Ace of Spades Pet Thread, July 29

Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and enjoy the world of animals.

Would you like a treat?

Let's relax a little with the animals and leave the world of politics and current events outside today.

Why do cats love boxes? Research continues, though maybe not real good research.

It is a truth universally acknowledged - - at least by those of the feline persuasion - - that an empty box on the floor must be in want of a cat. Ditto for laundry baskets, suitcases, sinks, and even cat carriers (when not used as transport to the vet). This behavior is generally attributed to the fact that cats feel safer when squeezed into small spaces, but it might also be able to tell us something about feline visual perception. That's the rationale behind a study in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science with a colorful title: "If I fits I sits: A citizen science investigation into illusory contour susceptibility in domestic cats (Felis silvers catus)."

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like the study design here was a little shaky. And they didn't get what I thought was a solid response. "Citizen science" may be harder if it involves a cat. Don't know.

The sunglasses were an interesting part of the trial.

Although some 500 pet cats and their owners expressed interest, only 30 completed all six of the study's trials over the course of the two-month study last summer. Of those, nine of the cats selected at least one of the stimuli by sitting within its contours (illusory or otherwise) for at least three seconds--a pretty good duration given the notorious fickleness of cats. As for preferences, cats selected the Kanizsa illusion just as often as the square; they selected both of those more often than the control stimulus. In other words, the cats treated the illusory square the same way they treated the real square.

So let's see: Nine of 500 cats in the pool of potential study subjects (nine of 30 who completed all 6 steps of the trial) selected at least one of the stimuli. Of those nine, cats were just as likely to choose illusory as real squares for 3 seconds.

Does that sound like solid research to you?

Dog studies planned next. Maybe they will be more cooperative.

Last week, we met Tank the Cat, who had arrived Chez Jacque Assarie! Here are the other cats who live there, though Tank has not integrated into the group Yet:

Photo 1 (L to R) Johnny (with the cute teefs), Peanut and Spooky

Photo 2 Mackerel (who doesn't like to be photographed with the boys)

All are handsome cats. I wonder which will be the first to warm up to Tank?

My son Mark's pet peacock, Rickie. Very sociable. He's in Ontario, Canada.

Conservative Hippie

Bogey and Bacall resting on the window ledge I built for them.

Thanks for hosting the pet thread.

polynikes

Wow! That's more than a shelf! What pampered kitties!

Buck loves car rides

Jim

Awww. Pure joy!

What a wonderful collection of pets today. Thank you for sharing them with us.

If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:

petmorons at protonmail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Until next Saturday, have a great week!

If you start feeling nostalgic, here a link to last week's Pet Thread, the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, July 22. Some special PetMoron stories and photos there.

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

posted by K.T. at 03:25 PM

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