Behavioral scientists remain puzzled by what they call Cluster Associative Theory, or CAT. As yet unexplained, the theory holds that kittens will tend to cluster in a single container…
…despite the presence of alternatives.
Another Mystery of Science
February 23, 2011 By
Fuzzzz!!!
I live in a 3 story house. Not a huge number of rooms, but a few. Anyway, I can’t count the number of times that I’d be sitting on the sofa, or on a bed with a family member or guest– and every cat in the house. So that in a 3-floor, multiple room house, every living creature in it is squeezed into a few square feet.
Cats know you would steal the silverware if they didn’t keep an eye on you.
Even if you already own it.
*GIGGLE* and BWA HA HA!!!!
Well actually…cats own everything…including the universe…
They own my soul. o.O
But that is the best part of it all. When I watch tv, lying on the couch, all my kitties are on top of me. It makes it cozy and wonderful!
Easy. Kittehs prefer to cluster in a single container, just like they did in their ORIGINAL container. The belleh of their mama kitteh. >^. .^<
Every cat? How many do you have now? Last I heard you had one. Has D. gotten a little buddy?
I checked out your blog – it’s fantastic!
PS: Hovertext: BANANAPHONE!
Oh god, no…
Ringringringringringringring!
Ack!!
I believe we have discovered the source of box (especially the too small variety) addiction.
Applied math problem: if you have 3 kittens and 2 bowls, how many kittens will be in each bowl? (Show your work.)
Kitty + kitty + kitty + bowl + bowl = 1 FLUFFBALL and 1 Empty bowl.
and:
The boy riding the bicycle arrived in Luxembourg before the train.
The End.
*snicker*
A+
1 point deducted for not working out the colour of the cyclist’s shorts.
Trying to piece together which head belongs to which body takes me back to those tests where, working from two dimensional line drawings, you have to identify the correct alternate view for a three dimensional object.
I think the face on the right’s body is completely obscured, “rump” on the right belongs to face on the left and rump on the left belongs to face in the middle looking over his right shoulder. But.. that’s just my “alternate view”.
Hmmm…I actually think the rump on the left belongs to the face on the right, and the face in the middle is the one with the obscured rump. Hard to tell though! Cuties, all three.
Spatial relations! HUH! What is it good for?
Zackly!
(Though when I hear ‘spatial relations’ nowadays, I think about the recent reports on doing the horizontal hula in zero gravity.)
Mind Boggles at information .
Peek-a-blue, they see you!
THE SPICE MUST FLOW.
LOL, I was thinking the same thing.
Walk without rhythm, and you won’t attract the worm.
Oh, Dune humor, if that’s not an oxymoron.
“I IZ LETO 2, TEH CAT EMPURROR OF DUNE! IM GONNA LEAD U ON TEH GOLDEN PATH… 2 KATNIP.”
Perhaps they are fremkits.
BWAHAHAHAHAAA!
Static cling?
ab-so-RUTE-ree!!!!!
it’s for the warms!!
There is nothing snugglier than a kitten…and kittens know it! Pile on!!!
Yeah that makes sense. I figured it was cold so they snuggle adorably.
It’s Schrodinger kitties forming a Bose-Einstein Condensate!
Interacting bosons are really cute, if this is the case.
(Baroo?????)
http://29.media.tumblr.com/59zTzQzwEnl1hxf8s8omKo75o1_400.jpg
i heart pathetic, pitiful looking kittayns.
*joins you in that response to the fuzzballs*
I have a great series of photos of my 2 full grown cats squeezing into ONE cat bed with the second bed right next to them. Each refused to give ground! Cats are just plain silly.
and where can we see these outstanding photos?
The other morning, we took a load of clothes out of the dryer before work and did not have time to fold them right away, so we put them on the bed and put a clothes basket upside down over them, to prevent their being mucked with by the cats.
When we came home, one of the cats had snagged a bit of towel and dragged it out from under the basket. We’re talking a dishtowel here, and the area exposed was maybe the size of a tea saucer. But he had determinedly arranged himself on that one little bit of towel.
In the middle of a king-sized bed.
that would definitely and assuredly be a CAT.
See Simonscat videos for evidence.
This week on “The Bowled and the Beautiful”
…Taylor, Brooke and Ridge decide to quit divorcing and remarrying eachother. They decide to move to Silver City and live together.
1) Excellent Punnage, 260 as always!!
2) They’re gonna have a menage-a-trois on CBS????????
*wonders if this will be gobbled and squashed by the Big Green Moderashun Machine….*
What was Three’s Company then?
An abomination
I thought it was hers and hers and his?!?
Oakley, that is HILARIOUS!
I was going to say “weird”, but upon reflection, Oakley’s response is closer…..
“Taylor, Brooke and Ridge discover that they are a nearly-obsolete profession, and two topographical features.”
*snerk*
*bwahahahaha*
AHHHHHHHH, those blue eyes keel me! So jewel-like! So shiny! Espesh in picture #2!!
Is this neko nabe, but on a non-Japanese and smaller scale?
There is water in the other bowl.
Aw, man! My mixing bowls never fill with kittehs! [pouts]
I looked and mine were empty, too! We must live in the wrong county!
Bunches? Bananas? Oh mike.
I suppose when the bunch goes separate ways, scientists would call it ‘cat-mitosis’ in their observation report.
BTW, Nice blue eyes.
Now THAT’S a triple scoop I would like to get into !
Hey wait ! Where are the rainbow sprinkles ?
Just wait till you see a huge group of about 15 kittens doing that all together. Its adorable!
That is when you rub your face in the pile…you come up furry but with a smile!
definitely!!
This was submitted a year ago by Leila D. – why no credit?
Seeking advice: The other day I rode my bike down to this jetty, where there happens to be a feral cat colony. This was supposed to be the midpoint of my ride, where I ate an energy bar and had some water. But, up came a tux kitty and flopped down in front of me and meowed. (Normally these cats stay far away from you.) It let me pet it all over, stroke its cheeks, it twined between my legs, it flopped again. After about 10 minutes, I tried to pick it up and it let me. It let me hold it for about 3 minutes. Now I’m saying to the cat, ‘You don’t belong here. What are we going to do about you?’
So, it’s not entirely feral. There are no houses nearby. Probably dumped, or something. It is not a kitten, but does seem young-ish. I’m tempted to go get it and bring it home (well, vet first). However, I have a condo, no yard, and cats aren’t allowed outside. Having talked with other cat people, they seem to think you can’t convert a cat like that to 100% indoor cat — but I would have no other option.
Another consideration is that I’m a bunny person, and while cats and bunnies generally get along (and I don’t have a bunny right this moment), would a cat like this mean I could never get a bunny again? I’m unsure what my options are. I guess I could get the cat (presuming I find it again), bring it in, and if it didn’t work as an indoor only, take it to a rescue group or a shelter. (I would hate to do that.) I could also leave it where it is, but that environment just doesn’t seem right for that cat. It’s too friendly. Does anyone have any thoughts?
Here is what I think. I think that kitty deserves a home, whether it is with you or not. Perhaps God put you there as the vehicle for him to not become feral but to find his new furever home. I would say, get him…see how it works out…and rehome him if need be. But don’t leave him there…. PLEASE!!!
I agree with kk3 that you should try and find that sweet kitty a home
If I lived where you live, warrior rabbit, that kitty would have a home on the spot
Of course, it would involve a lot of pleading to keep said kitty with my relatives and our two cats would just have to accept the new kitty 
I agree with kk3 above, regarding the kitty. Also, bunnehs and kittehs CAN get along. I have multiple cats and I had a bun for awhile too, and after initial introduction periods, I used to let the bun hop around loose while I was home. Everyone was very good together. Bless your heart for caring!
I acquired a 6 mo. old cat that had lived all of her young life outside. After I got her, she didn’t even WANT to go back out! I could leave the door wide open and the closest she would get to the great outdoors was to lie on the rug and look out.
She lived to be about 16 and never went outside again.
That was a Happy Cat!!!
I know bunnies and kitties can get along — I’ve had both together before. But this kitty is a different type of kitty, out hunting rats and seagulls (although I’ve seen a woman show up with food for the colony before, as well). The kitties-with-bunnies situations in the past has always been with an always-domesticated-housecat. Gives me pause. But, I’ll see first if I can find the kitty again.
Well I say take it home so far we had Darren he lived outside for 6 years and moved inside and would go out occasionally but his preference was to be inside all the time
and Bongo who was a half farrel that I tamed and lived outside for 3 years is currently living in My Daughters little apartment and never tries to get out at all he has been there almost a year now.
I have four rats and three cats, and everyone gets along just fine. My youngest cat was a feral rescue, and he’s happily 100% indoors (all of my cats are indoors-only). I’m sure he’d like to go outside to play, but he has so much stimulation inside it’s not like he’s bored or suffering.
The cats don’t eat the rats, and the rats don’t eat the cats, so it all works out. The rats get outside-of-cage time every day, and while the youngest cat does like to watch them from up close, he backs off when the rats approach him. So long as you supervise your bunneh and kitteh, I think they should get along fine.
And if for some reason you do decide to re-home the kitty, you’ve still done a good deed and gotten him off the street! At the very least you’ll have neutered him (RIGHT?!) and given him shelter on his way to a more permanent situation.
warrior rabbit – for due diligence, I would still post a “Lost Kitty” sign in some area where people shop or gather. Maybe not describe the coloring or other features, so that people contacting you have to do it. After the vet visit (and you should ask about the bunnies), you absolutely can take it inside. I think you are correct in thinking it was dumped; I have a cat colony near my workplace, and I can see clearly domesticated cats among them. The fact that the cat can be handled is a giveaway. Good luck!
One warning about bringing an outside cat and bunny together, my cats have all been raised in the outside and are very good hunters. They don’t have to hunt. I feed them real well. Mostly, they stick to the smaller rodents; however, it is not uncommon for them to take advantage of a poor unfortunate bunny who comes across their path.
And some lucky scientist is going to receive a bajillion dollar grant to study this mystery.
I’m thinking to agree with voilet on this one. The possibility of water in the other bowl may be why they aren’t in it. This way they are sure to not miss the refill. Plus, sleeping in the ‘food’ bowl and not the ‘water’ bowl is less shocking when someone goes to refill it. AND, when there are three, no one sleeps alone!
*violet (sry)
Wow, I’m bowled over.
it looks SO COZY in there!
and I’m a little chilly, so I think I’ll squeeze in – don’t mind me!
Kittens are used to sleeping in one container — mama.
Now playing at a theatre near you: “Kittens of the Damned” (based on the novel “The Midwitch Kittens”
OHNOES!
Thermodynamics are broken! This goes against entropy! First sign of the Catopalypse!
That’s a cute kitten phenomenon. They just love each other so much!
Too cute to resist.
I have to reblog these pictures and ask the same question on my blog.
Fremen kittens, clearly.