had.
Ruby at first would look raptly at her reflection, then pat it, then look behind the mirror for the other cat. Once she figured out there was no other cat, she would do things like lift one paw, then the other, and stare at her reflection. I’m pretty sure she figured it out.
The other was Streaker, who would stand in front of the mirror and look at himself from different angles. Seriously, he’d go in left profile, and look at himself, then right profile, then front on. He was a conceited bastard and very into himself, and maybe it’s anthropomorphism, but I really got the feeling he was admiring himself. He did this regularly.
Yes, my username is the amalgam of these cats’ names.
Did Streaker, by any chance, attend a gym?
I, too, have held my cats up to the mirror. They seemed to ignore their reflections.
How do we know they can’t smell through windows? Their sense of smell is pretty damn good. I don’t know enough about chemistry and construction to say how well some particles can penetrate a window/wall. Surely at least some get through due to the small cracks etc.
My cat would also ignore her own mirror image. Like others said, if a dog was outside the window she would care less, as soon as she realized the dog couldn’t get through the window.
But she’d spend hours hissing at a cat outside the window. We had two neighbor cats that used to visit, and seemed to especially enjoy this. The two neighbor cats on the outside would simply stand there calmly while my cat hissed and hissed.
I don’t know what was going on there.
My dog was indifferent to his mirror image too. Well actually unless you were the mailman or holding food, or willing to play “shake the rag,” he was pretty indifferent to everyone.
Anyone try the “spot” test? Paint a spot (high contrast with their fur) on their foreheads or ears and see if they notice the spot and then try to get it off?