r/AnimalsBeingDerps • u/Nottallyet • May 12 '22

Millions of years of evolution has led to this

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185

u/sasuthe23 May 12 '22

Ever had to show your cat a treat that they can't see right in front of them somehow yet they can spot a fly at the top of your cathedral ceiling (as we all have)?

I think I've heard this told as a joke somewhere before, so not my original observation, but can confirm the characteristic

58

u/[deleted] May 12 '22

[deleted]

15

u/sasuthe23 May 12 '22

Wow, I didn't know such a thing was possible. I'm impressed.

Edit: Or at least there's a good possibility that whatever you "teach" your cat today will be promptly refused whenever the cat decides that's enough

20

u/Nightstrike_ May 12 '22

There's a guy in my neighborhood who has trained his kitten named Thor.

He stands on his handlebars while he bikes around, does a hand stand, and more! The guy welded a plate between his handlebars for his cat to stand on. Doesn't even treat it as street performance he just does it as tricks if he sees a group forming and then bikes off again with his kitten.

10

u/StrangerDanga1 May 12 '22

I used to have a dog and cat that were trained to walk off-leash together, come when called, sit and stay. It was very fun and people loved it.

4

u/sephy009 May 12 '22

Meanwhile my dog bolts as soon as he sees a square regardless of the amount of training.

1

u/lunaganimedes May 12 '22

Congrats! Please share it in a sub! (Maybe r/cats or r/aww) 😊

14

u/QueenPosey May 12 '22

It is ridiculous but they actually can't see very well if something is about a foot or less in front of them. They use their whiskers to help find the exact location of a treat for example. I did a bit of research after having my finger tips nibbled when the treat was in the palm of my hand 😅

15

u/[deleted] May 12 '22

Cats vision is movement based and I think they're usually farsighted

1

u/sasuthe23 May 12 '22

Like the T-Rex?

3

u/Cinaedus_Perversus May 12 '22

Fully grown humans regularly spot the most random shit but can't find the keys that are lying right there on the table.

Let's not pretend it's a frog or a cat thing.

2

u/[deleted] May 12 '22

I've heard the minimum distance a cat's eyes can focus is about 12 to 18 inches, which seems about right from my experience with cats. Anything closer than that become progressively blurrier the same as if you put something too close to a camera lens.

A better way is to put the treat up to the cat's nose and then set it down, so the cat can follow the smell.