Cats are conscious animals. They are responsive tbest human hair wigs for black females jordan air force 1 uberlube luxury lubricant college football jerseys jordan proto max 720 nike air max 90 futura custom youth hockey jerseys custom dallas stars jersey borsa prima classe dallas cowboys slippers mens brock bowers jersey johnny manziel jersey brock purdy jersey adidas yeezy boost 350 turtle dove college football jerseys o their surroundings and have intentions, thoughts, and desires. When a cat owner comes home or gives food, it becomes happy. Cats have captured people’s hearts worldwide with their curious nature and acts.
One common question among every cat owner is, “Are Cats Self Aware?” The answer is “No!” Cats don’t possess self-awareness ability.
But how are they so responsive to one’s surroundings? Do cats have consciousness? As a cat owner, how can you understand if your cat is self-aware?
Before answering these queries, let’s grab some basic knowledge about self-awareness.
What Is Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness is the ability that helps you to understand who you are. It gives you the power to become conscious of what makes you unique. Every individual has a unique personality, actions, values, beliefs, emotions, and thoughts. You are self-aware if you can see yourself clearly through reflection and self-observation.
Every human possesses self-awareness ability. Even some animals have this ability.
Self-awareness in animals evolves naturally. An animal’s intelligence is measured by self-awareness. Animals such as orangutans, bonobos, chimpanzees, elephants, dolphins, orcas, and crows are self-aware. All these species can recognize their mirror reflection.
But do cats know their reflection? Let’s find out more about self-awareness in cats.
Are Cats Self Aware? Lets Explained
Cats are intelligent animals. They always try to communicate with humans by meowing and using verbal or non-verbal signs. Also, cats can understand human emotions and act according to them. They can quickly learn and develop food habits and have good memories.
Cats can remember and recognize any object easily. Even if you take that object out of their sight, they will still remember it. If you put an object somewhere in front of your cat, it will still remember that object there. Even after weeks, they will understand that object is in that same place. However, that doesn’t mean cats are self-aware.
Cats can’t recognize themselves looking in a mirror. They are not visually self-aware. They might be self-aware to some debatable extent. Cats don’t recognize their reflection as themselves. They are conversational animals and have a sharp memory. But they are different from other self-aware animals because they can’t acknowledge their visual identity.
Do Cats Possess Awareness of Their Own Identity as Cats?
Now that you know cats are not self-aware, you may wonder if they can recognize themselves as cats. Well, cats know about their species. Cats are intelligent animals. They know their species and recognize themselves as part of the group. Are you aware that you’re a cat according to your cat?
Cats see and understand the world differently than humans. They can identify their species by vocalization and smell. Cats use similar body language and vocal sounds. Moreover, cats use their nose for identification instead of their eyes. They can identify their family with their smell. Cats even think of humans as big cats. Their behavior pattern doesn’t change whether they are with their mother or humans.
Cats possess an awareness of their own identity as cats. Their awareness is different compared to humans but they know which species they belong to. So, are cats conscious of their identity as cats? “Yes,” they are. But it can’t be considered as self-awareness. It is their senses and instincts that help them to identify themselves as cats.
Do Cats Recognize Themselves in the Mirror?
Cats can recognize other cats. But can cats recognize themselves in a mirror? “No,” they fail to recognize the reflection of their own. For example, if you take your cat in front of a mirror, it will recognize the mirror image as a cat. But your cat will think of it as some other cat.
Cats never passed the mirror test. In front of a mirror, cats have never shown any sense of self at all. Some cats ignore the reflection, some try to search for the cat in the mirror, some become anxious, some strike a defensive pose, and some behave aggressively toward the reflection. Cats often feel threatened by another cat when they see their reflection in a mirror.
Not knowing that it’s you in the mirror is a freaky thing. As cats are not self-aware, it’s obvious of not recognize themselves. Their body language changes when they see a mirror image and think another cat is in front of it.
Another reason is cats rely on their vision like humans. They use their sense of smell to identify. The mirror reflection doesn’t smell like them. That’s why they don’t recognize themselves in the mirror.
Do Cats Engage in Conscious Thought Processes?
Cats lack self-awareness, but that doesn’t mean they can not engage in conscious thought processes. Cats are conscious animals. They think of their brain and demonstrate every emotion.
Cats try to communicate with several observable behaviors. When they feel hungry, they start to meow loudly. Cats change their body language or cry like a baby when scared or excited. If cats scratch the floor, they want to remove dead nail layers. When their owner comes home or gives them food, cats become happy. Moreover, cats knead on their owners to seek attention.
Cats can also think abstractly. They learn to solve problems such as opening doors, turning on lights, etc. They also use intelligence to learn how to behave in a household. Cats learn to use a litter box and where not to scratch. They perform these acts with conscious thought processes and instincts. But that doesn’t make them self-aware.
Comparisons With Other Animals Known For Self-Awareness
You already know that cats don’t possess self-awareness ability. But there are some animals known for self-awareness. If an animal understands its existence and recognizes its mirror reflection, it is self-aware. Let’s learn about the self-aware non-human species and why they are different compared to cats:
Asian Elephants
Elephants possess superior intelligence and the ability to feel empathy. Elephants also display reactionary behaviors when they see their mirror reflection. They respond to any color marking on their body.
The Great Apes
The great apes, such as bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas, passed the mirror test. Though some of the apes failed the test, most passed it. Starring in a mirror, they show signs of being fully aware of seeing their reflection.
Bottlenose Dolphins
Dolphins are the most excited animals when they catch sight of their reflections. They show maximum interest in front of mirrors and react to themselves. Bottlenose dolphins make a series of movements, open their mouths, and circle their head while looking at the mirror. Also, they inspect marks on their body, if there is any mark on them.
Eurasian Magpies
They are the first non-mammalian species to pass a mirror test. After sticking colored stickers on their feather and taking them before a mirror, they reacted and tried to remove the mark. Eurasian magpies show clear signs of self-awareness.
Comparisons Between Cats and Self-Aware Animals
A major difference between cats and self-aware animals is cats fail to recognize their reflection in the mirror, whereas a self-aware animal is well aware of its mirror reflection. Each of the animals mentioned above passed the mirror test. But cats never passed the test. That makes cats different from other self-aware animals.
How to Determine if Your Cat is Self-Aware
Is there any way to determine if your cat is self-aware? The best way to find out is to understand if your cat can recognize its reflection and existence.
To determine your cat’s self-awareness, you can apply these two tests:
Mirror Test
A mirror test is the best way to determine an animal’s self-awareness ability. It is an accurate and scientifically proven test. To perform this test, you need to take your cat in front of a mirror and observe its reactions. If your cat recognizes its reflection, your cat is self-aware.
Red Spot Test
The red spot test is similar to the mirror test. For this test, you need to draw a red spot on your cat’s face or body when it sleeps. When your cat wakes up, take it in front of the mirror. If your cat reacts to the red spot or tries to touch the spot, that means your cat recognizes its reflection. If not, then your cat is not self-aware.
Self-awareness in an animal is natural. Some animals possess this ability and some don’t. Perform these tests to determine if an animal recognizes itself in a mirror. If your cat recognizes and reacts to its mirror reflection, it is self-aware.
Final Thought
Self-awareness is a common trait of humans. But it is different for animals as they can’t speak and we can’t understand what they want to say. However, self-awareness doesn’t require communication or language. If an animal recognizes its mirror reflection and existence, it is self-aware.
Cats are very responsive and conscious animals. They always try to interact with humans in different ways. Your cat may reach his paw out to you to make you understand what it wants.
However, one question still arises, “Are Cats Self Aware?” Well, cats can’t recognize their reflection in the mirror. They think it is some other cat or sometimes ignore the reflection. In this sense, cats don’t understand their existence and aren’t self-aware.
Cats may have some awareness of feelings and emotions and can understand their surroundings. They do think with their brain or it might be their instinct. But cats don’t possess the ability of self-awareness. They don’t need to be self-aware as long as their owners are aware enough of them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can Cats See in a Mirror?
Yes, cats can see in a mirror but they can’t recognize their mirror reflection.
Do Cats Have a Conscience?
Cats do think with their brains. They have a thought process and make decisions on how to act.
Do Cats Have a Sense of Self?
Cats have a sense of their surroundings but they never showed any sense of self.
