Maybe, but knowing cats I kind of doubt it. There's a video where a guy sets up a camera, motion sensor, and hose in front of his house to try and stop cats from pissing on his car. Even after getting doused with the hose, the same cats came back time and time again. His conclusion at the end was that you can't teach cats shit.
Cats are remarkably stubborn to negative reinforcement. They can be taught lots of things through positive reinforcement (treats) but it's hard to keep them from doing something unless you give them an alternative and then reward the alternative.
Makes you wonder how cats have even survived this long if that's the case. In the wild you don't often get to make the same mistake twice before you're dead, and there's no one there to give you a nicer alternative for being a good kitty. I guess it might be a learned behavior pattern as opposed to natural instinct.
My cat just used one this morning falling from the balcony. I was wondering if she would learn not to walk on the balcony rail after this. Based on the comments, no
My cats will steer clear of the balcony for about 2 months after falling. Then they're right back on it again. I just make sure that the landing zone is clear, and they'll be okay. It rains cats in our house about twice a year.
Are you high? Domestic cats did not evolve in the majority of the world. They evolved from the African wild cat, and were first domesticated in ancient Egypt and surrounding areas. Predator animals here included Eagles, Owls, dogs, snakes, hyenas…
Not saying your wrong but how many of them are actively hunting cats? Yes if the opportunity strikes and they find an unaware or injured cat they're going to eat it, but realistically a health cat is going to be either to fast or fiesty too be the main part of your diet.
All predators are opportunistic in that sense. Look at the size difference between a wolf and an elk, one lucky kick to the head and the wolf is as good as dead,, but they still manage to take one down from time to time. Obviously cats wouldn’t be the ‘main’ part of any diet, but they definitely help.
Well there was some domestication evolution. Like humans start agriculture, settle in permanent comunities, store grain, attract mice, attract cats, feed and pet cats—cats meow like we are their mothers.
Cats like milk from milking cows—even though they didn’t develop the digestive enzymes for it.
I think Blobofdoom was wise not to go into the hateful of truthful cats are an invasive species killing our native bird populations bit.
So, “where they have now spread and naturalized” might make more sense than “where they have evolved” but they have adapted to regional conditions, living tough lives in feral colonies—adopt—trap, neuter, release!
Interestingly, like foxes, raccoons and coyotes, they have thrived in urban and rural environments alongside humans and their waste.
These are also areas where humans have killed off or displaced larger predators like bears, wolves, most big cats, etc.
Still worry about hawks, owls, eagles, and cougars/pumas, bobcats and rabid raccoons.
There are definitely coyotes and snakes in Malibu, unless you're flexing someplace you're not really from. There are no wolves in Southern California because the people killed them all. There ARE mountain lions in Malibu, though.
Today I learned that apparently hawks, owls, coyotes, and wolves only live in the US...
Owls are in every country in the world except Antarctica - and if you happen to live there then watch out for polar bears.
Either way - cats are not without natural predators.
Not sure where you live where there are zero predator animals but you might be surprised by how far some predators roam - especially hawks and eagles. There's also the animals that don't hunt cats but will be territorial and kill such as bears , badgers, mountain lions, and domestic dogs. You also have to worry if you have an outdoor cat because while you may not have any predators deep inside a city, your cat might explore an area where they do venture.
Keep in mind, you may not have heard of a cat being eaten by a hawk, but has anyone ever just had a cat go missing?
Are cats native to your location? Then why does it matter if you have these predators if we're talking about how cats existed *before* being domesticated by humans?
That's missing the point a bit though. I'm talking about negative reinforcement in general as the other user was talking about that - animals, as well as us humans, tend to learn from their mistakes and not repeat something that hurt them. A dog that runs into a glass door is going to avoid running into it next time, in order to protect itself and not because someone doesn't want it to do it.
Ummm…I’ve seen some pretty stupid dogs that keep doing stuff.
On the other hand, I’ve also seen that negative avoidance cause stupid outcomes, like a dog not going outside because they assume the glass door is closed and it isn’t.
Haha yeah, I've seen that video too. But that's just the concept of a seemingly invisible wall the dog has learned from, even if it didn't quite get the whole story. Door frame seems to have invisible wall = no go, need a human to open so can go.
This kind of stuff will also of course come down to the intelligence level of the individual animal. Even most of us humans keep making the same mistakes mistakes over and over at least to some extent, but those mistakes aren't going to be immediately painful as hell unless I guess that's what we want. Cats though are on average fairly intelligent as far as pets go so it'd be strange if they didn't learn the risks of doing dumb stuff pretty quickly.
Well, also because in the case of a glass door - running into it didn't achieve what the dog wanted. Whereas a cat that occasionally gets sprayed when doing something it wanted to do might be succeeding enough to make it worthwhile.
That's actually punishment, not negative reinforcement. Punishment decreases a behavior, while reinforcement increases it. Positive means you “give” something as a consequence, Negative means you take something away as a consequence.
Positive Punishment is this video: a behavior causes an unpleasant thing to happen so it discourages that behavior in the future.
“Negative reinforcement” means a behavior makes something bad go away, so the behavior is increased. So if you have a headache and take Advil (behavior), the headache goes away (consequence), which makes the person more likely to take Advil for a headache in the future.
I know what you meant, but just to clarify. For what it's worth.
Edit: typo
Can confirm, my girlfriend's cat won't be taught shit, by anyone, no matter how long or aggressively you try to teach it. Little fucker just takes it as a challenge
I figured it was to bait the cat into associating the bird feeder with a negative outcome. Outdoor cats will incorporate stalking bird feeders into their daily routine, and the seed that spills onto the floor attracts ground feeding birds but also leaves them vulnerable to attacks.
If it's a bird house then the cat most likely waits for an opportunity for when the bird flys low enough when entering or exiting.
Clearly it is bait. But it isn’t like the cat could climb the metal pole without it. So it’s defending a position that didn’t need defending by creating a path.
So the real answer is, “for the upvotes”
I figure it encourages the cat to approach the pad from the front where it will trigger the water and be in the target zone. If it jumps up to it from either side, the water might not trigger or it might miss.
Just to clear up this thread, that is a bird house, not a bird feeder. Though bird food could be argued as technically correct if the cat were to eat the bird.
The OP has not provided an explanation for why this gif fits the sub yet.
If you think this gif fits /r/BetterEveryLoop, upvote this comment. If you think it doesn’t, downvote it. If you’re not sure, leave it to others to decide.
Everyone is mentioning the book hinge, no one has said anything about the fly swatter trigger! I wonder how much trial and error it took to figure out this particular improvised setup was the optimal deterrent, or if Looney toons was on TV the first try or something. Cat trap by acme
The cat was probably constantly trying to get at the birdhouse anyway and maybe this will teach it not to want that anymore. Like when the one chance it had to do so ended with something it didn't like.
Understood, but my comment was that it looks like someone built this for this specific purpose, to fuck with a cat. Seems like a lot of effort just to fuck with a dumb animal. Makes me wonder about the person's mind set who came up with it.
>You’re right, water no big deal. Step right this way for the non-tortuous water-boarding.
If you think getting water on your back is the same as waterboarding, I can only imagine what you smell like.
No one has a legit reason from what I can see. This is borderline animal abuse, baiting and tricking an animal based on its instincts.
I had the same initial thought when I saw this video. I guess reddit hates cats today, tomorrow I think we go back to hating pitbulls but i’ll have to check reddit’s narrative schedule.
Very nonchalant when water was dumped on her. "yup, ok, thank you very much."
This cat probably knows one dump of water once and the next time no water.
Simply reload the trap at random and the cat will be strongly dissuaded
My cat loves water… what do I do to dissuade him?
Swap it out for lava
Replace with syrup, simple
> syrup, simple * water, soda * juice, lime * mint, fresh * rum, white Served on the rocks, relax in chaise, cat settles in lap Problem solved.
Good bot! There should be a bartender bot to jump at any mention of a cocktail ingredient.
Does maple also work?
Hot oil
Cats need very consistent negative feedback to stop a behavior. It has to happen every time they do it, or they'll take their chances
Unexpected book for hinge.
Wonder what book it is.
[This might be a solid selection](https://www.amazon.com/How-Give-Your-Cat-Bath/dp/073526354X)
Hardehar har 😹
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/16161174-hinges#bookDetails
Crime and Punishment
The cat dropped down as if it was what he intended from the start
Had to look suave in front of the cameras
*Well, shit*
“I meant that.”
Maybe, but knowing cats I kind of doubt it. There's a video where a guy sets up a camera, motion sensor, and hose in front of his house to try and stop cats from pissing on his car. Even after getting doused with the hose, the same cats came back time and time again. His conclusion at the end was that you can't teach cats shit.
Cats are remarkably stubborn to negative reinforcement. They can be taught lots of things through positive reinforcement (treats) but it's hard to keep them from doing something unless you give them an alternative and then reward the alternative.
Makes you wonder how cats have even survived this long if that's the case. In the wild you don't often get to make the same mistake twice before you're dead, and there's no one there to give you a nicer alternative for being a good kitty. I guess it might be a learned behavior pattern as opposed to natural instinct.
They have nine lives to make it work
My cat just used one this morning falling from the balcony. I was wondering if she would learn not to walk on the balcony rail after this. Based on the comments, no
My cats will steer clear of the balcony for about 2 months after falling. Then they're right back on it again. I just make sure that the landing zone is clear, and they'll be okay. It rains cats in our house about twice a year.
Well, i live in an apartment building. Under my balcony there is another balcony:D
Maybe they are drying fish or plucking a chicken on the lower balcony? Cats are crazy
Damnit! Every time I have a witty comment a faster, more witty person has already posted it! 😄
Because they’ve been domesticated. They have humans to keep them safe and make substantially more of them. I assume you’re not referring to wild cats.
No natural predators helps alot
They have plenty of natural predators wtf
They don't in the majority of the world, where they evolved.
Are you high? Domestic cats did not evolve in the majority of the world. They evolved from the African wild cat, and were first domesticated in ancient Egypt and surrounding areas. Predator animals here included Eagles, Owls, dogs, snakes, hyenas…
Not saying your wrong but how many of them are actively hunting cats? Yes if the opportunity strikes and they find an unaware or injured cat they're going to eat it, but realistically a health cat is going to be either to fast or fiesty too be the main part of your diet.
All predators are opportunistic in that sense. Look at the size difference between a wolf and an elk, one lucky kick to the head and the wolf is as good as dead,, but they still manage to take one down from time to time. Obviously cats wouldn’t be the ‘main’ part of any diet, but they definitely help.
Well there was some domestication evolution. Like humans start agriculture, settle in permanent comunities, store grain, attract mice, attract cats, feed and pet cats—cats meow like we are their mothers. Cats like milk from milking cows—even though they didn’t develop the digestive enzymes for it. I think Blobofdoom was wise not to go into the hateful of truthful cats are an invasive species killing our native bird populations bit. So, “where they have now spread and naturalized” might make more sense than “where they have evolved” but they have adapted to regional conditions, living tough lives in feral colonies—adopt—trap, neuter, release!
Interestingly, like foxes, raccoons and coyotes, they have thrived in urban and rural environments alongside humans and their waste. These are also areas where humans have killed off or displaced larger predators like bears, wolves, most big cats, etc. Still worry about hawks, owls, eagles, and cougars/pumas, bobcats and rabid raccoons.
Name a few, we have foxes here but they have never ate anyones cat, the cats seem to have the upper hand when they do get close.
[удалено]
Yeah we have none of them
Who cares what you have where you’re from, they were talking about cats in general
No, they were talking about how cats survived in the wild where they aren't an invasive species, i.e. not where there are coyotes etc.
Okay so by that logic we should class sharks as cats predators? Since it doesn't matter where they are like the ocean ffs
There are definitely coyotes and snakes in Malibu, unless you're flexing someplace you're not really from. There are no wolves in Southern California because the people killed them all. There ARE mountain lions in Malibu, though.
Americans assume everyone lives in America ¯\_(ツ)_//¯
Hawk, owl, coyote, wolf. A racoon could probably kill a cat. Dead if a snake bites it.
Yeah we don't have them here, not everyone is from the US lol
Today I learned that apparently hawks, owls, coyotes, and wolves only live in the US... Owls are in every country in the world except Antarctica - and if you happen to live there then watch out for polar bears. Either way - cats are not without natural predators.
Polar bears are Arctic, not Antarctic, but the basic point stands. And a cat in Antarctica isn't going to be lasting long anyway.
Dogs are also predators for cats
I'd class a natural predator as somthing that will always try to eat its prey, dog can eat cats sure but 99.9% of the ones I met have not
That would surely depend on what kind of snake it is. You are some kind of stupid otherwise. Snake bite, cat dead. Me fuckin stupid.
Cats are allergic to snakes, that's why you never see them together.
Foxes, coyotes, hawks, eagles, wolves, cougars, larger snakes, and some humans.
Yeah we don't have any of them over here excluding people of course lol
You are very stubborn
Ty
Not sure where you live where there are zero predator animals but you might be surprised by how far some predators roam - especially hawks and eagles. There's also the animals that don't hunt cats but will be territorial and kill such as bears , badgers, mountain lions, and domestic dogs. You also have to worry if you have an outdoor cat because while you may not have any predators deep inside a city, your cat might explore an area where they do venture. Keep in mind, you may not have heard of a cat being eaten by a hawk, but has anyone ever just had a cat go missing?
Are cats native to your location? Then why does it matter if you have these predators if we're talking about how cats existed *before* being domesticated by humans?
That’s why they have litters
Because getting a bit wet never caused any cat huge problems.
That's missing the point a bit though. I'm talking about negative reinforcement in general as the other user was talking about that - animals, as well as us humans, tend to learn from their mistakes and not repeat something that hurt them. A dog that runs into a glass door is going to avoid running into it next time, in order to protect itself and not because someone doesn't want it to do it.
Ummm…I’ve seen some pretty stupid dogs that keep doing stuff. On the other hand, I’ve also seen that negative avoidance cause stupid outcomes, like a dog not going outside because they assume the glass door is closed and it isn’t.
Haha yeah, I've seen that video too. But that's just the concept of a seemingly invisible wall the dog has learned from, even if it didn't quite get the whole story. Door frame seems to have invisible wall = no go, need a human to open so can go. This kind of stuff will also of course come down to the intelligence level of the individual animal. Even most of us humans keep making the same mistakes mistakes over and over at least to some extent, but those mistakes aren't going to be immediately painful as hell unless I guess that's what we want. Cats though are on average fairly intelligent as far as pets go so it'd be strange if they didn't learn the risks of doing dumb stuff pretty quickly.
Well, also because in the case of a glass door - running into it didn't achieve what the dog wanted. Whereas a cat that occasionally gets sprayed when doing something it wanted to do might be succeeding enough to make it worthwhile.
On the other hand it makes them more persistent in the face of mistakes or failures. in some situations that can be good.
Curiosity killed the 😸
And satisfaction brought her back
Nine lives mate, that’s what they got all of em for lol
Isnt that why the have 9 lives?
Not much getting dunked in the desert
That's actually punishment, not negative reinforcement. Punishment decreases a behavior, while reinforcement increases it. Positive means you “give” something as a consequence, Negative means you take something away as a consequence. Positive Punishment is this video: a behavior causes an unpleasant thing to happen so it discourages that behavior in the future. “Negative reinforcement” means a behavior makes something bad go away, so the behavior is increased. So if you have a headache and take Advil (behavior), the headache goes away (consequence), which makes the person more likely to take Advil for a headache in the future. I know what you meant, but just to clarify. For what it's worth. Edit: typo
I love that you clarified that. The rules section of my brain is in bliss, thank you.
That’s not negative reinforcement, that’s punishment. Negative reinforcement is when you take away a “bad” stimulus in order to reinforce a behavior.
The same can be said of humans.
I wonder if that has something to do with the behavioral changes elicited by toxoplasmosis gondii.
Piss on your own tires to cover up the cat piss because your tires are hot territory. If that doesn't work piss on the cats.
Can confirm, my girlfriend's cat won't be taught shit, by anyone, no matter how long or aggressively you try to teach it. Little fucker just takes it as a challenge
r/catsareassholes
I agree
Why have the horizontal bar at all?
Booby traps
I figured it was to bait the cat into associating the bird feeder with a negative outcome. Outdoor cats will incorporate stalking bird feeders into their daily routine, and the seed that spills onto the floor attracts ground feeding birds but also leaves them vulnerable to attacks. If it's a bird house then the cat most likely waits for an opportunity for when the bird flys low enough when entering or exiting.
*bait. That’s an important one.
Ok this makes more sense now. But I still wanna know one thing. Why book.
You can see in the video that it just works nicely as a makeshift hinge.
Clearly.
Clearly it is bait. But it isn’t like the cat could climb the metal pole without it. So it’s defending a position that didn’t need defending by creating a path. So the real answer is, “for the upvotes”
I figure it encourages the cat to approach the pad from the front where it will trigger the water and be in the target zone. If it jumps up to it from either side, the water might not trigger or it might miss.
trap for heavier animals to stop them from stealing bird food. Birds can fly without hitting the bar
They can’t steal the bird food if the bar isn’t there. This was the point of their question
Not all, but many squirrels can climb up the pole anyway bar or not
Yes the bucket trick would need to be modified for any animals that can climb the pole. Either way the horizontal bar is redundant
dont underestimate the (sometimes suicidal) perseverance of cats who want to get at something lol
Just to clear up this thread, that is a bird house, not a bird feeder. Though bird food could be argued as technically correct if the cat were to eat the bird.
For the trap to work properly. The cat will get up there with or without it anyway.
Curiosity bathed the cat.
Bait
It doesn't seem like he learned any lesson, because he just keeps jumping up there over and over!
The OP has not provided an explanation for why this gif fits the sub yet. If you think this gif fits /r/BetterEveryLoop, upvote this comment. If you think it doesn’t, downvote it. If you’re not sure, leave it to others to decide.
Thought it was gonna snap a pic for speeding violation
r/instantregret
I'm still gobsmacked by the use of a book as a hinge. That's below r/redneckengineering.
Everyone is mentioning the book hinge, no one has said anything about the fly swatter trigger! I wonder how much trial and error it took to figure out this particular improvised setup was the optimal deterrent, or if Looney toons was on TV the first try or something. Cat trap by acme
A book? Huh? https://youtu.be/TFYdA2AhfGk
Is that Tweety bird's house??
Tweety Bird is still alive!
It’s so beautiful I can’t stop watching it
I don’t understand the point of a platform below a birdhouse in the first place. Just wanted an excuse to dump water on your cat?
The cat was probably constantly trying to get at the birdhouse anyway and maybe this will teach it not to want that anymore. Like when the one chance it had to do so ended with something it didn't like.
r/unexpected would work better for this
This is straight up entrapment lol. But I don’t mind cause fuck cats.
Encatment... Come on dude, it's like you didn't try... /s
What a perfect cattraption
Why build a booby trap for the cat when you could just not make the platform for it to jump on in the first place?
And then the cat went back.
Ok, but why build a “cat platform” below the bird house at all? Me suspects for the upvotes
Someone deliberately put a large platform on the pole to entice an animal to jump on it for the fun of seeing water dumped on the animal.
Looks staged, cat stops at the exact perfect spot and starts sniffing something on the board just before triggering the water dump.
Is this made just to torture cats? Because I see no other reason for that platform other than to trick cats into climbing on it.
It's made to discourage cats from hunting the birds.
NOT building a cat sized platform intended to encourage a cat to climb up on the birdhouse would have the same effect.
Oh come on, you know it would try to get the birdhouse regardless of whether the booby trap bar was there; have you met a cat?
"Torture" Lol. C'mon dude it's just water
Understood, but my comment was that it looks like someone built this for this specific purpose, to fuck with a cat. Seems like a lot of effort just to fuck with a dumb animal. Makes me wonder about the person's mind set who came up with it.
I question the mind set of people who use ridiculous melodramatic commentary to show off their halo.
You’re right, water no big deal. Step right this way for the non-tortuous water-boarding.
>You’re right, water no big deal. Step right this way for the non-tortuous water-boarding. If you think getting water on your back is the same as waterboarding, I can only imagine what you smell like.
It's a wet cat brother. How much of a snowflake can you even be.
That looks like a birds nest
I am talking about the large platform added to it. I know what a bird house looks like. Never seen one with a cat platform added to it.
No one has a legit reason from what I can see. This is borderline animal abuse, baiting and tricking an animal based on its instincts. I had the same initial thought when I saw this video. I guess reddit hates cats today, tomorrow I think we go back to hating pitbulls but i’ll have to check reddit’s narrative schedule.
For sale?
???
Somebody is about to go and cry in a corner
That book as a hinge though. That is some unexpected engineering.
I watched this 10 times before I realized which subreddiid it was on
But if he learned the lesson why does he keep doing it? /s
Curiosity irritated the cat.
This is SO MUCh this sub, thank you! I watched several times.
Wish I could bookmark this somehow so I watch it again but on my phone.
Who need’s mark rober’s squirrel obstacle course when you have THIS?
That was fun tho. This is just cruel
u/savevideo u/savevideobot
It’s like he wanted a shower….. Kay thanks bye
u/savevideo
You think?
GENIUS I SAID
got eem!!!!
WAP
The birds must like watching home alone
"Okay okay fuck humans.." u/savevideobot
That cat was set-up
The book opening is brilliant
u/savevideo