A group of Kyoto University-based researchers in Japan suggests that cats have basic knowledge of physics and understanding of the cause-effect relationship.
Earlier studies revealed that feline creatures make use of their keen sense of hearing to predict the presence of hidden objects. This ability allows various species in the cat family to anticipate the presence of their hidden prey.
In the recent study published in the journal Animal Cognition, the Japanese researchers tested their hypothesis whether cats could predict an object's hidden presence in a box based on rattling noise when the box was shaken. Moreover, they also wanted to find out whether their feline subjects have the slightest understanding of physical laws by expecting a falling object from the box after flipping it upside down.
"Cats use a causal-logical understanding of noise or sounds to predict the appearance of invisible objects," said Saho Takagi, lead author of the study, The Register reported.
In the experiment, 30 domestic cats were exposed to shaken boxes with and without any accompanying noise. When these boxes were flipped upside down, some hidden objects inside the box fell to the floor while others did not. In all four scenarios, only two complied with the basic laws of physics- a rattling shaken box yielding a dropped object and a non-rattling shaken box with nothing. The noise-producing boxes without a dropped object and silent boxes yielding a falling object seemed to violate physics.
The cats also appeared to stare longer at the rattling boxes than at the silent ones suggesting that they may have expected the presence of hidden object based on the sound. Furthermore, the cats stared longer at the boxes flipped upside down but yielded no falling object which they may have found confusing as such scenarios are not in line with basic laws of physics.
Scientists think that cats are well-equipped with advanced hearing ability that make them excellent predators. With their naturally endowed ability, cats would make use of sound to infer or predict their prey's location or hidden presence at night, Science Daily reported.
