Does this self awareness mean cats have evolved now?
Does this hold any consequence? Genuinely curious. I did not study any biology, so I don't know where this leads us.
Because I've only ever seen cats confused, agitated or completely avoidant around mirrors.
I'd always assumed the avoidant thing was, you know, "don't look at the mirror cat and it won't look at me, and we won't have to have the fight where nobody wins".
But the ears video makes me wonder if cats don't look at mirrors because they can't quite process the implications.
There really is a conventional scientific view that cats are not capable of passing typical mirror-related self-awareness tests.
But it strikes me that the problem might be that the tests just aren't designed to test cats.
The mirror dot test (which I imagine needs to be done really carefully with cats since they instinctively clean their own faces and necks, and have sensitive whiskers) shows whether the animal fully understands that the reflection is specifically of them, and can use that reflection to solve a puzzle.
I have said elsewhere that it's kind of just about possible for the ears-in-the-mirror cat to not understand the mirror cat is herself, but it is an increasingly implausible alternative.
The mirror dot test may have its limitations on a species basis, but it is not easy to come up with a universal test.
We have a bathroom just off our living room that has a very large mirror above the vanity. The cat likes to get drinks out of the bathroom sink (we’re trained).
If she sits on a corner of the vanity when the bathroom door is open, she can see the living room in the mirror. She will stare into the mirror until she sees someone look at her. When she catches your eye, the meowing to turn on the sink begins.
She also stares at herself in a hallway mirror a lot. We think she thinks she’s pretty.
After realizing the mirror could be used to spot a potential assailant and take evasive measures, they stopped trying to get each other at the doorway to my mother's bedroom.