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patrick - 23 Oct 2005 15:53 GMT

do cats recognise them selves in mirrors.

our 3 year old male keeps pawing at the mirror wardrobe door and we wonder
does he see it a as a window or a mirror?

Patrick

see our cats at http://www.piffer.co.uk/page3.html

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alt4 - 23 Oct 2005 16:07 GMT

I don't know if they think they are seeing another cat, themselves or what
but my cats LOVE mirrors. I guess one of life's mysterys.

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> do cats recognise them selves in mirrors.
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> see our cats at http://www.piffer.co.uk/page3.html

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No More Retail - 23 Oct 2005 16:21 GMT

My cats look at the mirror you hear them give that heavy breath let out
like a humph and walk away

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Ben - 23 Oct 2005 17:28 GMT

>do cats recognise them selves in mirrors.
>
>our 3 year old male keeps pawing at the mirror wardrobe door and we wonder
>does he see it a as a window or a mirror?

I don't know - whenever my cat messes with the mirror that also
servers as a door to the closet, I know she's just trying to go into
the closet.

She can open it and get in if I fail to leave a suitcase against the
door.

>Patrick
>
>see our cats at http://www.piffer.co.uk/page3.html

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DW - 23 Oct 2005 19:24 GMT

> >our 3 year old male keeps pawing at the mirror wardrobe door and we wonder
> >does he see it a as a window or a mirror?

All of my cats ignore the image in the mirror. My theory is since
they
can't smell the cat in the mirror they don't see the cat as a threat.

I get the impression cats rely heavily on their sense of smell to
identify other cats.

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Diana - 23 Oct 2005 19:59 GMT

> > >our 3 year old male keeps pawing at the mirror wardrobe door and we wonder
> > >does he see it a as a window or a mirror?
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> I get the impression cats rely heavily on their sense of smell to
> identify other cats.

I've seen different reactions from different cats. Basically, they
divide into 3 categories: ignore the mirror, look at/try to touch the
cat in the mirror, and (initial reaction) run around behind the mirror
in an attempt to get to the cat on the other side of the glass. The
most intelligent of all my cats have fallen into the third category.
Once they find out there's nothing back there, they tend to mostly
ignore their own image. They do, however, make eye contact with me and
with each other via the mirror, and they quickly grasped the general
idea that an image in the mirror shows where the real object is located.
(That is, once they got past the first impression of the mirror as a
window.)

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Diana
<http://personal.bellsouth.net/d/r/drdrive/hereiam.html>

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David Stevenson - 02 Nov 2005 19:12 GMT

>do cats recognise them selves in mirrors.
>
>our 3 year old male keeps pawing at the mirror wardrobe door and we wonder
>does he see it a as a window or a mirror?

None of our cats have ever shown any interest in mirrors.

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