Comments

  1. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    MAMMAL MIRROR NEURONS ENGAGED.

    SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

  3. magistramarla says

    Since I live near the ocean and have often seen otters doing this, I have to agree with you here. Otters are almost as cute as cats. The difference is that an otter won’t curl up against your hip, purring and licking your hand lovingly, as my cat is currently doing.

  6. says

    Yeah, try throwing a cat in the ocean and see how adorable they are then.

    If the cat emerges pushing a watermelon, your argument is invalid.

  10. Sili says

    Very funny, Coyne.

    Now be a good biologist and untie PeeZed, please. We get it – you like cuddlies. Hah Hah.

  12. Nentuaby says

    PZ, if you’re just going to show other mammals your anti-caturday fervor loses a lot of its sting. :)

  15. Musca Domestica says

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107676/Video-cat-swimming-sea-goes-viral.html

    Ha! Not that otters aren’t really, really, really cute.

    magistramarla wrote:

    …The difference is that an otter won’t curl up against your hip, purring and licking your hand lovingly, as my cat is currently doing.

    The licking thing is actually dominance (in a group, the dominant cat licks the others, like a mother cat). Our family cat would hold your hand with both paws, with claws, to lick it… We chose him when he was 2 days old, and the rest of the batch were put down, so he grew up with grown-up cats. He was mostly lovable, but lacked some boundaries.

  18. F says

    The difference is that an otter won’t curl up against your hip, purring and licking your hand lovingly, as my cat is currently doing.

    I think there is a honking great chunk of the domestic cat population that never got the memo.

    The licking thing is actually dominance (in a group, the dominant cat licks the others, like a mother cat).

    Some cats spend a lot of time dominating their paws and coat. And plastic bags. And carpeting/flooring.

  24. magistramarla says

    Musca Domestica,
    Funny thing is, this cat is the least dominant of all of the animals in this house. My husband’s cat, Dax, is large and in charge as far as he is concerned. He bullies my 100 lb. German Shepherd, and the dog readily agrees that Dax is dominant. Dax is definitely in charge of my cat.
    Conner (the dog) and my cat Casper often have mutual grooming sessions. It’s funny to watch the huge dog licking the ears of the cat and the cat reciprocating by carefully licking the dog’s muzzle.
    All three of them will lick our human hands or feet. For them, it seems more like a symbol of acceptance into the pack than dominance.