TV aware cat

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PatC - 01 Oct 2004 14:26 GMT

Hi
I have 2 neutered cats nearly 8 year old (brothers) that I got from the
pound.
4 days ago one of them (Jerry) started to take a particular interest in the
TV. The TV is not new & is often on at night, so there is no new situation.
Jerry started to look at the screen from different aspects & was acting
spooked, & slunk away on his belly to a favourite refuge.
Since then this has happened each evening, but now he just watches the
screen & does the cat body language of whiskers twitching & neck outstreched
at certain images, ie appears threatened.
It doesn't seem to make any difference at what angle he watches it, but it
seems he can recognise an advert that show's a large dog for a dog food
advert, & he gets very paranoid.
He will watch it with his neck turned to whatever position he happens to be
able to view the TV.
If he sits on the floor he follows the images by moving his head/whiskers
back & forth as the images cross the screen. If he is on the couch he will
extend his neck as if to see the images better, all the time his whiskers
quiver as if trying to get more info.
I have always been led to believe that animals cannot see TV images & I find
this behaviour quite bizarre.
Sometimes he gets quite distressed & we have to distract him, but as soon as
we stop he goes back to the same behaviour. The only time he stops is if he
lies down with his back to the TV!
I assure anyone that thinks I am making a joke of this group, that I am a
genuine cat owner of many moggies over many years & have never experienced
any cat ever displaying this unusual behaviour.
Any ideas folks?
If so many thanks for your thoughts in advance (just in case I have probs
trying to reply, as I'm not experienced in newsgroups)
Regards
Pat

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BarB - 01 Oct 2004 17:40 GMT

>Hi
>I have 2 neutered cats nearly 8 year old (brothers) that I got from the
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
>Regards
>Pat

I have as many as nine cats on my bed in front of the TV at one time.
Only one of them actually seems aware of what is on the screen. Chin
Chin usually lies facing the screen while the others ignore it. He is
particularly agitated by snakes and lizards on Animal Planet. His ears
and whiskers twitch and his eyes follow every movement. This is not
the same reaction as the kitten who will bat at any moving target.

BarB

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Amy Gray - 01 Oct 2004 20:44 GMT

>Only one of them actually seems aware of what is on the screen. Chin
>Chin usually lies facing the screen while the others ignore it.

Let me guess....Chin Chin's favorite show is Jay Leno?

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BarB - 06 Oct 2004 23:11 GMT

>>Only one of them actually seems aware of what is on the screen. Chin
>>Chin usually lies facing the screen while the others ignore it.
>Let me guess....Chin Chin's favorite show is Jay Leno?

While Leno certainly has a chin, Chin Chin ( tuxedo) got his name from
the black spot on his chinny chin chin. :)

BarB

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Amy Gray - 01 Oct 2004 17:47 GMT

>4 days ago one of them (Jerry) started to take a particular interest in the
>TV. The TV is not new & is often on at night, so there is no new situation.

A number of years ago I had a cat who loved to watch TV. Her
favorite show? The Westminster Dog Show. I never figured that one
out.

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Jerry Kohl - 01 Oct 2004 21:32 GMT

> Hi
> I have 2 neutered cats nearly 8 year old (brothers) that I got from the
> pound.
> 4 days ago one of them (Jerry) started to take a particular interest in the
> TV.

[snip]

> I assure anyone that thinks I am making a joke of this group, that I am a
> genuine cat owner of many moggies over many years & have never experienced
> any cat ever displaying this unusual behaviour.
> Any ideas folks?

Over the years, we have had several cats who react to the TV screen, and
others who completely ignore it. Nature shows with fluttering birds in
closeup usually provoke the most interest, but sometimes it is the sound
that does the trick (a nature documentary on tree frogs particularly
fascinated one of our cats). One of our present crew, Gracie, mostly
ignores the programming, but is fascinated by the green lettering reading
"MUTE" that pops on during commercials (she of course has no idea
that this has anything to do with the humans watching the boring old
program).

Our most TV-aware cat was named Velocity, and she would sometimes
watch for up to 45 minutes at a stretch (in my experience, even when
they are engaged by the TV, cats tend to lose interest after about five
or ten minutes). Those nature programs were great favourites, and we
even compiled a tape of her favorites (Bee-Eaters of Kenya, Tree Frogs,
and some documentaries on house cats), but she also had a strange
attraction to cartoons. She was not an indiscriminate viewer, however,
and had a strong preference for Count Duckula and U. S. Acres. As
soon as the cartoon switched over to something else, she would lose
interest (Tweety Pie and Sylvester were just not her cup of tea!).

--
Jerry Kohl <jeromekohl@comcast.net>
"Légpárnás hajóm tele van angolnákkal."

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Mike - 02 Oct 2004 05:56 GMT

Isis digs t.v. with me. We used to watch Mother Angelica all the time.

One time a cat came on the tube. It was meowing and meowing. Isis went up to
the t.v. and started pawing on the screen. Then she turned around and gave
me a very puzzled look. No kidding. I tried to explain to her that it was
just a t.v. deal.

Oh, yes, cats can tell a bird from a cat on a t.v. screen. You betcha!

Mike in Illinois

> Hi
> I have 2 neutered cats nearly 8 year old (brothers) that I got from the
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> Regards
> Pat

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PatC - 02 Oct 2004 12:30 GMT

Hi folks
Thanks for all your replies, which I found very interesting & entertaining.
I'm glad to know that he's not the only one after all, as I've always been
led to believe that cats are unable to view what I think is called two
dimensional? images.
To add to all this we tried turning off the volume but it made no
difference, he still keeps watching, but having watched him a bit closer,
there are some things that he doesn't seem co concerned about, but I've yet
to work out what he likes best seeing (and what it is that scares him the
most) as he's only been doing this for a few days now.
Seems a bit weird though to suddenly discover TV at his age!
We thought he might have been getting dementia! But he is a very lively cat
for his age.
Once again thanks & would still likes to hear of other like-minded moggies.
Regards
Pat

...

> Hi
> I have 2 neutered cats nearly 8 year old (brothers) that I got from the
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> Regards
> Pat

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Jerry Kohl - 02 Oct 2004 20:31 GMT

> Hi folks
> Thanks for all your replies, which I found very interesting & entertaining.
> I'm glad to know that he's not the only one after all, as I've always been
> led to believe that cats are unable to view what I think is called two
> dimensional? images.

A further thought about that: We have a bird feeder hung under the eaves
on the east side of the house, outside of an upstairs bedroom window. In
the early morning on a sunny day, when the blinds are closed, the fluttering
birds cast shadows projected down onto the blinds, and the "shadow play"
often has a totally riveted feline audience. I would have said that this is
an example of a two-dimensional image, comparable to that of a TV, and
*none* of our cats has any difficulty whatever in viewing this--even the
ones who ignore the TV. The interesting question, then, is: what distorting
factor does the TV introduce that is not present in the "shadow play"?

--
Jerry Kohl <jeromekohl@comcast.net>
"Légpárnás hajóm tele van angolnákkal."

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