Posted on 08/13/2021 7:02:57 PM PDT by BenLurkin
When given the choice between a freely available meal and a meal trapped inside a puzzle, scientists have found most animals, such as dogs, bears, pigeons, pigs, goats, mice, rats, monkeys and other primates, prefer to work for their food - a concept known as contrafreeloading.
When researchers provided a small sample of indoor cats with a food puzzle and a tray of food in a home environment, the pets ate more food from the free tray than from the puzzle. Even the most energetic individuals preferred to stick to the easy meal, according to activity sensors they wore during the study.
Eight cats never even bothered to touch the puzzle, despite having the opportunity to do so for 30 minutes, and none of the cats ate more food from the puzzle than from the open tray.
The results add weight to the findings from a small lab study, conducted in 1971...
In this historic experiment, six domesticated cats were trained to operate a food dispenser. They were then given the choice between the food puzzle and a free bowl of kibble in a laboratory setting.
Unlike every other animal that had been tested in similar ways, the cats in these experiments showed a clear preference for the free meal.
Now, it seems like even in a home setting, these creatures make the same choices, regardless of their sex, age or previous puzzle experience.
Beyond simple curiosity, researchers say it's worth finding out why cats do not seem to prefer a food puzzle over a free meal. The answer could help us appease the curiosity of our cats when they are stuck indoors, to increase their wellbeing all around.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...
I always suspected that the little fur balls are work shy.
Yep. Daisy just wants on time.
Possible reasons:
1) Conservation of energy (perhaps more of issue for outdoor cats?) The article mentions conservation of energy.
2) Food puzzles expect cats to act contrary to more instinctive behaviors (ambushing prey). Also mentioned in article.
3) Cats have human servants - why work for food? Personal observation.
They remember Egypt. Gods do not work for food.
Anybody who has had cats know that they are secretly liberal.
Most indoor cats expect their human slaves to make their meals ready.
Now if they could make the food dispenser respond to cat speech,
and take orders to be delivered right to the appropriate end of the cat,
by robo-vac delivery…
you might get a different result.
;-)
Cats are way too smart to play along with stupid human puzzles.
I wonder how much was paid for this “historic” study? I could have given them the answers for half the cost in 1/3 of the time.
To Wit
People have friends
Dogs have owners
Cats have staff
Now fork over my millions. Daddy needs a new pair of shoes.
Kitty Ping
True, although they are quite content to make up puzzles all their own. Leave out a sealed plastic container of dry kibble, and they will find a way to break into it.
My cat has an open, always full food bowl. He has unlimited access to water and a clean litterbox.
He lives to hunt. He comes in in the morning, sleeps and eats, then back out he goes to kill vermin. Unfortunately he considers taking the occasional bird part of his job.
He gets a pass, since at least one rat per week is his average. He got a whole family one evening, and actually laid them out in a row at the base of the sundeck stairs.
GOOD kitty!
“Like people, cats are.” — Yoda
FTA
Unlike every other animal that had been tested in similar ways, the cats in these experiments showed a clear preference for the free meal.
~~~~~~~
Nothing here should surprise us, as wevhave known for years that cats are Democrats.
*we have
As my Mom would say: “Eat it or go to bed hungry.”
Shhh! Don’t give that away free. Now, if you’re willing to study the carbon footprint of cats you can get a $5 million taxpayer grant.
“Unlike every other animal that had been tested in similar ways, the cats in these experiments showed a clear preference for the free meal.”
So cats are basically Socialist Democrats, Freeloading Bums and Illegals?
Makes total sense. ;)
We currently have two cats. Eva is a Stone Cold Killer who WOULD rather hunt for her supper than eat anything I keep out for her. (She gets wormer on a regular basis.)
Boyd is a GLUTTON who will eat ALL of his food AND Eva’s, though he DID bring me an invasive Black Chinned Sparrow that he caught himself, today. He did not desire to eat it; he was just showing off.
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