Animals, Mirrors & Self Awareness

Question

A recent article stated that dogs empathize with humans through yawning. Scientists thought this odd since dogs are not self aware. Scientists determine self awareness by animals being able to identify themselves in a mirror, which dogs cannot do (according to science).

My cat does not look at itself in the mirror, but I did notice an odd thing when I set a large mirror in my office. My cat would sit in different places than he used to. When I'd pet him while he sits in these new places, I could see he had a great view of me at my desk via the mirror. It's as if he purposely sat so he could use the mirror to see me.

Not self awareness, but still odd imo. What are your thoughts? Anything you noticed with your pet?

Answer 1

I have seen this in both species of animal....

The intelligence to realize that they are observing something, an other creature, or self is wonderful to watch...

the handsome dog after a good brushing that must check it out in a mirror....

A Prima Donna  cat that would check out appearance after cleaning herself...

Then there are those "special" creatures that it is truly amazing that they remember to breathe...

Answer 2

Cat may not be self aware but they among the few animal  who have the faculty of "problem solving" at a level close to that of humans. Other animals have that faculty but lack the creativity that a cat has. Raccoon also have that habilities.

When faced with a problem, most animal will try something over and over until it work or they get tired and quit. Some animal will try two or three things and will quit. Studies shows that a cat will try almost all possibilities available to him, using creative solutions to solve the problems.

That implies that a cat will use the trial and error method to solve a problem. Once a trial has failed three time (in average) a cat will try something else.

Where am I going with that? Well when your cat look at himself in the mirror, he might not realise it's him but he will, by using trial and error, your cat will realise that the cat in the mirror is doing the same thing as he does and therefore is not a factor. He will also realise that this reflection comes from a wall and that wall can be marked (with his odor). Once the delimitation of the territory is done, he will see that the thing in the mirror is a reflection of what is going on elsewhere in the room.

Since a cat will always choose a resting spot that allows him to make a good surveillance of his territory, you are right. Your cat most probably choose a spot according to the mirroir's view of the room.

That's you scientific explanation