Originally published at: Watch: Is this one cat looking in a mirror, or two cats in synchronized play? | Boing Boing
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(Harpo honk to @Papasan )
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Just gonna leave some interesting stuff here…
Although most animals failed Gallup’s test, a few did pass, such as dolphins, great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos) and magpies. Not included in this list? Dogs and cats.
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In grad school I lived at an apartment complex that had the friendliest orange tabby that looked like the one in the photo. Would always trot over for a pet. I could never figure out why the owner would sometimes let it out with a flea collar, and sometimes without.
I thought I was having a stroke when I finally saw them both at the same time.
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It bugs me that they end with cats being a mystery.
None of my cats have reacted negatively to their reflection in the mirror. And they track (but don’t react) to housemate cats passing them in the mirror view.
I’ve caught the eye of my cat via the mirror and he seemed pretty nonplussed by the fact that we’re ‘seeing’ each other on a different plane.
On the odd side, I’ve had one cat react blithely to mirrors yet form an obsession with a tube TV when it was off. I suspect it was the curved miniature room reflection that didn’t quite match reality. She’d position herself to watch the “portal” for hours on end. It started feeling unhealthy so I’d turn the TV on and she’d wander off. It utterly unnerved my roommate; he started speculating on what sort of crazy shit she was seeing in the portal that we weren’t catching.
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This is what I’ve noticed, too. My cat would never reach out to my reflection, even though she could see it.
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The fact that Harpo (Chico? Don’t remember) doesn’t spin is one of the greatest gags of all time.
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the headlining picture? is mirrored, look at the background in the center.
the video? dunno, didn’t watch.
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yeah! It’s Harpo for most of the scene, but as a final chuckle a third ‘Groucho’ enters (stage right) and that’s Chico. Worth while to re-watch the whole thing via that link i managed up there.
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Found a BB blast from the past on this theme: 
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My cats don’t really give a damn about the mirror either, but if you’re in front of the window you can make them mimic how owls’ necks move. 
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