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I adore both cats and dogs. I didn't want cat lovers to feel abandoned after my last article about pooches, so I decided to post this very interesting study about cat's cognition.
Scientists from Kyoto University in Japan have recently discovered that cats understand principle of causality (that certain actions can cause certain reactions) and have some rudimentary understanding of elements of physics such as gravity.
The experiment was performed with help of 30 domestic cats (22 cats from cat cafes and 8 house cats). The whole research was recorded using video cameras, while the scientists tested the responses of each cat, individually, by using plastic container that included iron balls and electromagnet stuck under the bottom. If the electromagnet was switched on, it prevented the balls from rattling or dropping out. In all phases of the experiment, the researchers shook the container for 5 seconds, making the rattling sound or no sound at all (when electromagnet was activated). Then, the container was turned upside down for another 5 seconds causing the balls to either fall out or stay stuck to activated electromagnet. In the end, the container was put upright, in the front of the cat for 15 seconds, so the cat could explore it.
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The experiment was divided into 4 phases with different conditions. The first and fourth phases were consistent with the principle of causality.
Rattling sound with objects falling out [consistent with the principle of cause and effect]
Rattling sound with no objects falling out [inconsistent with the principle of cause and effect]
No rattling sound with objects falling out [inconsistent with the principle of cause and effect]
No rattling sound with no objects falling out [consistent with the principle of cause and effect]
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The scientists counted for how long the felines looked at the shaken container. The cats looked much longer (as we know the cats ) at the containers which were shaken with a sound, than the ones which stayed silent. This fact indicates that cats applied laws of physics to conclude the appearance of iron balls, accordingly to what they heard. Basically, they predicted if the iron balls would drop out if the container was upside down.
What was very interesting is the fact that inconsistent conditions of the third and the second phases, also aroused their attention, pointing out that cats realized that these conditions do not fit their understanding of logical causality. After these observations, scientists arrived at conclusion that the cats must have some rudimentary understanding of gravity.
The study suggests that surrounding environment affects cat's ability to gather information, according to what they heard (the previous study by the same group of scientists discovered that feline's predict the location of invisible objects by using their hearing).
Further research will focus on finding out if the cats can obtain information like size and quantity from what they hear.
The study has been published in the journal Animal Cognition.
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References:
Animal Cognition, 2016 , "There’s no ball without noise: cats’ prediction of an object from noise"
BBC, 2016 , "Cats understand physics, according to a group of scientists in Japan"
Cosmos, 2016 , "Cats use basic physics to home in on hiding prey"