Now on ScienceBlogs: The death of Tetrapod Zoology
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
…and this is a pharyngula stage embryo.
• a longer profile of yours truly
• my calendar
• Nature Network
• RichardDawkins Network
• facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Atheist Nexus
• the Pharyngula chat room
(#pharyngula on irc.synirc.net)
• Quick link to the latest endless thread
A poet once said, 'The whole universe is in a glass of wine.' We will probably never know in what sense he meant it, for poets do not write to be understood. But it is true that if we look at a glass of wine closely enough we see the entire universe. There are the things of physics: the twisting liquid which evaporates depending on the wind and weather, the reflection in the glass, and our imagination adds atoms. The glass is a distillation of the earth's rocks, and in its composition we see the secrets of the universe's age, and the evolution of stars. What strange array of chemicals are in the wine? How did they come to be? There are the ferments, the enzymes, the substrates, and the products. There in wine is found the great generalization; all life is fermentation. Nobody can discover the chemistry of wine without discovering, as did Louis Pasteur, the cause of much disease. How vivid is the claret, pressing its existence into the consciousness that watches it! If our small minds, for some convenience, divide this glass of wine, this universe, into parts--physics, biology, geology, astronomy, psychology, and so on—remember that nature does not know it! So let us put it all back together, not forgetting ultimately what it is for. Let it give us one more final pleasure; drink it and forget it all!
Richard Feynman
« That was fun | Main | A reply to Carl Wieland »
Category: Organisms
Posted on: November 30, 2009 5:44 PM, by PZ Myers
But I can't find any videos of squid looking cute when startled, so we have to settle for kitty cats.
I think if you tried the same thing with a squid, it would spread its arms wide all right…and then it would rip your face off. Not quite as adorable.
Share this: Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon Reddit Email + More
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/126124
starts with a bang! 02.08.2010
the world's fair 02.09.2010
the white coat underground 02.08.2010
living the scientific life (scientist, interrupted) 02.08.2010
Comments
Posted by: CSue | November 30, 2009 5:51 PM
I love it!!
Alas, all our cats have been the usual, boring, cuddle-n-purr types.
Posted by: Jadehawk, OM
|
November 30, 2009 5:56 PM
Now I know why PZ keeps the Endless Thread around: easy pickings for posts on slow days :-p
Posted by: Shala | November 30, 2009 5:57 PM
Wow, hivemind, I looked this up yesterday lol.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
|
November 30, 2009 5:58 PM
Aaaah, that's cute.
Now pardon me while I gag.
Posted by: Newfie
|
November 30, 2009 5:59 PM
heh.. I knew when I first saw it, that I would be seeing a lot more of it, it's one of the cutest things ever...
.. but I wouldn't have expected it here... that's a fine knuckleball PZ.. knee buckling, even. :)
Posted by: daveau
|
November 30, 2009 6:01 PM
I don't know. If Jerry doesn't hate you by now, he probably never will. I bet he's just going to be disappointed. Again.
Posted by: TerilynnS | November 30, 2009 6:09 PM
Insulin! STAT!
Posted by: Azalie | November 30, 2009 6:09 PM
A friend had posted this on Facebook yesterday and I re-shared it for others. Nice to see it's making its rounds!
Posted by: Annie | November 30, 2009 6:10 PM
omgAWWW!!! Mirror neurons are just the cutest!
Posted by: Alverant
|
November 30, 2009 6:12 PM
Loving little kitten! She just wants to play. Thanks for posting.
Posted by: The Science Pundit
|
November 30, 2009 6:15 PM
I saw this earlier over on one of them thar accomodationist blogs. :-P But I do have to agree that this is simply an overdose of cute (and I'm a total dog person!)
Posted by: Pygmy Loris | November 30, 2009 6:16 PM
Awwww :)
Posted by: kiki | November 30, 2009 6:17 PM
Could that kitten be any cuter?
Posted by: The Anti-Social Socialist
|
November 30, 2009 6:24 PM
Nonsense!
Squid are adorable when they try to suck your eyeballs out. It's all a matter of perspective.
Posted by: Glen Davidson
|
November 30, 2009 6:27 PM
Actually, the squid would be quite likely to squirt a bunch of ink at the camera, and all you'd get is a photo of blackness.
Cephalopods are often cute in any non-aggressive time, especially if they're little dumpy cuttlefish, or similar-looking (and small) squids or octopuses.
But, not mimicking our young who we find cute, well, their actions aren't found to be cute very often, and are accidentally so on most occasions where we find them to be cute. When little ceaphalopods snuggle into a container, it's a bit accidental that they're cute, yet it's not accidental that we find their quest for security, shelter, and a kind of comfortability to be "cute," as it is fairly akin to what young humans do.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p
Posted by: Tark | November 30, 2009 6:30 PM
Ugh. I hope its/his name is "Little Paul".
Now where did I leave my giant robotic mouse toy ....?
Shades of "Confuse a Cat" anyone?
Tax Religion.
Tark
Posted by: Drew | November 30, 2009 6:31 PM
I dissagree pz. A startled squid would spray you with ink then rip your face off.
Posted by: Bjørn Østman | November 30, 2009 6:35 PM
Wait, isn't there some signed agreement that Jerry does all the cat-posting, and you get all the hate-mail?
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
|
November 30, 2009 6:47 PM
Let's sweeten the thread with Enya's "Orinoco Flow".
Posted by: Nastasie | November 30, 2009 6:51 PM
@ Tark #16
Thank you. You just provided me with my Obligatory Monty Python Reference of the day.
Posted by: NixNoctua
|
November 30, 2009 6:52 PM
IT'S SOOOOO CUTE!
*head explodes into candy*
Posted by: aharleygyrl
|
November 30, 2009 7:04 PM
i love this kitteh!!!
Posted by: Tark | November 30, 2009 7:05 PM
@Nastasie #20.
The pleasure was mine. Had I been really on my game I would have replaced the "Ugh" with an "Ack!" and had a double-reference lutz with a half-twi(s optional)t.
Pining for the fjords,
Tax Religion.
Tark
Posted by: Sastra
|
November 30, 2009 7:13 PM
At the end, it sounds as if the tickler is saying "oh, you look like a little monkey ..."
What, looking like a little kitten isn't cute enough??
Posted by: DoxieVee
|
November 30, 2009 7:14 PM
AAAAGH. I want one! Unless PETA get pissy, of course. I still want one though...
Posted by: CatBallou | November 30, 2009 7:14 PM
I suspect that the kitten is terrified!
Posted by: Roadtripper | November 30, 2009 7:30 PM
ZOMG!!! MAXIMUM CUTENESS!!!
Posted by: Sarah | November 30, 2009 7:40 PM
Damn soulless atheists laughing at rampant animal abuse. Sickening I tells ya!
Posted by: Antiochus Epiphanes | November 30, 2009 7:55 PM
Gross.
Posted by: Jason Febery | November 30, 2009 7:59 PM
That cat is the cutest thing ever... but I'm still more of a dog person.
--
http://www.jasonfebery.wordpress.com
Posted by: Harmless Eccentric
|
November 30, 2009 8:08 PM
@CatBallou: That kitten isn't terrified; it's playing, and having a wonderful time. Kittens are baby carnivores, and enjoy rough play, but it isn't being held down- it can jump off that lap and run away whenever it gets tired of the game.
Posted by: Kane148
|
November 30, 2009 8:16 PM
Wait, I thought atheists were supposed to eat babies and torture kittens? Is THIS what goes for torture nowadays? Geez, you're really slippin PZ...
Posted by: j h woodyatt | November 30, 2009 8:16 PM
"it would spread its arms wide all right…and then it would rip your face off. Not quite as adorable."
depends on your idea of adorable. my cat tries very hard to rip your face off when you do this. it's still adorable. if you're prone to think squids are cute, you might think it was adorable if a squid did this too.
Posted by: Rick R | November 30, 2009 8:16 PM
Awwwwwwwwwwww........
There's a lot of unpleasantness recently on Pharyngula: The Family, Ugandans preparing for a possible genocide against gays, Rethuglicans and purity pledges, The Dishonesty Institute....
This was the perfect antidote. LOL adorableness.
Posted by: Lockwood | November 30, 2009 8:18 PM
Dunno if you've seen this... best "Family Circus" comic in, well, ever.
Posted by: littlejohn | November 30, 2009 8:21 PM
In 55 years I've never written or said these words: That was adorable.
Of course, I now have diabetes.
I have to get another kitten. My cats are middle-aged, cat-wise, and sleep 23.5 hours a day. Then they quickly eat, shit, and go back to sleep. They make excellent doorstops.
Actually, that pretty well describes my life.
Posted by: MAJeff, OM
|
November 30, 2009 8:25 PM
That video makes me so happy. I recently learned my 10-yo cat has a heart murmur (which is apparently possibly less serious than my initial panic felt). Plus, my parents' 15-yo cat, whom I adore, has developed some bad liver problems (the feeding tube came out today...we'll see if he eats and stays alive).
I loves kitties. And this kitten gives me the giggles. Just makes me happy.
Now, time to play with my old girl.
Posted by: DominEditrix | November 30, 2009 8:27 PM
LJ: Hell, my cats are teenagers [in cat years] and sleep 23 hours a day. The remainder of the time is spent being teh cute, in order to con the humans into the appropriate amount of caressing, or chasing each other through the house, using the occasional sessile human as a pivot point.
We have no doubt that, we were to die in our sleep, they would delight in the feast laid out so conveniently and apply themselves to dining on our eyeballs.
The kitten is adorable. Jerry will have to forgive PZ.
Posted by: Ol'Greg | November 30, 2009 8:32 PM
I stumbled that kitty friday night and today it has been everywhere. Luckily I can't get enough of him.
Oh... the cute.... it's going to give me a stomachache eventually.
Posted by: Sili
|
November 30, 2009 8:34 PM
Thank you. This is just what I needed.
Posted by: Arnold T Pants | November 30, 2009 8:39 PM
Not to be overly nerdy here, but the kitty looks like it is exhibiting a Moro reflex. I don't know if other animals other than humans have this reflex, but that's what it looks like.
And yes, this just sent my sugars up to a billion or so.
Posted by: Michael Lonergan
|
November 30, 2009 8:49 PM
It's so cuuuuuuuute! I posted this on my FB account yesterday. BTW, when I was growing up, I had a cat, that if I tried this with her, she too would have ripped my face to shreds.
Posted by: mrcreosote | November 30, 2009 9:00 PM
how about this for cute
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/c534/
Posted by: F
|
November 30, 2009 9:03 PM
Confuse-a-cat? Sure. My cat as baffled and entertained at the very least while watching that.
No stage required - just the internets.
Posted by: HP | November 30, 2009 9:12 PM
While we're getting maudlin, my sole surviving cat (of what were once four) is nearly 21 years old (in human years). She does okay, and I'm not about to turn her life upside down by throwing a kitten into the mix. But Peaseblossom, the second you kick the bucket, I'm turning this place into Kitten Central!
So, uh, science! My understanding is that all felids have adapted to have fairly promiscuous and flexible adoption behaviors in response to both high-risk predator lifestyle and male felid offspring-killing behaviors. The idea is to ensure that orphaned kittens are quickly taken in by other females. But the particular mechanism of adoption felids practice is so highly flexible that interspecies adoptions are not uncommon even among wild felids. (Every few years, there's another story out of South Africa about a female lion "adopting" an orphaned artiodactyl of some kind.)
It's this kind of adaptation that made the domestication of the North African desert cat possible, in the relatively short time-frame of 3000-5000 years. The imprinting flexibility common to all felids is what accounts for the super-adorable behavior of this YouTube cat.
But I'm not a scientist, and I've probably mangled this. Any actual biologists, zoologists, or ethologists care to comment?
Posted by: Michelle B | November 30, 2009 9:30 PM
Sastra: At the end, it sounds as if the tickler is saying "oh, you look like a little monkey ..."
What, looking like a little kitten isn't cute enough??
______
A cat is like Rowan Atkinson's face--rubbery and prone to looking like other things like a meatloaf. Just today when brushing Josie the cat, I called her: rabbit head, pig bottom, and chicken cat. It's the cat's fault.
Posted by: Lockwood | November 30, 2009 9:36 PM
Just realized I screw up the link in my comment above (#35)... I'll try it the easy way:
http://9.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktmevgaeUp1qzlkxvo1_500.jpg
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
|
November 30, 2009 9:43 PM
Cats are delicate creatures prone to suffering many diseases and medical conditions. Insomnia is not one of them.
Posted by: Zebra | November 30, 2009 9:54 PM
I, too, call startle reflex ("Moro reflex" in humans).
Check out the videos on youtube of people getting the outflung-limbs response from human babies by halfway dropping them. Not quite as cute as getting the response by tickling the furry tummy of a kitty who manages to look like it's playing rather than just exhibiting a primitive reflex, but it's a standard part of the neurologic examination of (human) infants.
Posted by: Susannah | November 30, 2009 9:55 PM
I tickled one of my crabs that way yesterday, and got the same response.
Cute, even though, like a squid, he hoped to rip my face off. Hard to do when you're finger-tip size.
Posted by: Akiko | November 30, 2009 10:20 PM
I love the way cats are all instinct, not real thinking going on at all, just reactions. That fierce little fight face is too adorable. No wonder we take them in and care for them rather than eat them.
Posted by: Darkl1ght3r | November 30, 2009 10:23 PM
Awwww... how adorable! Praise God! Kittens are proof that God has a wonderful sense of humour! Our God is a funny God! LOL
Posted by: Darkl1ght3r | November 30, 2009 10:29 PM
Um. In case it wasn't obvious in my above post... I was being sarcastic.
Posted by: Whatevermachine | November 30, 2009 10:36 PM
CUTE. Cats are my favourite animal, I miss my kitty when I'm not at home.
Posted by: speedwell | November 30, 2009 10:39 PM
"I recently learned my 10-yo cat has a heart murmur (which is apparently possibly less serious than my initial panic felt)."
I've had a heart murmur ever since they could detect it, and I'm 43, and I have a few monkey wrenches in the old apparatus, but nobody's losing sleep over the state of my heart.
(More's the pity. Any grey-eyed Scots around looking to prove they're equal to the challenge of coping with a middle-aged half-Hungarian woman with a compulsively raised eyebrow? Just checking. Thanks.)
I did have a kitty who died of heart problems, poor Bandersnatch, but he was six, and it was quite a different thing from a murmur. Your kitty is probably going to be OK. :)
Posted by: Darren Garrison | November 30, 2009 10:42 PM
Speaking of squid...
http://joshreads.com/?p=5028#mark
Posted by: Richard | November 30, 2009 10:51 PM
Akiki @ #51
Why do you suppose that cats have no thinking, and are just reactionary automatons?
I don't imagine that there's anything special about humans that gives us sole domain over the ability to think, especially when forethought and planning are clearly displayed by other species (particularly hunting cats).
I'd agree that a kitten probably doesn't have too many thoughts rattling around its head, but then, neither does a human infant.
Posted by: Sarah | November 30, 2009 10:56 PM
""I recently learned my 10-yo cat has a heart murmur (which is apparently possibly less serious than my initial panic felt).""
My Murdoch has had a heart murmur since he was 5. He's 11 now and happy as a clam (or perhaps happy as a squid?)
Posted by: F
|
November 30, 2009 11:23 PM
It appears I've stumbled onto the kitteh health issues forum.
Anyone have to give their cats daily insulin injections? Without insulin, my old cat would turn her box into a giant mud pit.
Posted by: tim Rowledge
|
November 30, 2009 11:41 PM
Not so cute.
Same with teh kitteh; he's practicing to do just that. Ask a sparrow.Posted by: CatBallou | November 30, 2009 11:57 PM
Really, "Harmless Eccentric"? You're going to disagree with me about the mental state of that kitten? And you know more than I do about cats because...?
Fuck off.
Posted by: Carol Avigdor | December 1, 2009 12:13 AM
Wow, PZ, thanks for posting this. I'd had forgotten how cute kittens can be my two cats are way past kitten stage, and they're still cute, but not in the same way :-)
Posted by: JHS
|
December 1, 2009 12:14 AM
That mushroom cloud in the distance would be my head exploding from the cuteness. In a good way. You've made this cat person very, very happy. And probably annoyed the shit out of the dozen or so people I forwarded this clip to, but whatev. Cats rule.
Posted by: francois boisvert | December 1, 2009 12:18 AM
Tim no 60. Not so cute? You're a fundamentalist! Just as dogmatic as the cat lovers. You don't understand the mindset of cat lovers. Besides, those cat lovers you denounce aren't True cat lovers.
You're trying to bring down the moral values of this blog. This blog was founded on cat loving principles.
And other arguments as well...
Posted by: Monimonika | December 1, 2009 12:23 AM
@#61
Ugh, way to flaunt your nasty personality there.
If you're going to claim superior knowledge, the least you can do is back it up with an explanation on why you suspect the kitten is exhibiting fear rather than play. You know, kinda like what Harmless Eccentric did?
As far as I could tell, so far your only claim to expertise on cats is your screen-name.
Posted by: DoubleD | December 1, 2009 1:18 AM
The noises in this video... http://xkcd.com/231/
Posted by: Singe | December 1, 2009 1:28 AM
Surprised cephalopod? Here you go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-DusaSVHmM#t=1m11s
Posted by: WMDKitty | December 1, 2009 1:56 AM
G'AWWWWWWW, so cute!
Posted by: Aquaria | December 1, 2009 2:00 AM
That mushroom cloud in the distance would be my head exploding from the cuteness. In a good way. You've made this cat person very, very happy. And
0:37 - 0:47 of this video is what the mushroom cloud looks like when exploding from cuteness.
Posted by: Keenacat
|
December 1, 2009 2:34 AM
Awwwwwwwwww! :) I like our squidly overlord even better for posting cute kittens.
OT: Today is World Aids Day! Put your ribbons on, people!
Also, you might participate in an event near you.
http://www.worldaidsday.org/
Posted by: dannystevens.myopenid.com
|
December 1, 2009 2:38 AM
That's a damn addictive little vid.
Posted by: Hugh | December 1, 2009 3:38 AM
I inadvertently found a startled octopus ripping someone in two.
http://oddlyspecific.com/2009/11/stickmen-in-peril/
Do not startle the octopus.
Posted by: Flea
|
December 1, 2009 4:27 AM
PZ: 1
Jerry: 0
Posted by: scooter | December 1, 2009 5:50 AM
There is a name for squid who try to rip my face off.
Calamari
Posted by: Onotheo | December 1, 2009 6:14 AM
Ayyy!!!! Ang cute cute naman!
Posted by: Bectal | December 1, 2009 6:55 AM
PZ, if you were hoping to dispel the "mild-mannered professor" image, posting this vid does not help your cause. And the "squid....rip face off" comment, while a clever attempt, does not work as a diversion from the obvious: PZ Myers is not a mean poopy head. He likes the cute kittehs. I doubt even Jery Coyne could stay pissed at you for long in the face of such overwhelming cuteness.
Excuse me while I hit Replay.....again.
Posted by: Bectal | December 1, 2009 7:01 AM
@ 79, of course I meant Jerry (Coyne). Duh.
Posted by: JulieK | December 1, 2009 7:18 AM
I've seen plenty of kittens throw out their front paws in a wide, exaggerated movement just like this one before they pounce on a toy. It's just play and this little one is having a great time with its new toys. Unfortunately it won't be quite so cute when the kitten is grown and uses long sharp canines to wrestle and chew on these toys. I spent a long time with my most recent kitty trying to undo 6 weeks of life experience that taught her that human hands were appropriate cat toys. Yes, the video is absolutely adorable but I can't help but think the woman isn't going to be quite so thrilled when her 'little monkey' wrestles and chews her hands with adult strength.
Posted by: mythusmage
|
December 1, 2009 7:25 AM
The little guy is battling the mutant spider kittens from Mars. Being kitten shaped still, he hasn't realized he's fighting human hands; which require even greater ferocity.
Seriously, cats play fight with our hands. First because they apparently think human hands are other kittens. Later because we show all sign of thinking this is fun, and cats are courteous beasts in their own feline way.
Posted by: scooter | December 1, 2009 7:25 AM
Contrary to urban mythology, these feline critters taste nothing like chicken.
Posted by: SEF | December 1, 2009 7:49 AM
I don't know when, where or how you lot in UnSAnia will get to see it, but it's worth mentioning that last night's episode of David Attenborough's latest BBC series included quite a lot of lovely cephalopod action (along with some swarming starfish and jellyfish and corals and nudibranchs and ...)
Posted by: dinkum | December 1, 2009 7:52 AM
"Surprised"? Oh hell no. That beast has sensor lock and all weapons engaged. Terror is being inflicted by this merciless killing machine.
Posted by: Jerry Coyne | December 1, 2009 8:18 AM
P.Z.!
No, I don't hate you; I just pity you for stooping so low as to snipe readers from my website. Are two million per month note enough for you?
Seriously, I would have posted this myself but the Twins already did. . . . .
Posted by: bgb808 | December 1, 2009 8:21 AM
dinkum @ #82 is right:
Kitten thinks of nothing but murder all day...
Posted by: bgb808 | December 1, 2009 8:26 AM
argh... sorry about that.
http://store.theonion.com/product/kitten-thinks-of-nothing-but-murder-all-day,42/
Posted by: puseaus | December 1, 2009 8:32 AM
Cats can also have multiple personalities. This is exposed when they snap over from being all right to red alert in just microseconds. Being brought up in heaven while prepared for the jungle, smoothness of transition is compulsory.
It is always a good thing to be careful with a cat you are not familiar with. Trust my right hand experience.
Posted by: Matt Penfold | December 1, 2009 9:02 AM
I don't suppose even the Twins can be wrong about everything, although they do seem to be giving it their best try.
Posted by: PZ Myers
|
December 1, 2009 9:12 AM
They did? Oh, no. Now I am ashamed.
Posted by: Moggie
|
December 1, 2009 9:33 AM
See, kittens can heal even the deepest of rifts.
Posted by: Felix | December 1, 2009 9:47 AM
In other news, the German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has dropped to its knees and followed the suit brought by the Churches to prohibit Berlin stores opening on Advent Sundays.
Our Constitution protects Sundays as 'days free of work, for personal rest'. The Protestant Church comments: "Sunday rest is primarily pertinent to Christians, but it's a gift to all of society."
The opening hours laws had been relaxed in 2006, to allow stores to open on Advent Sundays, for seven hours. The Churches opine that allowing free commerce on any day of the week equates a total submission to capital maximization and economy, bringing on a 'destruction of human dimensions'. Yes, 'human dimensions'.
Apparently it is humanely impossible to rest if you're not forced to on a specific day, or so the Court and the Churches think. The Churches had also argued that open-store Sundays were a disturbance of their right to free religious conduct. The laws we have stem from the Weimar Republic constitution, when they were written to accomodate religious desires for continued privileges after the secularization of the state. The president of the Central Council of Churches (ZdK) says that "any great culture has a day of rest".
Clever move, I give them that. They notice that only a small minority of people (according to surveys about 15% of registered church members) regularly attend their sermons anymore, which is especially tragic for the indoctrinational system if families no longer bring their children to church before Christmas (called 'Hallowed Eve' in German). In some regions of Germany, you're not even allowed to have parties or play dance music on Sundays. So they mask their own interests as 'a gift to society' and prance around as the good guys protecting the poor dependant working population's rest. As if anyone had been forced to go shopping, or any employee would have to work seven days without a choice and compensation.
I suggest helping the federal employees working under church banners (yes, this includes the priests) to their deserved days of rest. Stay away from churches on Sundays, their souls really need some time for themselves.
Posted by: Cycle Ninja
|
December 1, 2009 9:48 AM
Coyne may hate you. I thank you.
Posted by: Akiko | December 1, 2009 10:21 AM
Richard #57, I respectfully disagree that human infants dont have a lot going on in their brains. From birth they strive to communicate with their caregivers. I have had lots of cats but I dont see a lot of communication coming from them at this early age.
Posted by: mdvalero | December 1, 2009 11:43 AM
lmfae @ mirror neurons are so cute
Posted by: mythusmage
|
December 1, 2009 12:56 PM
Akiko, #92
At six weeks of age humans aren't all that hot at communicating.
Posted by: Notagod | December 1, 2009 12:57 PM
@83, the twins scooped PZ? Oh, their christian fucking god!
Posted by: Alyson Miers | December 1, 2009 2:37 PM
Make no mistake, PZ, you did this to me:
DARLING BABY KITTY!
Okay. Better now. But I still miss my former kitten, Iggy.
Posted by: sharky | December 1, 2009 3:52 PM
Nooot an expert here. I don't think it's a reflex--I think it's imitation. From the kitten's point of view, the sky just became spread out to pounce. SO SPREAD BACK.
Before she talks she does a fake-out twitch and the kitten starts to grab, but realizes she isn't playing yet and spreads its claws out again, which *seems* more imitative than reflexive.
(...and no, I don't think it's scared, its tail and ears aren't showing fear to me.)
Posted by: josh | December 1, 2009 3:55 PM
littlejohn:
rofl!
Posted by: Akiko | December 1, 2009 4:32 PM
Bullshit, #94 mythusmage. One of my own children was able to mimic two of my distinct facial expressions at 3 days old. Try it with a little baby. Look them in the eye and make a weird face they can imitate like stick out your tongue at them. The next time they see you, they will do it back. If they are less than 2 months old you have to get really close to their face since their vision is limited. It is how they show they remember you. But then my child was speaking at 6 months and clear, full sentences at 18 months, which is pretty early. Human infants are not just goo with reactions. They are not blank slates. They are born with personality and a drive to survive first by communicating to the people who help them with their useless bodies.
Posted by: herr doktor bimler | December 1, 2009 5:18 PM
Mirror neurons are just the cutest!
Do cats have mirror neurons?
-- Oh, I see, you meant the neurons belonging to the primate in the video, whose hands are mirroring the kitten's defensive posture...
Posted by: CatBallou | December 1, 2009 7:07 PM
Monimonika, you missed my point entirely, and obviously your reading comprehension is not as fast as your conclusion-jumping.
I never said I was an expert on kittens. Several others here speculated that the kitten might not be exactly "playing." It was a light discussion on a light topic. H.E. could have just provided his opinion, but no, I get a lecture, which implies imagined expertise on his part, not mine. The entire premise of his comment was patronizing and absurd.
Only an ass would feel compelled to "correct" others about kitten psychology and behavior, especially in this context. And kittens are "baby carnivores"? No shit. Thanks for the bulletin. The kitten can run away if it wants? We don't know that at all.
Your assumption about my "nasty personality"--based on one comment--is now matched by my assumption that you either are nursing a petty grudge for some reason or are simply a sockpuppet.
Posted by: Rahne | December 1, 2009 9:40 PM
Oh man... now I have diabetes, thanks PZ.
Posted by: Iliketurtles | December 1, 2009 10:26 PM
CatBallou, I don't know why Monimonika would assume you have a nasty personality. I read all your comments and you were always nice and polite and treated people with respect. It makes so sense. /sarcasm
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | December 1, 2009 11:40 PM
Such a cute little kitten!
Posted by: monimonika
|
December 2, 2009 11:41 AM
@CatBallou #101:
I missed your point? I'm so sorry. Well, your reply to H.E. was only four sentences long, so it shouldn't be too hard to reread and figure out what you really meant, especially with the context you so graciously provided in your reply to me.
Oh my, I see what you mean. How dare H.E. disagree with you! And H.E., by typing out your screen-name, made sure that it was YOU that was being disagreed with. Not all those other people(*), but YOU specifically. H.E.'s such a meanie, picking on your little innocent one-liner comment. Doesn't H.E. know that short, mindless, light-hearted comments such as yours on Pharyngula(**) of all places are not to be replied to AND disagreed with(***)? Wow.
Yes, how dare H.E. imply that H.E. knows more than you! It's like H.E. is telling you that you're a dummy! Except H.E. doesn't actually say so. But CatBallou, you obviously can read H.E.'s unstated meanie words and figure out H.E.'s malicious intentions towards you. Don't worry if no one else can see past H.E.'s mild-mannered words, you know better.
And of course you've already demonstrated how much you know about cats (****), thus making it perfectly appropriate to ask for H.E.'s knowledge for comparison.
Such a classy closing! I am in awe. Your desire to keep the thread light-hearted shines through with those two words. Bravo.
Not-Very-Sincerely,
Monimonika
P.S. If this long, lecturing comment makes me an ass to CatBallou, well... I am PROUD to be such an ass! And "Yay!" to nursing petty grudges as well!
(*): "Several others here speculated that the kitten might not be exactly "playing.""
(**): Seriously, what kind of blog does CatBallou think this place is?
(***): "H.E. could have just provided his opinion, but no, I get a lecture"
(****): CatBallou's quoted knowedge on cats: " "
Posted by: astronomer24
|
December 2, 2009 10:50 PM
This one is far superior: "Kitten Surprise"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDbGqJ2KYk
Posted by: astronomer24
|
December 2, 2009 10:52 PM
above, skip to 22 seconds
Posted by: Andy | December 5, 2009 12:28 AM
It may be because I'm drunk, but that's the dammed funniest/cutest thing I've seen in quite some time.
I hate you for making me laugh at that.
Posted by: göğüs estetiği
|
January 4, 2010 6:44 PM
It's very nice to see it's making its rounds!
Posted by: baju
|
February 1, 2010 9:57 AM
When little ceaphalopods snuggle into a container, it's a bit accidental that they're cute