cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/36846914
Down we go
Submitted 2 weeks ago by regdog@lemmy.world to science_memes@mander.xyz
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/b094c989-1be4-4dd1-8b0e-e56580c28b99.gif
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/36846914
Down we go
What is the evolutionary advantage?
Preservation of energy. Anti-parasite behavior.
By lack of limb and intestinal motion!
Also, autonomous bodywide scratching
I’d say the silliness seen here goes hand-in-hand with curiosity and intelligence, which makes them clever and effective hunters. This type of derpiness also earns them a rent free spot in monkey houses. So, dumb as it may seem, this is actually a very fit behavior.
Well, cats are basically liquids, so flowing down the stairs is actually the expected behavior.
Your premise is mistaken. The cat is rubbing its scent glands/scratching its cheeks on the stairs edges, to satisfy an itch and mark its property simultaneously. Sliding down the stairs is merely a benign side effect.
I bet theyre also having fun, because cats do like fun
The temperature in your house is too high … because your cat has taken to its liquid form.
Sometimes when I’m really tired in the morning I get out of bed like this, it’s the path of leadt resistance.
slinky cat!
Example of content evolution.
He wants pets and is using the stair edges to handle it himself.
Felis Slinkere!
Cathartic?
It’s called “de-escatlation”. Just like de-escalation, but with an awkward hiccup.
i think stairs can just be awkward for cats to navigate too. they are designed for human feet…
Looks like a sidewinder snake.
… Drunken Tiger Paw?
not everything is an Darwinian adaptation.
Tbh, the most compelling idea of why animals play that ive heard is just as a way to keep the body limber and ready. Its like free form yoga and calisthenics combined if youre playing hard
“On the rheology of cats” is the article that studies this phenomenon, please if you don’t trust my link don’t follow it just search the name in quotes from the beginning of the message (you should never trust the links (-________________-) ) www.drgoulu.com/…/Rheology-of-cats.pdf
miss_demeanour@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Image
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Close, but not sideways, no cheek-skritch action