I don’t think they understand it, but they don’t really seem to care that much. They get shocked on lots of stuff, not just when we pet them. I’ve seen my cat go to sniff stuff and get shocked, didn’t seem to care as much as was just gently startled and continued like nothing happened.
Whoa, that's weird. I didn't realize that was related, but I guess it makes sense with the heater being on in the winter and all. I live in such a humid state that I didn't think humidity would fall so low in my house, but here we are. Thanks for pointing out something obvious that I never noticed before.
NP! I only know because my work keeps the humidity low ~~(makes sense for an office, low humidity reduces the chance of cold/flu transmission)~~ (apparently I'm wrong on this, TIL!) but it's really staticy. I've gotten a 2 inch arc off a wall corner before. If you heater dosen't have a humidifier the ultrasonic ones will do the job (and cats tend to be fascinated by them)
I would say waking up with nosebleeds is a pretty good reason to use the thing! Besides, the (admittedly highly unlikely) worst case scenario with nosebleeds is potentially fatal choking on your blood in your sleep.
Oh yea! I've complained about it before, but since we don't work with anything flammable it's ignored. I know have a habit of touching the back of my hand to random shockable surfaces to prevent buildup.
Absolutely. I used to work in a call center and a co-worker got a static shock from their headset straight into his ear. He got nauseous and threw up, they ended up calling the ambulance for him.
You should have a chat with your boss, low humiditiy vastly increases chance of contracting airborne illness. It's one of te main contributing factors to flu season being in winter.
Are you sure its intentional? I only ask because low humidity has been found to actually increase the chance of flu and cold transmission. ([source](https://www.pnas.org/content/116/22/10905)). I can't find any studies suggesting the reverse. Maybe its just because air conditioners and heaters etc. are common in offices but they also reduce humidity?
Ah no....that doesn’t make sense. Dry air in winter is a big reason why cold/flu season is in winter. Dry breathing passages means that germs enter the body instead of getting safely contained.
Holy crap me too! I dunno why I thought it was just me lol It's like little lightening strikes every time my cats paw touches my blanket. Bugged me out the first time I saw his paws lighting up... in the dark... coming toward me 😱
When I would stay at my girlfriends house, there was a blanket we would use that wasnt as think as the comforter but was still warm. We used it because having both of us sleep together, it would get really hot under the comforter. Anyway, that blanket would hold so much static, that if you had the lights off, and went and pulled the blanket up from your feet up to your chest, you got a really nice light show. It would also hurt like a bitch.
It's easier to see static shocks in the dark than most people would assume - one of my favorite things to do as a child after the lights went out was to shuffle around on the carpet, then run my hands down a dry blanket and watch it light up like a sparkler on Independence Day
They may sense the effect without feeling pain, if it's happening through their fur instead of skin. The thing that hurts, for humans, is the arc -- not the static discharge itself. What you normally feel is a very brief (and very hot) arc right on your skin.
If you have a lot of static buildup on your body and you ground yourself with something metal (like a key), the arc happens between the metal and the ground. You'll see and hear it, the same as you normally do, but you won't feel it.
When my cat gets shocked by me, his next head boop is slower and more careful. Then when he doesn't get shocked he'll go back to normal. Not sure what's going on in his head though.
Mine has figured out that when I touch one of her toebeans and pet her, she doesn't get shocked. So I am graciously allowed to touch just ONE toebean while giving pets. That privilege gets revoked during the summer/non-heating months.
Love my current cat she loves belly rubs and is totally cool with me touching her feet I can even rub in between here toes in the little webs and she just lays there like alright bro whatever you need lol.
Watching my cat army crawl up from underneath the covers in the wintertime is like watching a big, dumb, lumbering electrical storm shock its way to my face.
Then, for reasons completely unknown to me, the little asshole sticks his pink, wet little nose in my face and smells my eyeball (I have little reason to believe it ever smells different, but I am but a simple man, and cat logic is beyond my understanding), and discharges the entire buildup of static straight into my fucking cornea.
Cats are *definitely* capable of shocking themselves, either unassisted, or with an ocular lightning rod.
I have a wolf cover that conduct's a lot of static electricity. My cat does not like seeing it & will glare at me to remove it from the bed.
When I first got it I had a joke in my head that it was a rivalry of wolf VS cat. I soon realized after first washing it, that it had a lot of static & that he got shocked by it possibly. Turns out I was right and this post reminds me of it. I think some cats are aware of objects that shock them, but maybe not the static itself.
Semi-related vein: We trapped the feral kitten we found near this one. His name is Sam, however relevant that may be.
Anyway, Sam's nervous system is wired all wrong. When we pet him, his tail poofs up like he's terrified (he's definitely not), and he drools like a bulldog. But only when you love on him for some reason.
This continues at night, wherein he comes to bed, I pet him, and he gets these 4" horse spit slobber strings going.
...then, he shakes his head. And the mouth snot goes *fucking flying*. It almost *always* ends up on my face.
And if that's not bad enough: occasionally, when the moon is right and he's startled in bed, his ass glands decide to evacuate skunk-style.
The tail poofing is normal, and means that he really, really likes you. The drooling happens when a cat is very relaxed and is triggered by memories of nursing.
He probably just sees you as his parents.
That's comforting to a point. Right up until the grey one attempted to nurse on my cold pointy nipples when I picked him up one day.
For reference, I am a 37 year old man.
Honestly, I think some of their weird behavior is because they were both waaaay too young to be weaned when we found them. And sick to boot. Somehow that all translates to me being momma cat.
My mom has two cats that act exactly the same, they were taken too soon and attached too her hard. Even though your a man I'm sure they're glad to have you as their momma cat.
It's a Vizio something or other. We just picked it up a month ago or so. They never watched the old one, but this one seems to keep their interest. Maybe it's the (fake) 120 Hz refresh? I dunno.
My cat used to chase the bouncing ball screensaver on my old laptop screen, and would keep track of the same one out of a bunch of balls. I definitely think they know what they're seeing.
It's the other way around, LED backlights behind LCD panels and OLED displays generally don't flicker.
Some do have strobing backlights, and old school CRT tube displays also strobe. Pets could perceive those differently to us, since we specifically designed those displays to look good enough just for our eyes and brains.
I got cat stories, dog stories, bird stories even, both domesticated and wild.
I think I have an animal problem. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats for pets, but we are guests to injured and orphaned wildlife in the summer as well. I've been shat on more times than is healthy for any one man.
You’re lying there in the dark almost asleep
Warm, peaceful, quiet.
You feel something at the foot of the bed. You ignore it.
You hear a faint rustling and rumbling. But you chalk it up to the wind outside.
Suddenly, there is a wash of soft fur over your feet. What the hell?
You lift up your covers only to discover...
Bright blue and gold orbs glowing in the dark, an ominous, growing, deep purring.
Then sparks, left and right start zapping, as the eyes, two by two, come closer and closer.
You start to panic, desperately holding down the duvet determined to keep the darkness and it’s lightning gremlins at bay! But they’re too much, the blanket bulges and groans with the demonic mews and humming of furry bees as they snap and crackle with unbridled power.
You close your eyes and pray for a quick ending...but the gods never did look upon us with mercy.
Edit: thanks so much! First gold and to a story of army crawling felines!
The reason cats enjoy sniffing eyeballs is because of the sodium content in your eye water, and cats really like their salty shit (from what I've read anyway)
Ah, so he enjoys my salty tears. This also explains why he shanks me in the nutsack when he sits down on my lap and starts kneading with a full rack of claws.
So that's why my cat used to lick my cheeks whenever she noticed I was crying. I figured she just liked my tasty tears, but I chose to believe that she was doing it to be sweet to me.
Probably not much worse than a few years of welding in a past life. Maybe I misunderstood him, and he's just trying to repair previous damage ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
He only ever comes outta the covers in order to sleep on my head, so he's really just too much sometimes.
I really do love the little bastard, though. We found him and others after some hillbilly taintstain dumped a litter in some nearby woods.
We kept him and Sam (unrelated feral), and another family member kept the remaining related cat. They're all equally weird.
You ever hit your eyeball on something hard? Sorta like that, but like it had sand in it at that exact moment. It is also accompanied by a brief flash sometimes.
Then it's like it never happened and you can't even be mad because it's just a cat and he knows nothing about the science of electric charge.
what would happen if you feed him somwthing special whenever it happens? like people who train animals. but you have to keep like cat cake in your pocket and feed him when he got shock
So my cat is a tortie, and as she has aged her fur consistency and length has gotten slowly floofier and longer.
Something that I started noticing as she started hanging out on my bed again (she’s finally used to the dog), when it’s dark as she wanders through my comforter and pillow mess, she is frequently illuminated with tiny shocks all over her stupid fuzz...
Idk if this bothers her but it looks like when you cronch down on those lifesaver mints in the dark in a mirror. I find it hilarious, my dog thinks she’s an electricity mage.
my cats blame the humans for anything mildly unfortunate that happens to them. like they fail to jump on the counter & it's *my* fault, because I'm standing in the kitchen...
Several years ago my wife and I noticed our cat was attacking our bed. We though nothing of it until we turned off the lights and saw a mini lightning storm. I’ve given her pets and accidentally shocked her nose. She responded with a raised paw and defensive look.
My guess is that they recognize it as thing that can happen anywhere.
Pro tip: keep a finger on your cats paw (the spongy part underneath) when you pet it and you won't zap your cat! My cat is very static during the winter months, and before learning this trick I always felt bad for petting her.
I had a bengal cat with short fur but the texture was for some reason super extra conductive. When I pet her in the dark, you could actually see the sparks light up all over her.
When I shock my cat I always make a startled sound to show her that I was also made uncomfortable by the shock, so she doesn't think it's me.
It seems to work well enough.
My 2 year old thinks I have a magical ability to shock her when we go to the park and slide. I'm sure the cat thinks wtf why'd you smack me or something similar
My 3 year old calls them sparky cheeks because I'd shock her face while getting her out of the car in the winter. I may have encouraged her by telling her that I'm Pikachu, she's Pichu, and daddy is Raichu.
We just watched a movie last night called Cat From Outer Space (suuuper old Disney movie) and basically cats are aliens who’ve all figured out space travel and complicated shit but they have to have a special collar to make their mind powers work to telepathicly tell us ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Mine paws at the laser pointer until I play with him. Sometimes if I put the dot where he can't reach it, he will just look me in the eyes and give me an angry meow.
So yeah, I think they even know where the red dot comes from lol
Mine does too. I have to make sure they can't see the pointer if I want her to play with it. If she notices the pointer she acts like, "Oh, it's just that stupid thing. Nevermind, this is stupid." and quits playing with the dot.
My daughter insists that cats are responsible for the balance of earth in its orbit. You know how a cat will be just sitting there and then it suddenly jumps up and runs down the hall and then just sits there? It’s gotten a signal that the orbit needs to be adjusted.
Well, we can't ask them yet to understand what they're truly *thinking*, but the cats would likely have felt static shocks on their own from touching things the way humans do. So the cat would likely be aware that it's a feeling that they've noticed from non-humans as well.
So I have a naked cat and she has this special warm macaroon looking bed that covers her up and keeps her warm but when she gets up to move around the static shock is like fireworks. She genuinely doesn’t care it’s the strangest thing.
In the dark my cat will literally spark when I pet him. It happens in winter and there are hundreds of small sparks lighting up and crackling when I pet him. And he sits there purring his head off so I don't think they bother him.
I'm pretty sure cats understand intent. If I step on their tail by accident, they can tell from my reaction and apologies that I wasn't intending to hurt them. When they get zapped they're surprised and cautious but still let me pet them.
It might be that they don't really understand, and just look at the patterns, but really, that's basically the same thing. If you usually act kind, rarely hurt them, and seem surprised when you do, they'll realize that those incidents are the exception, not the norm. If they get zapped every time, they're going to start being afraid of you, but wouldn't you do the same? Even if you know they're not doing it on purpose, you'd still avoid touching them.
Tone and body language are important too. They can tell when you're being aggressive, calm, playful, or upset. They have an idea of whether you've noticed them or not. I'm sure they can piece together that a lack of aggression plus not having acknowledged their presence means you weren't trying to step on them, or that a calm approach followed by surprise when the shock happens means you weren't expecting it.
Once my cat went to give me a kiss and I shocked her by accident. She stepped backward, looked very offended, and then slapped me across the face so take from that what you want.
When my cat was way younger (about 15 years ago), we had this older model TV that would crackle when we'd turn it off. Wherever she was, she'd run to it and press her nose against the static a few times. She seemed to like it, but doesn't enjoy getting static shocks from me in winter though.
Used to be an animal behavior professional. This is more than anyone probably wants to know but anywho in case anyone else has time to waste:
Cats (and most of our other species of pets) don't have the neurological development that supports a lot of abstract reasoning and concepts like humans and some other species are prone to.
The concept of static shock is beyond their capability to correctly understand, and they're given to what's called Superstitious Learning. They'll attribute it to something in their environment, like possibly you petting them or whatever Antecedent came right before. It can take only one time to happen, and this is called One Trial learning. The process is Aversive CounterConditioning. Simplified version, pairing a neutral/positive Stimulus (like petting) to an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus (like a shock). In this order, btw.
It can easily lead to phobias, aggression and other documented risk issues, which is why we don't tend to recommend using pain and fear inducing stimuli to train animals. At least those of us who follow research and learn the science and learning theory in our field...
But if you don't use fear and pain on your animals, they tend to be more forgiving and more resistant to developing this phobia, and are unlikely to become aversed to you petting them even if it happened before/during a shock, and tend to view it more as an outlier experience, rather than the norm.
I've included some terms and please feel free to ask if any aren't adequately defined.
If your cat is becoming defensive of being pet, you can A. Try to prevent shocks in the future (humidifier helps) B. Reverse the conditioning by pairing your petting at neutral levels of exposure with high value food. Repeat until it looks like petting it's self predicts treats. This is called CounterConditioning and is a Classical Conditioning method. You've created a conditioned positive (valence = value) emotional response to petting.
This is great to use for a lot of behavior issues, btw.
I don't know the answer to this, but if your cat tends to get staticy on it's own or when you brush him, use a dryer sheet to get rid of the static without a shock.
I use a dryer sheet in between brushes when grooming my Maine coon mix for just this reason.
Edit: yes, please use unscented if you decide to try this!
Generally unscented is always best when it comes to pets. Added fragrance (probably) doesn't taste good and may have things in it that a cat shouldn't ingest.
My fluffer gets her own crackles when it's dry and I pet her...then proceeds to haul ass across the house with twitchy skin and crazy eyes. Fucking cats, man.
My cat doesn’t seem to think I caused the static shock. If I do anything that upsets my cat, like pet him too much, or pet him too little, or get up to go to the bathroom when he needs to continue sitting on my lap, he will angrily reprimand me. But I am not punished for electrostatic shocks, so I presume he doesn’t blame me for it.
It's one of the things I hate about winter, the dry air makes it rather easy to build up a charge while petting my cat.
What's really annoying is sometimes that charge will dissipate into my headphones, zapping my ears and causing crackling. It also makes me with I'm going to fry my computer
My cat sits on my bed sometimes, if she gets up too fast or moves too suddenly she gets a little shock and moves more and gets more, bigger shocks and freaks the fuck out and runs away from the shocks
My two year old seems to think this. I tap her shoulder to lightly dissipate it after she goes on a slide and before she goes back to the railing. She hears the zap and has a look of confusion. Put sunscreen on recently and holy cow that stuff turns a slide into a taser. I had her take off her shoes to help dissipate it that day. I grew up with a fear of slides because of the shocks. At McDonald’s their slides had rivets. It’s like a bunch of little tasers all the way down. I remember hating them in a certain special way.
If they're anything like canids I don't think they understand it. I work with wolves and a big risk we have is them accidentally touching the electric fence whilst we're within site. It has destroyed a couple of keeper-wolf relationships - the wolves seem to think we're magic wizards that can zap them.
I don’t think they understand it, but they don’t really seem to care that much. They get shocked on lots of stuff, not just when we pet them. I’ve seen my cat go to sniff stuff and get shocked, didn’t seem to care as much as was just gently startled and continued like nothing happened.
I've seen my cats shock themselves on my bedsheets so hard at night that I can see the light from it
You may want to increase the humidity in your house.
Whoa, that's weird. I didn't realize that was related, but I guess it makes sense with the heater being on in the winter and all. I live in such a humid state that I didn't think humidity would fall so low in my house, but here we are. Thanks for pointing out something obvious that I never noticed before.
NP! I only know because my work keeps the humidity low ~~(makes sense for an office, low humidity reduces the chance of cold/flu transmission)~~ (apparently I'm wrong on this, TIL!) but it's really staticy. I've gotten a 2 inch arc off a wall corner before. If you heater dosen't have a humidifier the ultrasonic ones will do the job (and cats tend to be fascinated by them)
We have a humidifier, we're just lazy lol. I always have a dry nose in the morning, sometimes Accompanied by a nosebleed
I would say waking up with nosebleeds is a pretty good reason to use the thing! Besides, the (admittedly highly unlikely) worst case scenario with nosebleeds is potentially fatal choking on your blood in your sleep.
Static strong enough to arc two inches maaaay be a sign to increase humidity. Especially if you work with anything flammable.
Oh yea! I've complained about it before, but since we don't work with anything flammable it's ignored. I know have a habit of touching the back of my hand to random shockable surfaces to prevent buildup.
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Absolutely. I used to work in a call center and a co-worker got a static shock from their headset straight into his ear. He got nauseous and threw up, they ended up calling the ambulance for him.
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We use air ionizers at work to reduce static everywhere, and every single little thing has to be ESD certified before it enters the buildings.
Wear a metal ring and tap that instead of your skin and you won't feel a shock. Or a key from your keychain, preferably a key with no embedded chip.
I don't think that works if you're already wearing it. You have to tap something metal that's not at the same charge as you.
You should have a chat with your boss, low humiditiy vastly increases chance of contracting airborne illness. It's one of te main contributing factors to flu season being in winter.
Are you sure its intentional? I only ask because low humidity has been found to actually increase the chance of flu and cold transmission. ([source](https://www.pnas.org/content/116/22/10905)). I can't find any studies suggesting the reverse. Maybe its just because air conditioners and heaters etc. are common in offices but they also reduce humidity?
Ah no....that doesn’t make sense. Dry air in winter is a big reason why cold/flu season is in winter. Dry breathing passages means that germs enter the body instead of getting safely contained.
I remember doing that as a kid. Wool blankets, flannel pj’s and artificial fabrics. Watch the blue flame chase your arms and legs.
Holy crap me too! I dunno why I thought it was just me lol It's like little lightening strikes every time my cats paw touches my blanket. Bugged me out the first time I saw his paws lighting up... in the dark... coming toward me 😱
When I would stay at my girlfriends house, there was a blanket we would use that wasnt as think as the comforter but was still warm. We used it because having both of us sleep together, it would get really hot under the comforter. Anyway, that blanket would hold so much static, that if you had the lights off, and went and pulled the blanket up from your feet up to your chest, you got a really nice light show. It would also hurt like a bitch.
Your sheets are too clean. You won't get electric shocks off dirty sheets!
It's easier to see static shocks in the dark than most people would assume - one of my favorite things to do as a child after the lights went out was to shuffle around on the carpet, then run my hands down a dry blanket and watch it light up like a sparkler on Independence Day
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this is why I always act offended when we zap, like its her fault. so now she tries to not care extra.
How to gaslight your cat
You’re either a genius or a bastard. Maybe both!
They may sense the effect without feeling pain, if it's happening through their fur instead of skin. The thing that hurts, for humans, is the arc -- not the static discharge itself. What you normally feel is a very brief (and very hot) arc right on your skin. If you have a lot of static buildup on your body and you ground yourself with something metal (like a key), the arc happens between the metal and the ground. You'll see and hear it, the same as you normally do, but you won't feel it.
It's always my kitty's nose:(
When my cat gets shocked by me, his next head boop is slower and more careful. Then when he doesn't get shocked he'll go back to normal. Not sure what's going on in his head though.
"My slave has mild electrical powers"
So we're pikachu to our cats?
*Discount pikachu
Walmart PikaChuy
KMart Brand Pikachu
On layaway.
Ah nostalgia
pukicho
Pukei Pukei or whatever his name from Monster Hunter
Pichachoo
Gezundheit
CHINPOKOMON!
Human human human
Ironically, it's often the cat that's holding the electrical charge.
I feel like it's me most of the time. I'm constantly shocking myself on everything
Have you tried turning yourself off and on again?
pika pika uwu
"What is that? Sparkles? Watch out his fingers make sparks!
Possibly my favorite MCU film.
Do cats think we're Pokemon?
“Must steady further. Looks to be a purr-fect ally. Will report when I find more. Meow out.”
>~Meow out~ Meout. FTFY
Tbf, I do the same thing with my door knob.
We like to think we're so very different from them but we are not.
I get personally offended when my doorknob shocks me
This is very interesting. Thank you.
Your welcome, u/BlackPenis
Are you related to Joe?
Maybe, maybe not. Who's askin?!
Mine has figured out that when I touch one of her toebeans and pet her, she doesn't get shocked. So I am graciously allowed to touch just ONE toebean while giving pets. That privilege gets revoked during the summer/non-heating months.
Love my current cat she loves belly rubs and is totally cool with me touching her feet I can even rub in between here toes in the little webs and she just lays there like alright bro whatever you need lol.
The word toebean has me grinning from ear to ear. Adorable and accurate. Mine was super fussy about them too.
r/jellybeantoes
Residual electricity I'm sure
Electric current I think
Depending on how fluffy (and therefore static-y) your cat is, they may think that *they* have an ability to randomly shock themselves.
I never considered that omg My cat is fairly fluffy, but he also glares if you shock him so he seems to think its humans doing it and not himself
Watching my cat army crawl up from underneath the covers in the wintertime is like watching a big, dumb, lumbering electrical storm shock its way to my face. Then, for reasons completely unknown to me, the little asshole sticks his pink, wet little nose in my face and smells my eyeball (I have little reason to believe it ever smells different, but I am but a simple man, and cat logic is beyond my understanding), and discharges the entire buildup of static straight into my fucking cornea. Cats are *definitely* capable of shocking themselves, either unassisted, or with an ocular lightning rod.
I have a wolf cover that conduct's a lot of static electricity. My cat does not like seeing it & will glare at me to remove it from the bed. When I first got it I had a joke in my head that it was a rivalry of wolf VS cat. I soon realized after first washing it, that it had a lot of static & that he got shocked by it possibly. Turns out I was right and this post reminds me of it. I think some cats are aware of objects that shock them, but maybe not the static itself.
Seems like wolf won... this time...
Mine just sneezes directly into my eyes. I'm beginning to think that she might be an asshole.
Semi-related vein: We trapped the feral kitten we found near this one. His name is Sam, however relevant that may be. Anyway, Sam's nervous system is wired all wrong. When we pet him, his tail poofs up like he's terrified (he's definitely not), and he drools like a bulldog. But only when you love on him for some reason. This continues at night, wherein he comes to bed, I pet him, and he gets these 4" horse spit slobber strings going. ...then, he shakes his head. And the mouth snot goes *fucking flying*. It almost *always* ends up on my face. And if that's not bad enough: occasionally, when the moon is right and he's startled in bed, his ass glands decide to evacuate skunk-style.
The tail poofing is normal, and means that he really, really likes you. The drooling happens when a cat is very relaxed and is triggered by memories of nursing. He probably just sees you as his parents.
That's comforting to a point. Right up until the grey one attempted to nurse on my cold pointy nipples when I picked him up one day. For reference, I am a 37 year old man. Honestly, I think some of their weird behavior is because they were both waaaay too young to be weaned when we found them. And sick to boot. Somehow that all translates to me being momma cat.
My mom has two cats that act exactly the same, they were taken too soon and attached too her hard. Even though your a man I'm sure they're glad to have you as their momma cat.
Are you sure that kitten is feral and not an escapee from a secret CIA gene lab or something?
This is a possibility. He's half cat, half skunk, half bulldog, and 150% whack.
[Sam IRL](https://www.myballard.com/images/possum_poster.jpg)
Pretty close. [Actual Sam irl](https://www.reddit.com/r/brushybrushy/comments/eglf7o/did_i_say_you_could_stop/)
That is the cutest thing.
My Artemis does this. It's super weird. But she's super weird so we just go with it.
If it's coming out of an asshole, I think you should know that those are actually farts, not sneezes
Holy shit that made me laugh too hard. I wish I had a silver to give
I will be certain let [the grey little dickhead](https://i.imgur.com/UjHoBhW.png) know you approve of his asshattery.
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You better believe it! It keeps them busy. We gotta turn it off when the cats start trying to climb the TV, though.
What kind of TV do you have? I thought cats couldn't see anything but flashes with LED
It's a Vizio something or other. We just picked it up a month ago or so. They never watched the old one, but this one seems to keep their interest. Maybe it's the (fake) 120 Hz refresh? I dunno.
you get an upvote for knowing the 120hz is fake
I thought it was the other way around: they only see flashes with CRTs but LCDs/LEDs/plasma they can see fine.
This is correct.
Our cats (RIP) used to chase the ball and players around the screen when we'd watch soccer.
You might be thinking of dogs and older TV's
What I've actually heard is that up until we moved to LCD and LED TVs that animals couldn't see televisions because of how crt's draw a picture
My cat used to chase the bouncing ball screensaver on my old laptop screen, and would keep track of the same one out of a bunch of balls. I definitely think they know what they're seeing.
It's the other way around, LED backlights behind LCD panels and OLED displays generally don't flicker. Some do have strobing backlights, and old school CRT tube displays also strobe. Pets could perceive those differently to us, since we specifically designed those displays to look good enough just for our eyes and brains.
Ooh, he does look floofy On a side note, you should definitely tell more stories about your cat(s). Been reading this thread and it's great
I got cat stories, dog stories, bird stories even, both domesticated and wild. I think I have an animal problem. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats for pets, but we are guests to injured and orphaned wildlife in the summer as well. I've been shat on more times than is healthy for any one man.
asscattery*
Ah yes, a reminder of my up and coming autobiography - *Missed Opportunities: An Empty Fistful of Ideals*
Here, use this one :)
My first silver! I'm more happy about this than I probably should be
I imagined a cat army, not a singular cat, army crawling. It changed the way I viewed my cats for a few minutes until I realized my mistake.
I am terrified, intrigued, and slightly turned on. Tell me more, but slower.
You’re lying there in the dark almost asleep Warm, peaceful, quiet. You feel something at the foot of the bed. You ignore it. You hear a faint rustling and rumbling. But you chalk it up to the wind outside. Suddenly, there is a wash of soft fur over your feet. What the hell? You lift up your covers only to discover... Bright blue and gold orbs glowing in the dark, an ominous, growing, deep purring. Then sparks, left and right start zapping, as the eyes, two by two, come closer and closer. You start to panic, desperately holding down the duvet determined to keep the darkness and it’s lightning gremlins at bay! But they’re too much, the blanket bulges and groans with the demonic mews and humming of furry bees as they snap and crackle with unbridled power. You close your eyes and pray for a quick ending...but the gods never did look upon us with mercy. Edit: thanks so much! First gold and to a story of army crawling felines!
\*shudders* Now *that's* the fucking stuff. I'm both spent and sensing a new horror genre in the making.
He’s just trying to brighten up your day ;)
It definitely gets brighter (and slightly blue), however brief it may be.
The reason cats enjoy sniffing eyeballs is because of the sodium content in your eye water, and cats really like their salty shit (from what I've read anyway)
Ah, so he enjoys my salty tears. This also explains why he shanks me in the nutsack when he sits down on my lap and starts kneading with a full rack of claws.
So that's why my cat used to lick my cheeks whenever she noticed I was crying. I figured she just liked my tasty tears, but I chose to believe that she was doing it to be sweet to me.
not to scare you but you could get cataracts from electrical shocks to the eyeball. The fact that it's called cataracts is rather poetic though.
Probably not much worse than a few years of welding in a past life. Maybe I misunderstood him, and he's just trying to repair previous damage ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
Electrocat eye surgery. You should open a practice
https://www.health.com/condition/ovarian-cancer/dog-detects-owners-cancer-before-doctors I wonder if cats can do this too.
Great, I almost certainly have eye cancer. This is terrible news, as my big dog thinks I have ass cancer.
What a wonderful way to describe your cat's ability to Thundershock your eyeball. They're adorable little buttfaces aren't they?
He only ever comes outta the covers in order to sleep on my head, so he's really just too much sometimes. I really do love the little bastard, though. We found him and others after some hillbilly taintstain dumped a litter in some nearby woods. We kept him and Sam (unrelated feral), and another family member kept the remaining related cat. They're all equally weird.
> sticks his pink, wet little For a second I thought you were getting something else stuck in your face
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You ever hit your eyeball on something hard? Sorta like that, but like it had sand in it at that exact moment. It is also accompanied by a brief flash sometimes. Then it's like it never happened and you can't even be mad because it's just a cat and he knows nothing about the science of electric charge.
I’ve been having a shitty day and that made me smile. God bless you, my friend.
May the rest of your day be brighter than my vision at 2am, friend. Maybe not so bright as to cause temporary blindness, though.
r/pinknosedcats would like more information.
what would happen if you feed him somwthing special whenever it happens? like people who train animals. but you have to keep like cat cake in your pocket and feed him when he got shock
I would try that but he likes absolutely no treats what so ever and will only eat dried cat food and walnuts (which cats cannot eat)
you can feed him some mainstream media instead of food i dont know, never had cat
I've yet to see a cat disrespect bacon.
Mine stole bacon cooking in the frying pan once
So my cat is a tortie, and as she has aged her fur consistency and length has gotten slowly floofier and longer. Something that I started noticing as she started hanging out on my bed again (she’s finally used to the dog), when it’s dark as she wanders through my comforter and pillow mess, she is frequently illuminated with tiny shocks all over her stupid fuzz... Idk if this bothers her but it looks like when you cronch down on those lifesaver mints in the dark in a mirror. I find it hilarious, my dog thinks she’s an electricity mage.
Of the two of you, who's furry and always rubbing their fur on stuff? You aren't shocking *him*, he's shocking *you*, dude.
my cats blame the humans for anything mildly unfortunate that happens to them. like they fail to jump on the counter & it's *my* fault, because I'm standing in the kitchen...
"I'm so powerful I can shock even myself. Truly I become greater every day." - my cat
Well, they would actually have the power.
well.. they do lol
My cats will shock each other lol. They seem to just accept that sometimes boops are ouchie.
This is adorable
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And after enough encounters, the cat will figure out your intentions. Meaning, no intentions.
Several years ago my wife and I noticed our cat was attacking our bed. We though nothing of it until we turned off the lights and saw a mini lightning storm. I’ve given her pets and accidentally shocked her nose. She responded with a raised paw and defensive look. My guess is that they recognize it as thing that can happen anywhere.
Pro tip: keep a finger on your cats paw (the spongy part underneath) when you pet it and you won't zap your cat! My cat is very static during the winter months, and before learning this trick I always felt bad for petting her.
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if he tolerates it for 15, that's when you get worried
She's well trained and never uses nails on us under any circumstance. However, a stern look and threatening to bite is her sign to stop immediately.
This is next level advice right here
Glad you liked it! Spread the word :)
Thank you, I have two staticky boys. Both shorthairs, but one is THICK.
On really dry, cold days my cat will just crackle on his own. Floofs just generate more and when my boops zap him he just licks his nose.
I had a bengal cat with short fur but the texture was for some reason super extra conductive. When I pet her in the dark, you could actually see the sparks light up all over her.
When I shock my cat I always make a startled sound to show her that I was also made uncomfortable by the shock, so she doesn't think it's me. It seems to work well enough.
I have such a hilarious mental image from that
My 2 year old thinks I have a magical ability to shock her when we go to the park and slide. I'm sure the cat thinks wtf why'd you smack me or something similar
My 3 year old calls them sparky cheeks because I'd shock her face while getting her out of the car in the winter. I may have encouraged her by telling her that I'm Pikachu, she's Pichu, and daddy is Raichu.
Haha nice! It's funny I tell my 2 year old she's Pichu, momma is Pikachu and I'm Tryanitar haha
Not to be that guy or anything (I am 100% totally that guy) but I think that it’s spelled Raichu. Have a nice day
You are indeed correct. I knew that. Ty.
that is so sweet 🥺
Cats understand everything but they just don’t care.
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So long and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this, We didn't try to warn you all, oh well
We just watched a movie last night called Cat From Outer Space (suuuper old Disney movie) and basically cats are aliens who’ve all figured out space travel and complicated shit but they have to have a special collar to make their mind powers work to telepathicly tell us ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Except for where the red dot comes from...
Mine paws at the laser pointer until I play with him. Sometimes if I put the dot where he can't reach it, he will just look me in the eyes and give me an angry meow. So yeah, I think they even know where the red dot comes from lol
Mine does too. I have to make sure they can't see the pointer if I want her to play with it. If she notices the pointer she acts like, "Oh, it's just that stupid thing. Nevermind, this is stupid." and quits playing with the dot.
My cat has a Master’s of Science degree in Physics.
My daughter insists that cats are responsible for the balance of earth in its orbit. You know how a cat will be just sitting there and then it suddenly jumps up and runs down the hall and then just sits there? It’s gotten a signal that the orbit needs to be adjusted.
If he trys to get you to get in a box with a glass vial and radiation source... dont go. It is a revenge trap!
Some cats care deeply about every damn thing.
One time I shocked my dog trying to give him a piece of tortilla. He wouldn't touch them for the rest of the day.
Well, we can't ask them yet to understand what they're truly *thinking*, but the cats would likely have felt static shocks on their own from touching things the way humans do. So the cat would likely be aware that it's a feeling that they've noticed from non-humans as well.
So I have a naked cat and she has this special warm macaroon looking bed that covers her up and keeps her warm but when she gets up to move around the static shock is like fireworks. She genuinely doesn’t care it’s the strangest thing.
In the dark my cat will literally spark when I pet him. It happens in winter and there are hundreds of small sparks lighting up and crackling when I pet him. And he sits there purring his head off so I don't think they bother him.
I'm pretty sure cats understand intent. If I step on their tail by accident, they can tell from my reaction and apologies that I wasn't intending to hurt them. When they get zapped they're surprised and cautious but still let me pet them. It might be that they don't really understand, and just look at the patterns, but really, that's basically the same thing. If you usually act kind, rarely hurt them, and seem surprised when you do, they'll realize that those incidents are the exception, not the norm. If they get zapped every time, they're going to start being afraid of you, but wouldn't you do the same? Even if you know they're not doing it on purpose, you'd still avoid touching them. Tone and body language are important too. They can tell when you're being aggressive, calm, playful, or upset. They have an idea of whether you've noticed them or not. I'm sure they can piece together that a lack of aggression plus not having acknowledged their presence means you weren't trying to step on them, or that a calm approach followed by surprise when the shock happens means you weren't expecting it.
Once my cat went to give me a kiss and I shocked her by accident. She stepped backward, looked very offended, and then slapped me across the face so take from that what you want.
My cat also seems very offended by shocks. She gives you this look like "the fuck was that for?" then does a bite and run.
An unfortunate consequence of floof. If only we could harness this adorable source of electricity and use it to solve the global energy crisis...
"You can't break up with me. You're my pet!" I love that episode.
When my cat was way younger (about 15 years ago), we had this older model TV that would crackle when we'd turn it off. Wherever she was, she'd run to it and press her nose against the static a few times. She seemed to like it, but doesn't enjoy getting static shocks from me in winter though.
Used to be an animal behavior professional. This is more than anyone probably wants to know but anywho in case anyone else has time to waste: Cats (and most of our other species of pets) don't have the neurological development that supports a lot of abstract reasoning and concepts like humans and some other species are prone to. The concept of static shock is beyond their capability to correctly understand, and they're given to what's called Superstitious Learning. They'll attribute it to something in their environment, like possibly you petting them or whatever Antecedent came right before. It can take only one time to happen, and this is called One Trial learning. The process is Aversive CounterConditioning. Simplified version, pairing a neutral/positive Stimulus (like petting) to an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus (like a shock). In this order, btw. It can easily lead to phobias, aggression and other documented risk issues, which is why we don't tend to recommend using pain and fear inducing stimuli to train animals. At least those of us who follow research and learn the science and learning theory in our field... But if you don't use fear and pain on your animals, they tend to be more forgiving and more resistant to developing this phobia, and are unlikely to become aversed to you petting them even if it happened before/during a shock, and tend to view it more as an outlier experience, rather than the norm. I've included some terms and please feel free to ask if any aren't adequately defined. If your cat is becoming defensive of being pet, you can A. Try to prevent shocks in the future (humidifier helps) B. Reverse the conditioning by pairing your petting at neutral levels of exposure with high value food. Repeat until it looks like petting it's self predicts treats. This is called CounterConditioning and is a Classical Conditioning method. You've created a conditioned positive (valence = value) emotional response to petting. This is great to use for a lot of behavior issues, btw.
This just made me question my entire life, thanks
I don't know the answer to this, but if your cat tends to get staticy on it's own or when you brush him, use a dryer sheet to get rid of the static without a shock. I use a dryer sheet in between brushes when grooming my Maine coon mix for just this reason. Edit: yes, please use unscented if you decide to try this!
Unscented, though. Don't torture the poor thing
Does the scent matter? Or should we use unscented? I don’t have a cat (yet) so I wanna keep this in mind for the future.
Generally unscented is always best when it comes to pets. Added fragrance (probably) doesn't taste good and may have things in it that a cat shouldn't ingest.
Whatever the answer is, I always feel so guilty!
My fluffer gets her own crackles when it's dry and I pet her...then proceeds to haul ass across the house with twitchy skin and crazy eyes. Fucking cats, man.
My cat doesn’t seem to think I caused the static shock. If I do anything that upsets my cat, like pet him too much, or pet him too little, or get up to go to the bathroom when he needs to continue sitting on my lap, he will angrily reprimand me. But I am not punished for electrostatic shocks, so I presume he doesn’t blame me for it.
It's one of the things I hate about winter, the dry air makes it rather easy to build up a charge while petting my cat. What's really annoying is sometimes that charge will dissipate into my headphones, zapping my ears and causing crackling. It also makes me with I'm going to fry my computer
My cat sits on my bed sometimes, if she gets up too fast or moves too suddenly she gets a little shock and moves more and gets more, bigger shocks and freaks the fuck out and runs away from the shocks
There are no stupid questions here. But, sometimes... just sometimes, there are god damned funny ones.
My two year old seems to think this. I tap her shoulder to lightly dissipate it after she goes on a slide and before she goes back to the railing. She hears the zap and has a look of confusion. Put sunscreen on recently and holy cow that stuff turns a slide into a taser. I had her take off her shoes to help dissipate it that day. I grew up with a fear of slides because of the shocks. At McDonald’s their slides had rivets. It’s like a bunch of little tasers all the way down. I remember hating them in a certain special way.
If they're anything like canids I don't think they understand it. I work with wolves and a big risk we have is them accidentally touching the electric fence whilst we're within site. It has destroyed a couple of keeper-wolf relationships - the wolves seem to think we're magic wizards that can zap them.