Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Igel

(35,191 posts)
26. There's less lit on cats.
Fri Aug 14, 2015, 09:05 AM
Aug 2015

And one recent bit included some odd comments as part of its lit review because it applied to their study.

They couldn't get a random sample for cats. They started with one--I even forget what they were testing--but a certain number of cats just didn't play along. "Here kitty, here's your stimulus!" would be met by a cold stare and the cat would go to sleep or wander off. Reward as motivation? Meh.

At that point you had to ask, as a researcher: Did they just stare because they're stupid or because they were uninterested? Most of the time "no response" was interpreted as "stupid." But a few days later the cats who were too stupid to do anything suddenly were able to do a lot. So the researchers in that article decided to ignore zoned-out cats. Again, assumptions --> results.

Dogs? Give them the reward, they do what you want. You can pick 30 dogs and have almost all of them do the tests. Consistently. Pick 30 cats and who knows what you'll get today. And if you'll be able to have a second run with the same cats tomorrow.

Yup. Cats rule. The Velveteen Ocelot Aug 2015 #1
Of course they survived longer. They probably slept through it all. BlueJazz Aug 2015 #3
Evolutionary brilliance. The Velveteen Ocelot Aug 2015 #4
If those ancient dogs were like my golden retriever, they'd probably give... BlueJazz Aug 2015 #8
^^This^^ Gormy Cuss Aug 2015 #47
"But researchers found no evidence that dogs have..." < Dog's are smarter than to leave evidence. jtuck004 Aug 2015 #2
And in a need-to-know moment Le Taz Hot Aug 2015 #30
if they had just asked the cats to begin with who is better restorefreedom Aug 2015 #5
cats can climb- to escape, to catch and stash prey, and burrow into the bushes and hide better nt msongs Aug 2015 #6
Not to mention murielm99 Aug 2015 #11
Yes. Cats are better than dogs in every way. Arugula Latte Aug 2015 #7
Now if they could only clean their own litter packman Aug 2015 #9
not only that, there are special faucet fixtures that allow them to get their own water! niyad Aug 2015 #42
This is confusing two different questions. drm604 Aug 2015 #10
Love 'em both. Bigredhunk Aug 2015 #12
+ 1 !!! pink-o Aug 2015 #29
Never heard of a dog with nine lives passiveporcupine Aug 2015 #13
Except that, by the same metrics FarrenH Aug 2015 #19
And why Wolves became the most important carnivore... happyslug Aug 2015 #34
Every thread doesn't need to be serious passiveporcupine Aug 2015 #41
Cat's are selfish - they only care about themselves - that's why they survive Elmer S. E. Dump Aug 2015 #32
They should've asked me. I knew that: freshwest Aug 2015 #14
Outstanding. n/t Judi Lynn Aug 2015 #16
Thanks! n/t freshwest Aug 2015 #17
Hermione Jean Granger !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! trueblue2007 Aug 2015 #52
The world would be so much emptier, lonlier without both kinds of these amazing fur friends. n/t Judi Lynn Aug 2015 #15
Cats are mostly solitary creatures FarrenH Aug 2015 #18
There's less lit on cats. Igel Aug 2015 #26
You're right that they're harder to study FarrenH Aug 2015 #28
Why we don't have guide cats, drug-sniffing cats, cancer-sniffing cats, rescue cats, guard-cats... Elmer S. E. Dump Aug 2015 #33
So, does this mean cats rule and dogs drool? LOL nt raccoon Aug 2015 #20
Of course. Here's the evidence... KansDem Aug 2015 #27
Beat me to it...that's the right answer. libdem4life Aug 2015 #50
Interesting. blackspade Aug 2015 #21
Any cat could have told you that. Vinca Aug 2015 #22
in other news... Javaman Aug 2015 #23
Never trust a man who hates cats. 7962 Aug 2015 #24
I have been doing Protection from Abuse for 25 years, and there is some truth to your statement happyslug Aug 2015 #35
Thank you for that EXCELLENT analysis! 7962 Aug 2015 #36
Children are another group that put up with a lot of abuse, just to be a member of their family. happyslug Aug 2015 #38
women wear red because it's socially acceptable for women to wear red and other colors Liberal_in_LA Aug 2015 #49
Like the time the cat barked when the saber-toothed tiger was going to eat the caveman family. Octafish Aug 2015 #25
No barking cats? Just watch this: Trailrider1951 Aug 2015 #39
My wife just observed that cats know they are smarter than guys. Octafish Aug 2015 #40
Cats having commited genocide 40 times makes them better? Thor_MN Aug 2015 #31
Pure propaganda... Blue_Tires Aug 2015 #37
I showed my boy this article IDemo Aug 2015 #43
Not surprising Snow Leopard Aug 2015 #44
I suppose I am kind of an odd duck. smirkymonkey Aug 2015 #45
That's funny - Says the ... cannabis_flower Aug 2015 #46
Old nieghbor of mine... Xolodno Aug 2015 #48
I think it's just because they're such tough little buggers Warpy Aug 2015 #51
I absolutely love my litte ex-feral cat. I watched him in the woods for 2 years. bamademo Aug 2015 #53
Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Cats vs dogs: Scientists ...»Reply #26