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THE TREBLE CLEF — One of the biggest, wrongest stereotypes about cats is that they’re untrainable and do whatever they want while likely mocking us dumb humans.
But if you think that about cats then you haven’t met enough cats. The variety of personality and trainability in cats is wide and varied. You know, just like with dogs. (Be honest, you’ve met some thick, untrainable dogs.) A quick internet search will show you cats playing fetch, playing dead, and giving high fives among other things.
Those tricks are impressive, don’t get me wrong. But this featured video is something special. It’s so special that the fact that it’s four years old doesn’t matter. In fact, it goes beyond anywhere my wide internet travels have taken me with regards to cats in the several years I’ve contributed to Have You Seen This?
The video opens with a cat and its owner looking attentively at each other. The man then makes a sweeping hand gesture and says “louder” to the cat. The cat obliges with a clear, loud mewl.
If you think that’s a fluke, just keep watching. As the man directs, the cat meows louder and softer on command.
Sure, it’s pretty clear that the cat is still learning, but it’s also clear that it’s a compliant, trainable beast. Maybe with enough training and a few more cats, we won’t need a boys choir to sing this all meowing song anymore. And then, if we’re all lucky, we’ll eventually welcome cats as our new overlords.
