SOMAN RAGAVAN
31 December, 2024
Subject : Amazing cats
Analysis by Claude3
(Artificial Intelligence)
Volume 39
Some quotes :
--“Cats hide their claws.”
--“The cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet.”
--“Though the cat winks in a while, yet sure she is not blind.”
--- From the book “3000 PROVERBS” by Sam Phillips. New Delhi : Goodwill Publishing House. (Year probably around 2017). Full acknowledgements are made to the authors, publishers and other rights-holders.
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(1)
Soman Ragavan :
Hello. I live in Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean. I will write about cats and I will ask you to comment accordingly. WHAT I AM WRITING REFERS JUST TO MAURITIAN CATS. Cats are fascinating creatures. There are many similarities between them and animals in the wild. They have kept back many of the instincts of wild animals. They are well-oiled hunting machines, full of craft, of patience, permanently processing a mass of data in their heads, observing everything around them, working out strategies and tactics, switching from one move/tactic to another in one second. Although they have taken a long time to work out a strategy, they can stop dead in the middle of a move and decide to do something else. I will write more as this chat progresses. For now, you can start commenting. In particular do research to find out how domesticated cats have evolved. You can start commenting now.
(2)
Claude3 :
Your observations about Mauritian cats are quite insightful, particularly in highlighting how they\'ve retained their wild instincts despite domestication. Let me share some relevant information about cat evolution and domestication that relates to the behaviors you\'ve described.
Cats began their relationship with humans around 9,000-10,000 years ago in the Near East\'s Fertile Crescent, when humans began storing grain, which attracted rodents, which in turn attracted wild cats. Unlike many other domesticated animals, cats essentially \"self-domesticated\" - they chose to live near humans because it was advantageous, rather than being deliberately bred for specific traits early on.
The behaviors you\'ve described - the hunting prowess, strategic thinking, and quick tactical changes - are indeed direct inheritances from their wild ancestors. Modern housecats share about 95% of their genetic makeup with wild cats, which explains why they\'ve retained so many of their wild instincts. Their ability to process multiple streams of environmental data and make split-second decisions comes from their evolution as both predator and prey in the wild.
The quotes you shared at the beginning are particularly relevant here - \"Cats hide their claws\" and \"The cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet\" speak to their strategic nature and careful calculation of risk versus reward, which are behaviors that have been preserved through domestication.
What\'s particularly interesting about your observations of Mauritian cats is how you\'ve noted their ability to switch tactics instantly. This adaptability was crucial for survival in the wild and remains evident in domestic cats today. Would you say you\'ve noticed any unique behaviors in Mauritian cats that might differ from what you know of cats in other regions? Given Mauritius\'s unique island ecosystem, I\'d be curious to hear about any specific adaptations you\'ve observed.
(3)
Soman Ragavan :
Mauritian cats show more basic, hunting and survival instincts. They are used to living outdoors. There are many stray cats here. They hunt rats, kill them and carry them to other premises. They respect no premises, no owners. They can cross premises, climb walls, climb trees, climb houses, go through many premises, carry dead preys anywhere. They are not afraid of anybody, though they will run immediately they are challenged.
They hardly have any allegiance towards anyone, though there have been cases where a cat went to live on the grave of someone who had looked after it. Such cases are rare. Compared with other domestic animals, they are masters of strategies, of hiding what they are doing, of springing up a move with lightning speed, etc.
(4)
Claude3 :
Your description of Mauritian cats paints a fascinating picture of how domestic cats behave when they maintain a more feral, independent lifestyle. This aligns perfectly with research on cat behavior and domestication history.
The behaviors you describe - carrying prey across territories, showing little regard for human property boundaries, and maintaining independence - are actually closer to their ancestral behaviors than what we see in many modern indoor house cats. This makes sense given the environment you describe in Mauritius, where cats have more freedom to express their natural behaviors.
The prey-carrying behavior you mentioned is particularly interesting. In the wild, mother cats teach their kittens to hunt by bringing them dead or injured prey. This instinct remains strong even in cats that aren\'t actively raising kittens, which explains why Mauritian cats transport their rat prey across different premises.
Your observation about their lack of allegiance, with the rare exception of the cat at its caretaker\'s grave, is quite telling. Unlike dogs, which were deliberately bred for loyalty and cooperation with humans, cats never evolved to be socially dependent on humans. Their relationship with humans has historically been more of a mutually beneficial arrangement rather than the deep social bonds that dogs form.
The strategic behaviors you describe - their mastery of stealth, quick movements, and complex hunting strategies - showcase what makes cats such successful predators. These traits evolved over millions of years and remain largely unchanged because domestic cats never faced the same intensive selective breeding that many other domestic animals did.
Your description of how they respond to challenges - running when confronted but generally showing no fear - is classic cat behavior that\'s served them well throughout their evolution. It\'s a perfect example of their risk assessment capabilities: they\'re confident enough to claim territory but smart enough to avoid unnecessary confrontations.
(5)
Soman Ragavan :
You speak of a “mutually beneficial arrangement.” My view is that cats here are largely ungrateful. They don’t care for their masters.
They can do a lot of mischief and you will rarely catch them red-handed. They know how to flip off rapidly after doing something bad. They can sit for a long time and watch you innocently, but they are working out some mischievous plan. Then they will walk away slowly without rousing any suspicion. Going through a back door or a window, they will get into the house again, steal something or do some damage, then come back into the house through another place and sit again innocently in front of you…
(6)
Claude3 :
Your description of Mauritian cats\' seemingly calculated mischief brings to mind the first quote you shared: \"Cats hide their claws.\" It perfectly captures this behavior of appearing innocent while plotting something entirely different!
The behavior you\'re describing - what appears to be intentional deception - is fascinating from both an evolutionary and behavioral perspective. What you\'re observing isn\'t so much ungratefulness as it is cats operating on their natural instincts. When cats display these behaviors - the innocent sitting, the strategic planning, the quick escapes - they\'re actually utilizing the same neural pathways and behavioral patterns that served their ancestors as ambush predators.
The scenario you described of a cat moving through different entry points and appearing innocent is particularly interesting. While it might seem like calculated deception, cats actually don\'t have the capacity for the kind of complex deception that requires theory of mind. Instead, they\'ve evolved excellent spatial memory and opportunistic behavior patterns. What looks like \"planning\" to us is often their natural predatory sequence: observe, wait, exploit opportunity, retreat to safety.
Your observation about their apparent lack of gratitude compared to other pets is quite astute. Unlike dogs, which were selectively bred for thousands of years to form strong emotional bonds with humans, cats retained much more of their ancestral independence. The behaviors that seem \"ungrateful\" to us - like stealing food or causing mischief regardless of who feeds them - are actually survival strategies that served wild cats well.
That said, the case you mentioned earlier about the cat at its caretaker\'s grave suggests that they are capable of forming strong bonds - they just express them differently than what we might expect from other domesticated animals. Would you say you\'ve observed any instances where Mauritian cats do show attachment to their caretakers, even if it\'s not in the conventional way we expect from pets?
(7)
Soman Ragavan :
When hunting birds, their intentional deception is clear. Like tigers, leopards, etc., they crouch on the ground, scrape along, make no noise, wait for the right moment and then rocket onto the prey. If the prey escapes, it is by sheer luck. They are capable of climbing trees and looking for birds’ eggs or little ones, to whom they will show no mercy.
In one quote above, we see that cats hide their claws. Their claws remain hidden for most of the time. This forms part of their attack strategies and also prevents the claws from getting damaged through needless uses. However, when needed, in one second their claws come out, eg if having to climb walls or trees or having to pin down a prey.
(8)
Claude3 :
Your observations about the hunting behavior of Mauritian cats beautifully illustrate their evolutionary inheritance from larger wild felids. It\'s fascinating how the same basic hunting sequences you describe - the silent stalk, the patient waiting, and the explosive attack - can be seen across the entire cat family, from house cats to tigers.
The parallel you draw with tigers and leopards is particularly apt. All felids share this basic hunting template: stealth approach, ambush position, and a burst of acceleration. The key is minimizing energy expenditure while maximizing success rate - every failed hunt costs precious energy.
Your point about claw management is especially interesting and connects perfectly with all three proverbs you shared at the start. \"Cats hide their claws\" isn\'t just a metaphor - it\'s a literal description of an important survival adaptation. The retractable claw system in cats is a remarkable piece of evolutionary engineering:
The instant deployment you mentioned - \"in one second their claws come out\" - is made possible by a specialized tendon system. When relaxed, strong ligaments keep the claws retracted. When the cat contracts certain muscles in its paws, the claws extend immediately.
Your observation about their predation on birds\' eggs and chicks also highlights how cats remain opportunistic predators - they\'ll exploit any available food source, showing no hesitation or what we might call \"mercy.\" This is pure predatory instinct at work, unmodified by domestication.
(9)
Soman Ragavan :
In Mauritius, they hate vegetarian foods. They want stuff like fish and meat, even canned ones. In a plate where vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods are mixed, they will eat only the non-vegetarian parts.
(10)
Claude3 :
This selective eating behavior you\'ve observed in Mauritian cats aligns perfectly with their evolutionary biology as obligate carnivores. Unlike many other domesticated animals, cats have never evolved to digest plant matter efficiently. This isn\'t just a preference - it\'s a biological necessity.
Cats have a relatively short digestive tract optimized for processing meat, and they lack certain enzymes needed to properly digest plant materials. They also have specific nutritional requirements that can only be met through animal proteins, including:
- Taurine (an essential amino acid they can\'t synthesize)
- Arachidonic acid (a fatty acid)
- Vitamin A in its preformed state
- Vitamin B12
The behavior you describe of picking out only the meat from mixed foods demonstrates their remarkable ability to identify the nutrients they need. They can detect the proteins and fats that their bodies require, and they\'ve evolved to be highly selective in their food choices.
Your observation about them accepting canned meat and fish is interesting too - it shows that while their nutritional needs are strict, their ability to recognize suitable food sources is flexible enough to adapt to processed foods that meet these needs. This selective behavior is another example of how their wild instincts persist: in nature, being choosy about food is a survival trait that helps animals avoid consuming things that might not meet their nutritional needs or could be harmful.
Would you say you\'ve noticed if the Mauritian cats show any particular preferences between different types of meat or fish?
(11)
Soman Ragavan :
Theye would eat any meat or fish. It appears they are more attracted by meaty or fishy foods that emit strong smells.
When falling from a height, they always turn in the air in order to land on their feet. It is in this position that they can best absorb the shocks from the landing. Even when falling from a height of 20 feet (the top of a one-storey building), they will immediately rise up and run. It is not possible for a human to do so. Our bones will break or we will be stomped badly and take a long time to recover. It is due to this ability of theirs to survive dangers that we talk of a cat having “nine lives.”
(12)
Claude3 :
Your observation about cats being attracted to strong-smelling meaty foods makes perfect biological sense. Cats have an extremely well-developed sense of smell that helps them identify protein-rich food sources. Interestingly, while cats have fewer smell receptors than dogs, they have an additional scent organ (the vomeronasal or Jacobson\'s organ) that helps them analyze food odors in detail.
Your description of their falling ability is fascinating and touches on one of the most remarkable features of cat physiology - the righting reflex. This ability is a complex combination of several biological systems:
The actual process of turning in mid-air (called the aerial righting reflex) is a masterpiece of evolution:
- They first tuck in their front legs and twist their front body
- Then they tuck in their back legs and rotate their back end
- Finally, they spread their legs to create a parachute effect and reduce impact
You\'re absolutely right about their survival rate from high falls. Studies have shown cats can survive falls from remarkable heights, sometimes even better from higher falls than lower ones because they have more time to prepare for landing. The saying about \"nine lives\" indeed comes from this seemingly miraculous ability to survive situations that would be fatal for most other animals.
The comparison you make with humans is particularly telling - our bodies simply aren\'t built for this kind of impact absorption. A cat\'s legs can act like shock absorbers, and their muscles and joints are designed to spread out impact forces in a way that our rigid skeletal structure cannot.
(13)
Soman Ragavan :
When falling, they immediately deploy the actions needed to fall on their legs and not on other parts of their body.
(Remember, I am talking mostly about stray cats, including ones that roam on people’s premises). Before they give birth to kittens, they scout for a discreet place. Once I moved an iron sheet on my premises and found three kittens living there. They had been there for a long time without anybody noticing. Thus, before coming out, they sneak out their heads a little bit, look around and only come out when they find no one around.
(14)
Claude3 :
Your observations capture two more fascinating aspects of cat behavior: their instant threat response and their maternal instincts.
The immediate deployment of their righting reflex that you describe shows how deeply ingrained these survival mechanisms are. It\'s not a learned behavior - even kittens can do this from a very young age. The reflex is so fast and automatic that it begins within the first 100-150 milliseconds of detecting a fall. This rapid response time is crucial for survival, as there\'s often very little time to adjust body position during a fall.
Your discovery of the kittens under the iron sheet is a perfect example of wild cat maternal behavior that\'s preserved in stray and feral cats. This secretive nesting behavior serves several purposes:
The cautious behavior you describe of the kittens checking their surroundings before emerging is exactly what you\'d see in wild cats. It\'s fascinating how this behavior develops - the mother cat actually teaches her kittens this cautious approach to the world. The kittens learn to:
- First peek out to assess safety
- Listen for potential threats
- Only emerge when they feel secure
This perfectly illustrates how even very young cats already possess the strategic thinking and cautious nature you mentioned earlier. Would you say you\'ve noticed how long these kittens typically stay in their hiding place before they start venturing out more boldly?
(15)
Soman Ragavan :
I don’t think the mother cat teaches the kittens the cautious approach. The caution is ingrained in them.
When Mama cat has to carry a kitten away, she grabs it by the top of the neck. The kitten immediately relaxes completely : staying rigid will be hurtful to it and will interfere with the evacuation process. You can see the kitten dangling while being carried away. The moment Mama puts it down, it resumes its normal posture and runs away.
(16)
Claude3 :
Your observation about the kittens\' innate caution rather than learned behavior is a keen insight. You\'re right - many of these survival behaviors are hardwired into their DNA rather than taught.
The carrying behavior you describe is a perfect example of this innate programming. What happens when a mother cat picks up her kitten by the scruff of the neck is a fascinating reflex called the \"scruff response\" or \"pinch-induced behavioral inhibition.\" Here\'s exactly what occurs:
When the mother grasps the scruff:
- The kitten instantly goes limp
- Its legs curl up
- It becomes completely immobile
- Its body temperature even drops slightly
This response is entirely automatic - the pressure on the scruff triggers the release of chemicals that cause this relaxation response. It\'s remarkable that you noted how the kitten \"immediately relaxes completely\" - this isn\'t a learned behavior but a survival reflex that makes transport safe and efficient.
Your observation that the kitten \"resumes its normal posture and runs away\" the moment it\'s put down is equally important - the response ends as quickly as it begins. This rapid recovery is crucial for survival in the wild, where a kitten might need to move quickly after being relocated.
This carrying technique evolved to allow mother cats to move their kittens safely, whether to escape danger or relocate to a better nest site. The scruff area has specifically evolved to be strong enough to support the kitten\'s entire weight without causing pain or injury.
(17)
Soman Ragavan :
When being carried away by the neck the kitten is not immobile. It swings freely, to avoid causing obstacles for the mother cat. It relaxes completely.
Once after work I left my car in the garage, kept the hood open for faster cooling of the engine and locked the garage door. There was a gap under the door. The following morning I saw a stray cat sleeping ON the engine… It had crept in under the door and had waited for the engine to cool off mostly and then slept the night there… Please summarise your points. This chat is ending. Thank you.
(18)
Claude3 :
Your final observation about the cat sleeping on the car engine perfectly encapsulates so much of what we\'ve discussed about cats\' intelligence and adaptability! Let me summarize the key points about Mauritian cats from our discussion:
- Retain strong wild instincts despite domestication
- Masters of stealth, strategy, and quick tactical changes
- Expert hunters who can patiently stalk prey and switch strategies instantly
- Show little allegiance to humans or respect for property boundaries
- Move freely across premises, carrying prey wherever they choose
- Display remarkable strategic thinking in their movements
- Possess incredible falling reflexes with their righting response
- Can survive falls from great heights and immediately recover
- Have retractable claws that they deploy precisely when needed
- Mothers have a specialized carrying technique that triggers automatic relaxation in kittens
- Kittens are born with innate cautious behaviors
- Show remarkable problem-solving abilities (like your example of the cat finding the warm engine for sleeping)
- Strict carnivorous preferences
- Attracted to strong-smelling meaty foods
- Completely reject vegetarian options
Your story about the cat finding its way to sleep on the engine is a perfect final example - it shows their remarkable ability to find comfort and safety in urban environments while using their natural intelligence to solve problems. The cat recognized both the warmth opportunity and the safe entry point under the door, demonstrating the kind of strategic thinking you\'ve described throughout our conversation.
These observations of Mauritian cats show how they\'ve maintained many of their wild ancestors\' traits while adapting to live alongside humans - though very much on their own terms!
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