• propter_hog [any, any]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    So you’re telling me that when a cat chirps when it sees a bird through the window, it’s really saying “here, birdie birdie birdie” to it?

    • Icalasari@fedia.io
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      3 months ago

      Nah, it’s trying to imitate the bird and is going, “No cat here, only friend” (in terms of purpose. In reality, the cat just knows birds with y appearance come to x sound, so make x sound to make y bird maybe come, the cat doesn’t understand the mechanics, just that it works)

      Cats do have limited mimicry abilities - It’s probably why there are so many videos of cats “speaking” human words - adapting that mostly unused mimicry skill to get the human’s attention with sounds it notices humans use to get the attention of other humans

      • smeg@feddit.uk
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        3 months ago

        Cats do have limited mimicry abilities

        Meows are supposedly mimicking human baby noises, definitely works to get our attention!