A missed camera opportunity

Oct 21st, 2024

A missed camera opportunity

Lucky came into my office.  I have a mirror near the floor which I use to monitor my progress with my foot.  The two girls have never shown the least bit of interest in it, but all of a sudden Lucky caught sight of himself in it.  He watched himself intently for a while, and then rolled over on his side and started batting the mirror with his paws.   Even funnier was the fact that leaning up against the wall was a lap tray with a picture of the “Oreo cat” which I always thinks looks like Lucky.  So there were three cats – but I had taken my shoes off and my camera was in the bedroom, so it was a missed opportunity.

I’ve always wondered why some cats seem to be able to see themselves in mirrors whilst others don’t.  Our cat Kitty when I was a child did see herself, as did my Mum’s cat Heidi.  Neither Tora nor Schrodi did, although Tora loved “squirrel TV” and used to go round the back of my Surface looking for them.  Lucky is unusual in that when cats do see themselves, their typical reaction is either aggression or fear (as if they had suddenly seen another cat), but Lucky’s was more playful, as though he had just seen something amusing.  Who knows.