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Lee Fang
@leefang
Dogs can clearly understand facial expressions and distinguish emotion. Can cats? I’m at a loss. Definitely voice tone, but facial expressions, IDK. Newish cat owner here.
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JAstra
@jastra
They can read it if they want to, they just don't care lol
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Cameron Armstrong
@cameron
I only have anecdotal data (2 cats currently, grew up with a cat), but I’ve seen cats read a room vibe and adjust their behavior. They can understand who might give them what they want (food/scratches/attention) and can remember it over multiple interactions. I’ve run informal tests with facial expressions (and have one cat who really likes looking at faces up close) but it’s v hard to tell what is real vs what I’m projecting. I think she is influenced by my facial expressions but it could be overall body/vibe interpretation I am unwittingly conveying during my “test”. It definitely doesn’t feel as clear as “make a face, get a consistent reaction” though. The challenging part is aligning the triple problem of “cat baseline intelligence, cat general independent streak, and cat mood at current moment”. When these line up, cats are fairly trainable/study-able.
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horsefacts 🚂
@horsefacts.eth
I saw a cat brain next to a dog brain in the Mutter Museum once and it explained a lot for me. I think we project a lot of intelligence onto cats but they are weird little dumdums. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dogs-when-you-count-neurons-have-a-lot-more-than-cats/
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ted (not lasso)
@ted
cc @erica @cameron can you weigh in?
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