I don't know. But after twenty years of cats around me as a kid, that video never ceases to confound me.
Because I've only ever seen cats confused, agitated or completely avoidant around mirrors.
I'd always assumed the avoidant thing was, you know, "don't look at the mirror cat and it won't look at me, and we won't have to have the fight where nobody wins".
But the ears video makes me wonder if cats don't look at mirrors because they can't quite process the implications.
I often wonder if animals don't do human things because they're too busy enjoying other desires and emotions. We run after abstract arts, concepts, way to craft tools etc etc but if they hit some kind of equilibrium and their brain just prunes stuff because they'd rather sit in the sun enjoying the wind. I used to be obsessed by ideas and nowadays all I want to do is sit near a pond around family, hug and watch the view :)
My cats like mirrors? They use them to look at themselves and around corners while stalking each other. I don't think they particularly like being seen in mirrors any more than being seen normally though (which makes sense for small, specialized, ambush predators in the middle of the food chain).
We have a bathroom just off our living room that has a very large mirror above the vanity. The cat likes to get drinks out of the bathroom sink (we’re trained).
If she sits on a corner of the vanity when the bathroom door is open, she can see the living room in the mirror. She will stare into the mirror until she sees someone look at her. When she catches your eye, the meowing to turn on the sink begins.
She also stares at herself in a hallway mirror a lot. We think she thinks she’s pretty.
One of my cats looks me in the eyes through my bathroom mirror on a nearly daily basis, often meowing at me while doing so. He also likes nuzzling his face up against mine while our faces are close to the mirror, almost like he enjoys seeing us cuddling as much as actually cuddling.
Every cat we’ve ever had very clearly understood mirrors. If that’s really the conventional view of scientists in the field, that’s basically willful ignorance.
Understanding how to track others in mirrors is one thing -- understanding with clarity that the cat in the mirror is them, is actually another.
The mirror dot test (which I imagine needs to be done really carefully with cats since they instinctively clean their own faces and necks, and have sensitive whiskers) shows whether the animal fully understands that the reflection is specifically of them, and can use that reflection to solve a puzzle.
I have said elsewhere that it's kind of just about possible for the ears-in-the-mirror cat to not understand the mirror cat is herself, but it is an increasingly implausible alternative.
The mirror dot test may have its limitations on a species basis, but it is not easy to come up with a universal test.
Same with my cat as well! I am not sure she gets the mirror exactly; but Shem sometimes will watch us through it, otherwise just ignores it. She is never troubled by them.
My mother's cats love to hide behind things to bat at the other walking through, ambushing them.
After realizing the mirror could be used to spot a potential assailant and take evasive measures, they stopped trying to get each other at the doorway to my mother's bedroom.
Perhaps the key here is the cat saw only its ears first, which looked like two potential targets. Then it had to reprocess after it realized they were attached.
Because I've only ever seen cats confused, agitated or completely avoidant around mirrors.
I'd always assumed the avoidant thing was, you know, "don't look at the mirror cat and it won't look at me, and we won't have to have the fight where nobody wins".
But the ears video makes me wonder if cats don't look at mirrors because they can't quite process the implications.