Cats know Physics.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Cats have always been amazing creatures especially for the fact that many of us prefer to have one as a pet. These animals are not only beautiful, but they make a great companion especially if you feel lonely.
Recent research has shown that cats are also highly intelligent creatures. In other words, these felines can understand some laws of physics such as the principle of cause and effect.
A team of researchers from Japan made a study in which they involved 30 domestic cats to establish what will be their reaction when some boxes were shaken in front of them. The boxes were empty, or they had an invisible object which the felines had to anticipate.
Furthermore, scientists tried to see if cats could distinguish whether a box is empty or full based on the sound made by the container. Therefore, the team observed the animals repeatedly to make sure that there was no coincidence in their responses.
According to Saho Takagi, lead researcher from Kyoto University in Japan, the boxes were shaken in front of the 30 felines with and without producing a sound.
Plus, the researchers also flipped the boxes during the experiment so the cats could see which of the containers was carrying an object. Based on the results, the boxes that made a rattling sound and had an object plus the silent containers that were empty were related to physics.
In addition to this, the boxes from which an object was dropped and the empty boxes of which no object fell complied with the laws of physics.
It is also worth mentioning that cats stared for a longer period at boxes that made a rattling sound meaning that they were aware that there was something inside the container based on the noise.
Plus, they also stared more when a box was turned over with a falling object meaning that cats also anticipated the content correctly. Furthermore, it is even simpler for these domestic felines because they do not rely on theoretical information. They simply figure out the place where an object is hidden based on a causal-logical understanding of sounds.
These skills help cats and other felines to hunt, especially at night time when their vision is limited. Despite the fact that cats have a much better night vision than humans, they still have to rely mostly on sounds when they hunt at the cover of darkness.
Image Source:Petful