Post B1Y7tqCLRffEd3LK08 by timtfj@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by timtfj@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #B1Xv5prfDEhlfJ3hCq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-23T16:50:17Z
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Biology experimental design challenge:Question: Do cats notice the orientation of the ears of other cats or animals? Can they use this as a cue to locate prey or items of interest? (eg a toy)Cats can turn their ears to listen directionality. Their ears are very large. Could cats notice the orientation of the ears of other cats or creatures that can angle their ears and use this to locate an item of interest?
(DIR) Post #B1XwjIGHfNo4z8xAqu by graydon@canada.masto.host
2025-12-23T17:08:32Z
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@futurebird many cats have ear tufts to enhance the use of ears as a social signalling mechanism. (There's an analogy to human eyebrows.) It's pretty much a given that cats notice the ear positions of other cats.
(DIR) Post #B1XwpX0jk4JqSzeiqe by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-23T17:09:45Z
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@graydon For "ears back" angry yes I think that's established. But could they use ears to say "look over there?"
(DIR) Post #B1Xx8jA6mwtPefC0fY by afeinman@wandering.shop
2025-12-23T17:13:11Z
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@futurebird Cats communicate primarily using ears, gaze angle, and posture. So I would guess an emphatic yes for noticing.Pointing (i.e. inferring location from someone else's gesture) is more complex, requiring a model of mind, but I suspect some cats would. Certainly mine have sometimes followed my gaze to try to figure out what got my attention.
(DIR) Post #B1XxuLwOQZXhXGUFlo by graydon@canada.masto.host
2025-12-23T17:21:48Z
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@futurebird it's not just "ears back, I'm angry" it's a whole bunch of "hello" and "have we met?" and "nice weather we're having" social signalling, too.If you were to distress Pica by getting a second cat, you might observe that there's a whole point-with-nose-ears-forward posture used to signal that something is interesting and that if one cat is doing it you can get other cats coming in and also doing it pointing at the same point in space.
(DIR) Post #B1Y03C9GP9WbgBqpH6 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-23T17:45:50Z
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I’m being monitored. #picathecat
(DIR) Post #B1Y0Ut2D3x5sVWkw9w by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-23T17:50:48Z
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@sidd_harth0_5h4h I'm living in a surveillance state.
(DIR) Post #B1Y0oqHuz5f9mScRsm by isotope239@mastodon.online
2025-12-23T17:54:23Z
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@futurebird And being judged at the same time! They don't just use their ears; their noses are used for looking down at inferior beings. (Which is pretty much anyone who isn't them!)
(DIR) Post #B1Y0slSyqvtjz8fDMW by BashStKid@mastodon.online
2025-12-23T17:55:06Z
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@futurebird I don’t know about cats, but I do think cows do this as a long-distance aid to show what they’re focused on.
(DIR) Post #B1Y0u7xMik7A1hWfNw by adardis@mstdn.social
2025-12-23T17:55:22Z
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@futurebird I wondered, when one of our cats was around 19 yo, whether two things went together: her ears didn't move around any more, and, I think she was deaf.
(DIR) Post #B1Y19g0YOtSNykQpBw by rlstone4dems@mastodon.social
2025-12-23T17:58:11Z
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@futurebird Hi Pica, and @futurebird. Pica: You are being monitored, because you're too cute!
(DIR) Post #B1Y1nQheis045xY2Sm by ELS@sfba.social
2025-12-23T18:05:22Z
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@futurebird It would be interesting to note if deaf cats (for example, many white cats are genetically deaf because they lack the melanin that’s important for transmitting nerve impulses from the inner ear) can locate sounds by watching cats that can hear.
(DIR) Post #B1Y1x0TL6TUbdZPzcG by timtfj@mastodon.social
2025-12-23T18:07:04Z
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@futurebird I feel this would be easier to test if you yourself had movable ears, or maybe a cat trained to swivel its own ears in . . . Oh hang on. "Cat". "Trained". Hmmm.Robotic cat? Video cat?
(DIR) Post #B1Y60S4DMYhTuFZ3tA by timtfj@mastodon.social
2025-12-23T18:52:30Z
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@futurebird Cat earbuds. First test whether playing a sound apparently coming from a particular direction causes them to swivel their ears towards it.If it does, now play the sound to only some of the cats. Do the ones who can't hear it also swivel their ears? And does this stop if the ones hearing the sound are wearing little hats to hide their ears?
(DIR) Post #B1Y657Xz5BERiGiPui by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-23T18:53:25Z
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@timtfj I'm thinking the logistics of putting earbuds on cats is why this has not been done.
(DIR) Post #B1Y7tqCLRffEd3LK08 by timtfj@mastodon.social
2025-12-23T19:12:04Z
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@futurebird Well, you'd need suitable protective clothing I suppose. And a plan for getting to the nearest emergency department if the bleeding was too bad . . . Maybe disinfect the cats' claws beforehand as an extra precaution.
(DIR) Post #B1Y8PLi6KkVLL6Dl8y by BenHM3@saint-paul.us
2025-12-23T19:19:19Z
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@futurebird If they haven't the mirror neurons to take the other cat's ear-positioning, they most certainly notice a sudden change in position. If they can't gain relative-angle info from the other cat, they can surely get alerts.(I am not a Subject Matter Expert.)
(DIR) Post #B1YTDfcsYkvYfZ3Cmu by llewelly@sauropods.win
2025-12-23T23:12:39Z
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@futurebird I think this has been much researched, though proper experiment design and how it affects interpretation of results is still very much a live issue, in part because animal behavior scientists rarely get the funding they need, and must compromise experiment design with limited resources. But cats play close attention to the ear positions of other mammals. However, those positions have much more to do with emotional state than with direction of sounds being listened to.
(DIR) Post #B1Yci9BS82KccEpUZ6 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-24T00:58:56Z
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@Linebyline @cowboycatranch @epicdemiologist @graydon "antisocial signaling"Cats.