Yes, we’ve all seen those cute videos of cats attacking iPad apps, but what if you don’t want to get an expensive tablet just to keep your kitty entertained? Just get a copy of an optical illusion that looks like it’s moving.
Cheap entertainment, Daniel C.
That’s the first time I’ve seen an animal responding to, and then trying to eat, an optical illusion.
I love this! Was going to submit it but got distracted by server stuff. Daniel, thanks for sending it in.
1. Handsome cat.
2. Love ani-pals with human names
3. What Alice Shortcake said – how interesting to see that he perceives it like we would: “It’s moving, I swear! I saw it!” – and peeking underneath…!
4. I love when he cuts to the chase and just starts eating it!
Happy to! I’m surprised I was the only sender-inner, given how popular it is on the ‘tube.
And I agree about ani-pals with people names! And that determined look.
I agree wholeheartedly – i was amazed that the image had an effect. But I am perplexed by the human name aspect – where is the name mentioned? Listened to the fellow filming and couldn’t discern any name.
Oops, my mistake – that info was on the other site. His name is Peter ๐
This reminds me of that video a few months ago, with the orangutan watching the magic trick. I’d love to see kitty try some other brain teasers.
My dinner should also be an optical illusion, preferably a low-calorie version.
Especially now that my kitchen is under construction and I cannot cook ๐
I need to get a copy of this next time I go to my parents’ house. I wanna see if their kitties respond.
I wonder if it works for all cats or if it’s like cat nip and it only works for some.
Sorry to say but there is a huge flaw in the experiment. Human needs to offer cat a blank sheet of paper as a control. My cat acts the same way for any sheet of paper I put on the floor.
It would be interesting to see if the cat interacted or stared at the optical illusion more than a blank sheet of paper.
Thanks for the tip. I’m gonna try it on the cats next Sunday. I shall report my findings. ๐
I’m very interested in the outcome.
I’ll see if I can get good video.
You beat me to it, Faye. I had two cats that behaved the same way with any sheet of paper; moreover, I would not describe that behavior as mesmerized. Mesmerized is what cats become with completely-invisible-to-the-human-eye spots on the ceilingโor the wall. They can stare, unmoving, at those for hours on end.
I’ve tried it on cats that lie on blank paper, not smack it. They’re really seeing the illusion.
Also, note that the optical illusion produces the…illusion of motion at the peripheries of vision as you move your eyes across the image. Look at how the cat is changing smack target, like he keeps seeing something out of the corner of his eye.
Really, this shouldn’t be surprising. Yawns are contagious between humans and cats, so clearly we share certain quirks of neural wiring. It makes sense that we process images in similar ways too, even if we understand what we see on a completely different level.
Well said.
WHERE can I get one of those sheets?!?!?! My kitty is bored with all her toys, she would love this!
Do a google image search for optical illusion pictures and you’ll find lots.
First time I saw that, I saved it and opened the image in paint to make sure it wasn’t just an animated gif with the wrong file extension.
I know, right?