Before reading:
Yes, but they won’t because fuck you
but what if
It’s already open. The stupid servant is going to give it to you whether you solve the puzzle or not
Why solve something, when instead you can destroy it? 😼
Yes, but not very well. I am mildly irritated that one of the founding studies of experimental psychology is so little known. It takes cats quite a bit of time to figure out how to simply pull on a loop or step on a treadle in order to escape confinement and get fed.
Thorndike’s work with cats predates Skinner’s work with rats by decades. https://youtube.com/watch?v=hhNxeYYyCSQ
In my experience (which is anecdotal at best), cats can express wildly different levels of intelligence between even littermates, and especially between people interacting with them. Just because you failed to negotiate with them doesn’t mean they’re incapable of doing what you want them to.
Psychology is notoriously difficult to draw conclusions from because it’s so hard to isolate the variables. It’s cool to learn some less mainstream science though!
I saw a thing about getting toy mice with a hole in the bottom that you can put treats in and then place around the house. They have to work a little too get the treats out. It gives cats treats and motivates them with a puzzle that works with their evolutionary nature rather than our human kind.
depends on the puzzle.
If it needs thumbs? probably not.
Enough food or treats and they can solve the fusion reactor problem.
TL;DR for those who hate clickbait: yes.
“The conclusion is that the two cats can indeed solve puzzles, and gain hours of play from the device.”
