Maine Coon Cat Shadow Boxing His Own Reflection Is Too Cute for Words
One of the main reasons people get pets is for companionship. Another is for sheer entertainment value. People do love the goofy things that animals do—it’s basically an entire genre on the internet at this point. Is your cat scared of a cucumber? Did your dog plaster his face to the window in an amusing fashion? Does your bird have the zoomies?
A perennial source of animal amusement is the videos of animals being very confused, and sometimes a bit violent about mirrors. Though animals can see reflections, they often do not realize what it is they are looking at. Sometimes, they even get mad at it. Like the Maine Coon in this video.
In this clip we see a large, tri-colored Maine Coon cat having a prolonged boxing match with the cat on the other side of the mirror. Standing on his hind legs (as is very common for Maine Coons), he paws repeatedly at the mirror, not seeming the least bit deterred by the fact that he can’t reach the cat on the other side of the glass. The mirror-cat, unsurprisingly, is similarly—even identically—committed to the bit.
Related: Maine Coon Cat Clearly Says 'How Are You?' in Video That Has People Stunned
After several long moments of filming, the cat’s owner appears to take pity on him, waving his hand in the mirror so that the cat can, hopefully figure out that it’s a reelection. And he just might, because he does the “act cool” bit of any cat who has found himself in an embarrassing scenario.
Been there, buddy.
Can Cats See Reflections?
For years, scientists tested animal cognition and ability for self-reflection by putting a spot on their heads and then putting them in front of a mirror. The idea was if the animal reached for the spot on their heads after looking at their reflection, then they were capable of understanding that the reflection was themselves. Animals that “passed” this test included gorillas, dolphins, and—perhaps surprisingly—magpies. Dogs and cats supposedly failed.
But that doesn’t mean that cats cannot, eventually, recognize that the reflection in the mirror is themselves. After all, a cat may attack their own reflection once or twice, but the mirror is presumably on the wall every day. Do they always think there is another cat trapped behind the glass?
Studies that purport to show the range of animal intelligence can be tricky to parse. Everyone has seen studies that seem to seek to prove elements of animal cognition and behavior that appear to anyone who has spent any time with an animal to be self-evident. Do animals get lonely? Do animals grieve? Can animals communicate emotion? Yo, scientists, have you ever met an animal?
My cats have never shown much interest in their own reflections, as seen in mirrors or dark windows. But I’ not sure this says anything about their intelligence. One spent a good ten minutes stalking a sock my kid left on the floor last week.
The Clever Maine Coon
Maine Coon cats are a particularly large breed of cat, and they are pried not only for their size, but also their winning personality—their intelligence, curiosity, and supposedly dog-like playfulness. They are known for doing things like standing on their hind legs, as the one in this video is.
So maybe he knows it’s himself in that mirror. He’s just playing a game.
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