Are domestic Animals evolving with technology as we do?

I wanted to start a positive thread today. I was not sure where to post this so feel free to move it mods if it is in the wrong location.
My question is are domestic Animals evolving with technology as we do?
Before gun powder I wonder how animals would have reacted to a gun shot. My Husky will bolt whenever I let off fireworks perhaps this is genetic memory perhaps it just hurts her ears.

Recently I have been amazed as both my Cat and my dog will watch the Zoo. Is this because the TV size is larger? The picture clearer? Previous pets of which I have had many over the years never showed any interest in what was going on - on TV or on my computer. The most they ever got was a passing glance.

Every evening a show called the Zoo comes on and they will sit watching it my dog with her tongue out paws facing the screen cocking her head interested at the monkeys and my Cat perplexed at the faster animals trying to jump onto the screen and meowing at them.

I was able to record some of this behavior with my kitten as added below.

My question to those domestic pet owners out there is have you noticed an increase of interest towards the goings on of your TV or computer screens compared to say several years ago with your pets?

reply to post by Shirak


My cat opens doors. I have to put a chair in it...very ghetto.
Also, shes learned that if no lights are on, and shes up on the counter getting into something....i cant see in the dark, so its better to not move, than to book it.

Whatever they are doing, they are smart little critters.

The youtube links are broken.

Hope you can fix it. I'd love to see your pets reacting to a TV show with other animals. I'm sure it's good for a laugh.

As far as your question goes I'm still waiting to see a cat destroy a computer mouse. Now that would be a leap for catkind!



(I think the second video was a debate either about which catnip packs the biggest wallop, or the pros vs. cons of a Federal Reserve system. Smart cats!)

ETA: Never mind, right after posting the vids have been corrected. Time to watch some animals doing some crazyyyyyyyyyy stuff!

reply to post by Hessling


Fixed it Forgot to remove the equal sign.

I know that dolphins are trained by the Navy for certain tasks and that animals can be trained however this behavior was never encouraged or rewarded it is just something that they do almost a natural behavior for them. (These are domestic animals so they have at least several thousand years of genetic history learning from human behavior.)

I've tried to get my Wife's Cat's interested. The only thing that works is a simple screen, with a single object moving around it. Like the cursor on a blank screen which they seem to pay attention too. More complexity on the screen and they show no interest at all.

Shoot a video of your monitor with a large cursor moving around it and loop it, your Cat's will like that. I think it's because their vision is based on movement. As I recall the trade off for great night vision is they cannot see fine details or differentiate color very well, but they key on movement.

Dog's I know have a kind of brown and white vision, but I've seen them often watching TV and seeming interested.

I'd think you would need to look at each Domestic Animal separately according to vision.

Not sure if they are evolving or not, but put on some David Attenborough Bird series Here, or any bird vid, and see what your cat does! It is hilarious watching mine softly touch the screen, then go behind for a peek, then back around front. She watched the full 2 hours with eyes glued to the screen, and when the bird chirps, she gets all exited!
I have left it running while I am out sometimes for her entertainment.

peace,
spec

An article on Feline Vision.

You and your cat see the world differently. True, your eyes are built around the same design, but each of you has specializations that make your vision best for your needs. You evolved as a fruit-eating diurnal animal; your cat evolved as a meat-eating nocturnal animal. You evolved to have good detail and color vision; your cat evolved to have good vision in the dark. Compare your eye to your cat’s eye, and you’ll understand how each of you attains the best vision for your needs....

...The end result is that cats have poor detail vision compared to humans. And because cones are also responsible for color vision, cats have comparatively poor color vision. But they’re not colorblind. Instead, they have the same type of color vision as many people who are called colorblind: a type of red-green colorblindness termed deuteranopia. They can see blue versus other color fine, but tend to confuse colors on the red through brown through green continuum.

reply to post by Blaine91555


Its interesting. Perhaps the picture quality improvements over that last few years have made it easier for their unique vision to see.

Animals are funny with our technology. It cracks me up

Our cats love watching when we play World of Warcraft (online game).
And they run like mad when they hear this hawk sound.

Our dog on the other hand is paranoid.

She is scared of the fridge and won’t go anywhere near it. It doesn’t help that our teenage daughter pretends to get attacked by it; the dog gets this terrified look and takes off. poor thing

On the other hand if she is hot she will come to you and paw at you’re your leg to get your attention, she will then go and sit in front of the air con looking up at it waiting for you to turn it on.

I'm surprised at the level of intelligence with wild animals also. The other day I'm driving down the road and a white egret (bird) is in the middle of the road walking straight at me.

I'm thinking I'm going to run it over but at the last second it stepped inches off the road like a pedestrian.

It knew the limits and boundaries of the vehicle and wasn't scared at all.

This had to be learned as what in the past evolution of the bird could prepare it for our modern road structures limits?

Originally posted by Whateva69
Animals are funny with our technology. It cracks me up

Our cats love watching when we play World of Warcraft (online game).
And they run like mad when they hear this hawk sound.

Our dog on the other hand is paranoid.

She is scared of the fridge and won’t go anywhere near it. It doesn’t help that our teenage daughter pretends to get attacked by it; the dog gets this terrified look and takes off. poor thing

On the other hand if she is hot she will come to you and paw at you’re your leg to get your attention, she will then go and sit in front of the air con looking up at it waiting for you to turn it on.

Lol thats hilarious my Husky knows the air-conditioner is upstairs and will come give me an urgent lick on the knee then run up the stairs to get into the cool cool air.

I truly believe that the consciousness evolution of animals is entrained to our own evolutionary steps.

reply to post by Juggernutty


I'd love to see the look on it's face when you do turn on the lights.
All I can picture is a cat with a box of cereal spilt open and bits of cereal all round it's mouth looking back at you like a deer in the head lights.

Good mental imagery.

Heaven forbid a dog bark on a TV show....that sets off my dogs instantly, hehe....

I leave the TV on for them, while we're at work. I've noticed that the sounds of conversation calm them, and they aren't as crazy (or destructive) as days when I haven't left the TV on.

reply to post by Gazrok

I have been thinking of doing this for my indoor cat to provide some companionship while we are at work. She seems to enjoy watching T.V.>Her eyes and head follow the images.

I just wanted to share a new favourite movie clip our male cat loves to watch. I havn't been able to find it on youtube, but if anyone eles has a cat show them the end credits of jurassic park 2 with the pterodactyls flying off
and watch their response lol. I wish i had a video camera to show you how much he loves it.

I love watching the news with my cat, specifically the weather. When the weatherman steps off screen to zoom into the map, my cat tries to "find" him by looking on the side of the TV...it's the funniest thing...

She's convinced he's back there.