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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!mgnetp!ltuxa!ttrdc!levy
From: levy@ttrdc.UUCP (Daniel R. Levy)
Newsgroups: net.pets
Subject: Re: The six senses of a cat
Message-ID: <459@ttrdc.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 28-Sep-85 16:48:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: ttrdc.459
Posted: Sat Sep 28 16:48:50 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 29-Sep-85 07:26:54 EDT
References: <160@cadsys.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T, Computer Systems Division, Skokie, IL
Lines: 39

In article <160@cadsys.UUCP>, ekwok@cadsys.UUCP (Kwok Ed) writes:
>-- This is a serious posting --
>...
>I read in net.bizarre that cats are
>deaf and partly blind - in the sense that they cannot hear and that they
>cannot see stationary things.
>...

Sound bizarre to me, too.  I used to have a cat (or the cat had me :-).
Poor "Campus" went deaf after about 12 years of age--the difference was very
noticeable.  Before she went deaf, one of the things that would drive her
batty was to meow at her.  She would meow back--and when I recorded about a
minute of this and played it back (moderate volume, from a cheap cassette
machine), she was in a definite fighting mood, apparently thinking it was
another cat in her territory!  I only tried this once, since I did
not want to annoy her too much.  She usually would come running when I
"here, kitty"'ed long enough, too.  After her deafness set in, even hollering
at her loudly would not cause her to even blink.

Maybe cats are blind to stationary things--I don't know, since you would have
to keep the cat from moving its eyes or head while testing this to prevent
relative motion.  Campus had no trouble whatsoever finding her favorite food--
cheese!--after it was placed on the ground.  She just went right to it, no
stopping to sniff around for it.  She also had no trouble finding her favorite
scratching sofa :-).  And I also discovered that although she did not usually
mind being carried face up (cradled in arms) she would go into a blue panic
if carried into a high-ceilinged stairwell this way (must have looked like a
long drop).  But her forte was definitely in finding moving objects--
she would usually not want to "play" with a stationary hanging cord but would
go mad chasing it if it was wiggled.  Once she batted at the screen of a port-
able TV sitting on the floor that was showing a scene of flying fighter jets.

-- 
 -------------------------------    Disclaimer:  The views contained herein are
|       dan levy | yvel nad      |  my own and are not at all those of my em-
|         an engihacker @        |  ployer or the administrator of any computer
| at&t computer systems division |  upon which I may hack.
|        skokie, illinois        |
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