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Cats are (almost) liquid

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253 points lnyan | 5 comments | 17 Oct 24 11:43 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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wormlord ◴[17 Oct 24 14:48 UTC] No.41870187[source]▶
Before I had cats, I used to think of them in terms of other animals. What I mean is that a dog or a horse is very defined by its skeletal structure. They are like popsicle stick armatures with some flesh thrown on.

Now I think of cats more like amorphous blobs with some hard bits stuck on. I think anyone who owns a cat will know what I mean by this.

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nonameiguess ◴[17 Oct 24 15:14 UTC] No.41870430[source]▶
For what it's worth, their hips and shoulders are actually limited in range of motion compared to humans, due to the very high muscle attachment points that are also what make them so amazingly strong and explosive for their small size. But an extremely flexible spine combined with the ability to dislocate key joints means they can still fit into very small, narrow spaces, presumably an adaptation allowing them to hunt small rodents that burrow and hide out in underground dens. Which I assume is why they have the instinct to immediately jump into and check out any box or cabinet or other enclosed space you open. You never know if there might be some voles in there.
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psunavy03 ◴[17 Oct 24 15:24 UTC] No.41870524[source]▶
They actually prefer to jump in a box because to them, it's a safe space to hide and watch. Cats look for spaces like that because their wild ancestors (and feral cats now) are small enough that they are both predators and prey.
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1. fluoridation ◴[17 Oct 24 15:30 UTC] No.41870584{3}[source]▶
Yup. Same reason why they like to climb to high places. They can feel safe and survey the surroundings. Additionally, cats will hide in confined spaces when ill or in pain; a sudden desire to hide for prolonged periods is a sign that it needs to see a vet.
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2. kijin ◴[17 Oct 24 16:12 UTC] No.41870999[source]▶
I think a lot of oddities we attribute to cats can be explained by the fact that they are both predator and prey. No other animal we spend a lot of time with occupies such a schizophrenic position in the food chain.
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3. jerf ◴[17 Oct 24 16:32 UTC] No.41871175[source]▶
I've noticed free-range chickens have some characteristics that derive from a similar position; chickens are not "predators" but they will happily predate if the opportunity arises, and they are also prey. Being birds and natural flock animals, it manifests differently, and there's some interesting behaviors I've noticed.

"Chicken" as a synonym for "total, utter coward" is slander. Yes, running is their first play, but they do not just roll over and die like a sheep or a rabbit; if running isn't working they can and do fight back for all they are worth. And they don't have to be "backed into a corner" and only fight if it's the absolute last option, it just has to be as I phrased it: "running isn't working".

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4. armada651 ◴[17 Oct 24 20:29 UTC] No.41873448{3}[source]▶
We owned a small chicken that roamed in our garden, but not long after we got that chicken our neighbors got a cat.

We were worried their cat would attack our chicken at some point, until one day we saw their cat running for its life while a small chicken chases after it trying to keep up with the agile predator using its tiny chicken legs.

From that day forward the neighbor's cat understood its place in the pecking order.

5. shawn_w ◴[17 Oct 24 21:06 UTC] No.41873791{3}[source]▶
A rooster in full on attack mode can be pretty scary.