master manipulators
from fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz on 21 Dec 2024 19:29
https://mander.xyz/post/22259207
from fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz on 21 Dec 2024 19:29
https://mander.xyz/post/22259207
threaded - newest
They are funny, don’t really need a lot of space and training, and look pretty. Ofc I will go and by whatever.
People always say they look cute and yea sure,
But did y’all forget the fact that they can literally get rid of all your mice problems?
I got a cat because for companionship and one month later, all those filthy mice are gone.
Being soft and warm to pet, and the beautiful meows, are just the cherry on top of their lovely companionship.
They rarely need to in the city, also those that weren’t taught by other cats most of the time won’t kill the mouse just torture it or scare.
Well, whatever my cat did, the mice are gone so… 🤷♂️
I did see a few dead mice around the first 2 months, now no sight of mice.
You are lucky, in my previous flat there were hoarders-alcoholics that lived on the next floor, one day they brought mice with whatever shit they decided to take. At first they were contained on their floor, but after a while they were everywhere. Cat played with them at first >_< and then got bored. After 10 or so that traps killed (in a month) I moved out.
Your experience reminded me of “Tom,” the farm cat who lived in the corn silo on my great aunt’s farm. He avoided/hated children but tolerated the adults who worked there. Depending on the season, he killed multiple mice a day, ate only their livers (leaving behind a trail of bodies), and used crippled mice to track down the hidden others. Tom was a true professional—and honestly, quite terrifying.
Edit: My aunt “paid” him with leftover spaghetti, ground meat, and eggs, as well as a warm spot by the oven in the winter (if he chose to stay there). He was “semi-feral”—never going near the house during the summer months.
Edit2 + Spelling,Typos,Grammar,
What the fuck kinda Hannibal Lecter cat…
One of my calicos likes eating the bottom half of lizards and leaving them alive. She’s a sadist.
Ive always wondered about the poor villagers who lived in tigers territory. Every night a kitty comes out to play.
We had an indoor/outdoor cat growing up that liked to hunt squirrels. He was so good at it that the squirrels had a special cry for him. Anyways, he liked to leave nothing but their heads (with spine and tail still attached) on our front door step. I miss the little serial killer
Mice and some other pests have evolved an instinctual aversion to the smell of cats, it triggers their fear response. Just having the cats around might have been good enough.
I feel like depends on the cat. I found mine as a list kitten that we assumed got outside and then was starving and almost dead. He’s always been N indoor cat. Had never seen a mouse in the 8 years he was alive. I go out of town for a day and night and come back to a decapitated mouse in the apt. Fool took care of shit without even knowing. Then years later, we move into a house and a mouse gets in some how. My cat finds the mouse, kills it, walks around with it, then drops it in the hallway for us to clean up. If he had been taught how to catch mice when he was a kitten, I he wouldn’t have been starving to death. But when a mouse showed up, he knew exactly what to do.
They -can- do that yes. Whether or not they will choose to, however, is anyone’s guess.
They will have a joyous time with it. And you might find eviscerated mice under your couch one day. But my two dumbass fur balls just thought they were awesome toys.
Never figured out quite when they stopped coming in. The only really humane way to kill em is snap traps. I probably went through a couple dozen of them before they stopped showing up.
I was against using poisoned food traps because the last thing I wanted was my cat consuming a poisoned mouse. But, since our whole neighborhood had a problem with the mice, I wouldn’t be too surprised if a neighbor did it.
Snap traps in a brown paper bag baited with peanut butter.
When you catch something, curl up the top of the bag and throw it all in the trash.
Ooooh that paper bag idea is nifty.
We actually discovered something that worked far better than peanut butter - Reese’s peanut butter cups. You break off a little piece, squish it into a ball, and place it on the bait lever. Not a single trap misfired once we switched to that.
I’ll have to try it if there’s a next time
Even if you have a lazy cat, mice have since learned to avoid the smell of cat pheromones. So just having a fat furball laying around will make it more likely the local mice go bother your neighbor instead.
eeeeh, it can go the other way. i dont think i would’ve ever had mice in this flat without the cat. but she likes to catch mice, bring them inside totally unharmed and let them go. and then watch them. chase them. sit on top of them. she doesnt eat them because i guess she never had to eat them.
and then i end up catching the mouse since i dont want it loose in the flat at night, and i dont want to find a rotting mouse corpse 2 weeks later (this has happened at least twice).
Mine can catch 2 mice at the same time. And also wasps, centipedes, lizards, pigeons, etc.
I was hoping my cat can get rid of the roaches too but her paws aren’t very effective at that, and theres just wayyy to many. 😕 Welp, at least my cat has some
roachtoys to squish (or at least, try to).How do you have so many mice?
Sounds like your apartment smells like leftovers; we had mice sometimes until we started to do dishes religiously and take out trash religiously. Or well, about as frequently as our parents do it.
Is anyone else bothered by people saying their cat is lost? -No; it left a toxic relationship! “They stole my cat” -Nah, it moved out!
Or something got to it. Pretty sure that’s what happened to our outside childhood cat. Miss ya up there, Rover.
I love all cats, and they are free to walk inside anytime they want. Just no fighting in the house.
Cats never domesticated themself, since ever they are specialists in domesticate humans, for commodity, not for need.
Spot on. Cats are the OG scientists who stuck around to see what they could make us do after they discovered monkeys gave good tummy rubs.
Yadda-yadda, we industrialize food production and build awesome cozy dens to live in, yadda-yadda, they’re watching us burn the world like, “fascinating… now, can I make the monkey give me treats 2 minutes earlier than this time last week…”
Only reason they don’t have us outright worshipping them is we tried it once or twice, but things got weird.
Humans are just exceptionally weak to cute. If aliens ever show up and try to conquer us, we’re going to be so screwed if they happen to be adorable.
Speak for yourself, I hope the furry aliens make me their pet.
Well, I guess you’re getting screwed anyways
Maybe he likes getting screwed.
It’s all fun and games until de-worming time.
How many people have worms? I thought that was rare… Am I missing something and Kennedy is actually not an odd-ball?
Not many people have them, but the aliens don’t know which ones - and they already have the anal probe equipment handy.
Shit, here I thought we were all going to just take heart guard haha. Your way doesn’t sound as fun.
almost all animals and a lot of people too have worms, most of them aren’t really dangerous though, so no worries.
but it’s less prevalent in humans than in other animals due to hygiene or sth
source: i read it somewhere
I would love the life of a house pet as long as I can play video games instead of sleeping all the time.
We just collectively need to convince our new overlords that it’s enrichment and just let me keep it I already have it, and I’ll be totally friendly and compliant whenever you want, I can pause, it’s cool.
Yeah, I mean I can multitask licking their tentacles while I game.
Would it change your mind if the aliens are responsible owners and neuter their pets?
Got my tubes tied when I was 27 (no kids no interest).
So nope, not in the slightest.
for free??
We’re on lemmy, none of us are having kids anyway.
What’s great is when they show up and become furry because they decide that furries have devised the best possible social system in the cosmos
<img alt="Humans… 🤦♂️" src="https://lemmynsfw.com/pictrs/image/fb8c7021-2719-41b2-a569-55ac81d7a938.png">
(Source: SMBC)
🥺
If aliens turn up and they’re like “Give me snacks. And a fluffy bed.” I think we’d be like “…aight.”
Aww nibbler
There’s a Philip K Dick short story about this, “The war with the Fnools”
Even if they were horrors beyond our comprehension, a whole lot of people would be still be very sexually aggressive towards them.
Honestly that may be what saves us. They try to manipulate us by being cute, we weird them out by being horny.
It would be so funny if they left bc of kink shaming.
“KINK SHAMING IS MY KINK”
ACK ACK ACK ACK splat
War of the Worlds got absolutely the wrong reason for the aliens to leave.
“ca wi go see de wokets humie? wi wana see de big ones fly hiiiiigh”
Too Cute crisis is about aliens coming to destroy earth but learn there are cats.
Your PFP is blank
Gaslighting is so last year. We need new slang - fenceposting, backyarding, BarneyRubbling.
Did cats domesticate humans, or did Toxoplasma gondii domesticate both of us?
Nope. Almost wish I had that because fuck that smell!
Cats are the perfect human parasite.
.
Nah, I assume it’s more like some unconscious dude shows up at your house with a weirdly sharp penis, he impregnates the house, and then the house explodes and a bunch of little dudes spill out.
.
I shudder to write this, but it’s more like a self-replicating knife dildo. Or a sawzall.
Not self-replicating. It’s like a knife dildo that remodels your body into a knife dildo factory.
so like 3d printers, you get one and before you know it all you’re doing is using the 3d printer to build more 3d printers
i guess that viruses might be evolutionarily very old, dating back to the RNA-world-episode, seeing how primitive they are.
maybe they could have a use (exchanging DNA segments between individuals) but that is pure speculation on my part.
Oh sure, when the cat walks into a house and wants to live there, they’re all “omg it’s so cute” and “let’s go buy it food and a bed”, but when I do it, they’re all “who the hell are you?” and “leave or I’m calling the cops” :(
Have you tried meowing at them?
don’t do this. it only made things escalate in my experience
Don’t pick a house with a dog next time.
Have you tried UwU’ing at them?
thats even worse why would you suggest that you trying to get me shot on sight?
Just block the shots with your big banana ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
That would only work if you’re very cute and kinda short.
Marking your territory probably didn’t help you either
I never liked cats at all and one did exactly that. Stupid fuck make me fall absolutely in love with it too.
Get another one from the shelter! They have much richer lives if they have another cat to interact with, even if they don’t like each other.
Plus having two cats is getting yourself twice the cute and love for very little extra work.
Edit - doesn’t this look great? <img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/fe6fb56f-f97f-424a-a6f7-4488b95dcc4c.jpeg">
<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/7bd4d302-0ae0-43da-a82b-1cea37379dda.jpeg">
<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/07d9f653-da45-4cb7-a401-3598b5cea6df.jpeg">
Are they paying you or something??
The cats? Yeah everyday.
Big Feline advertising all over this thread
Be careful, it looks like they’re trying to merge and create a Cat King in that first picture!
That can have disastrous consequences.
Love RTJ, never seen this, thanks.
If only the 4th one was in there. He’s the brother of the huge orange boy but he’s a dwarf. Looks exactly like an orange Maine Coone but he only weighs 7 pounds. He doesn’t snuggle with the other 3. So he’s 7 pounds and his brother is 23!
When I was a kid Mr Kitty unilaterally moved in despite belonging to the neighbors across the street and the stern objections of my father armed with a squirt gun.
Yeah in 4legged furballs its cute. In 2legged douchebags its not.
Unless the two legged douchebag is a crow. Which, it still isn’t cute, but you would want to pretend it is
The fact that only two creature in this world that will approach another creature 10 times bigger than them just so they get adopted is pretty impressive. That’s how i adopted my 4th cat, little baby dude just came out from under a car and yell at me until i pick him up.
What’s the other kind of creature? Dogs?
Yep.
no way
My (future) cat jumped up on my car when I parked! Almost named her Engine…
Cats after entering a human stranger’s house: Look at me. I’m the meowner now.
Humans: Yes, oh cute one!
The ho-meow-ner, at that.
As of about three weeks ago a stray cat figured out how to use our doggie door.
Now we have a 2nd cat.
Covert cat distribution network, working as intended.
In my opinion cats should never be kept as singles. They need social interaction with another cat, even if they don’t like each other. It’s not as bad as guinea pigs who will literally die from depression if kept alone, but it’s similar.
New cat is totally cool with OG cat. OG cat fucking hates the new cat.
I wouldn’t say “never” because, for me, it’s better to shelter them instead of leaving them outside. But yeah, ideally at least two cats. I’ve only had two cats, both stray, the first one tried to play with our feet when he was the only one in home as he plays with the second now.
People always think aliens would want to kill us, but they would rather make us their slaves.
I did my best to take a cat home today when I was at the local landfill. I don’t even have space for another cat, it’s just freezing here and he looked extra pathetic. He decided the dumpster was safer and u honestly can’t blame him xD
There’s been a little baby girl coming around here, underweight, some kind of skin problem. She has always been an outside cat and belonged to my neighbor who died. My wife says we already have four so we can’t bring a street cat in that’s going to fight them.
She’s right, but sometimes little girl comes up when I’m smoking and gets warm laying in my lap and I want to keep her so much.
That makes it sound like the cat domesticated humanity not “The cat self domesticated itself”
in reality it sure as fuck seems like humanity domesticated humanity, we have a lot of domesticated features like neotony (we look strikingly like chimpanzee children) and we’re arguably the most ludicrously social species on earth.
the ironic thing is that cats aren’t really very domesticated, they’re inherently a social animal and happen to just sorta fit with how humans work.
Note though, that neoteny is a disputed theory and (if at all) only part of human evolution.
Sad that the Wikipedia article is a mess now.
Neotony isn’t disputed to exist in humans, only the ultimate cause and extent is disputed.
I mean that sounds more like those are just traits we have and we made domesticated animals have similar traits to out own since presumably that makes us get along better.
Lost opportunity to say “I live here meow”
So cats are successful squatters?
I went to disagree untill I remembered there’s a ginger cat that lives on my property that I feed sometimes
please don’t feed it unless you know for sure it’s homeless (there are paper bands you can hang around their necks on which you can put your info so that the owner can call you if it’s their cat). if the cat has a owner then you’re making the cat too fat, probably buying the wrong food which will give it liver disease, and being fed 2 different foods can cause bowel problems. Please stop.
If the cat has an owner, that owner is letting them outside knowing the risks of eating what the cat isn’t supposed to, as well as killing what it isn’t supposed to.
Isn’t it weird how some people care more about cats than people or, often, themselves?
that’s how well they manipulate us
More of a dog guy but I get it, I get it. I love their dumb stupid little faces.
Differences (well, stupid little faces, if I think in some dog types…)
Dog - “oh, he gives me food, love, care and a house, he must be a god”
Cat - “oh, he gives me food, love, care and a house, I must be a god”
Imma feed him when he comes in and screams at me everytime because I like him and he’s cool.
you can, but please know you’re probably removing 3 years from its life.
please just hang a paper band around his neck with ‘are you the owner of this cat? call me’ on it.
Nah I’m right.
so you’d rather just poison a cat?
You’re making a lot of assumptions based off nothing.
Even with toys they are invading our space
i.vgy.me/Xb93ue.gif
Once they figure out email and posting on social media we’re really screwed.
As you see, it is on the way
“Everybody wants to talk about X, nobody wants to talk about Y”.
That’s not gaslighting, that’s whataboutism.
I think it’s more along the lines of cats gaslighting humans to care for them…that’s where I grew the comparison.
That isn’t what gaslighting is, though. Gaslighting isn’t simply emotional manipulation; it’s a specific kind.
You mean like manipulating humans into believing they are helpless animals that need to be brought in, and taken care of?
The specific kind of psychological manipulation in this case used by cats over millennia, by definition of the word, is gaslighting lol
Thankfully it’s the year 2024 so if you literally spent 5 seconds doing a search you would find a real definition
Cats cannot do this.
I don’t want to be the person that brings a real definition into a fun thread, but your complete lack of logical, sane thought on the subject drove me to it. This is your fault.
Did you even read your quote? A subjective stance from an assistant professor of sociology who studies gaslighting IN RELATIONSHIPS AND THE WORKPLACE. That’s a severe lack of a “real definition” my guy. Go watch the 1944 film Gaslight from which the term was coined.
Webster
Can you spot the difference? I cannot. And cats still can’t do this.
Also, it was coined in a play before that.
Again, it’s 2024, this is easy shit.
Manipulation of the perception of reality is where my argument comes from. Your rude ass tone and pretentiousness are unwelcome. Have a good one boss.
Sorry you were wrong and it hurt your feelings, but you’re clearly the rude one in this thread. Not sure what the color of their ass has to do with any of this though…
I kept it light and friendly, you came in quoting subjective opinions and are trying to tell me based on that, I am objectively wrong. How fitting for the topic of discussion.
No, you’re objectively wrong based on the evidence put forth by both parties, maybe bring some of your own if you want to make a convincing argument.
Lol buddy, you’re lost. It was an open ended thought that it could be perceived as gaslighting, by definition, of manipulating humans perception of reality that they must take care of the cats, simply because the cat presented itself that way. Get the 10 ft pole out of your booty cheeks, and lighten up. I’ve presented my argument and take on the subject, and that’s where I’ll let it lie, as you are incapable of lighthearted discussion.
What do you mean? I made a very lighthearted joke about your poor punctuation, you probably just didn’t get it
It was so awful, I refused to acknowledge it. Merry Christmas friend :)
I knew you wouldn’t get it…
Your joke was not that high-brow. Your pretentiousness is showing again.
Of course it wasn’t high-brow, it was about a butt lololol
I thought it was great. Although ass tone could also be that he was complementary towards my leg day efforts. 🥰🍑
Sadly, he decided you were me and just continued being pissy at me except me was you :'(
Two different people. Again, it’s 2024. This isn’t hard, boss.
Do you seriously not get I was messing with you? I literally exhibited the behavior described as gaslighting in the same message where I pasted the definition. I tried to be as obvious as possible and apparently even that wasn’t enough.
Or are you just butthurt about the parts where you didn’t bother to search?
Yeah, because words used in modern context are always best defined by their most archaic usage 🙄🙄🙄
To that point, words used in modern context are also up for interpretation and free thought. :)
All words are up for interpretation, that’s what language is. You just haven’t made a real argument for how you’re deciding to interpret “gaslighting.”
See: above thread. See you at the circus
In the above thread, I see one person making an argument based on research they did, citing academic definitions and I see one person making an argument based on feelings and then abandoning it for ad hominem attacks as soon as they figured out they were incorrect. Guess which one you are?
Ohhh you are referencing the opinion of the assistant professor who studies based on a targeted audience? You got me there!
See, if you put as much work into building your own argument as you do into trying to dismantle the other person’s, you might actually make a point. Wouldn’t want that though, better continue to tear people down and revel in your own ignorance 🤷♂️ Happy Hanukkah!
I’ve presented my point clearly, and feel no need to present it to you individually. Merry Christmas!
And obviously I disagree and feel the desire to tell you. You’re also waaaay more rude and pretentious than that other person, though me maybe not lol
I disagree, and that means you’re objectively wrong :)
You’re right, you are more pretentious than me 😘
You mean like manipulating humans into believing the cat is actually doing them a favor by occupying their home?
I do agree with you though, that comparison limps
The whole world is lit by gaslight. Gaslight people into buying gas cars, gaslight people into overpaying for a house by hundreds of thousands of dollars, gaslight you into a kamala vs trump fake fight. First world women gas lighting that they are real people, not literal walking talking personality disorders that the created themselves. At least the cats give affection.
Sir, this is a Wendy’s.
Have you considered trying out therapy? It takes some time to find a good person, and there’s a lot of wooo people out there, but some are good.
The cat that walked into my house and said “I live here meow.”
Can’t relate
I keep meowing at hot guys at the bar and none have taken me home yet 😭
Works better on girls.
I’m gay
Hop in their lap, look up expectantly in a cute way, and take very good care of your hair so you are soft to pet. Once they start begging for your attention, act aloof and uninterested.
The bar cats did this to me recently and it worked. It was clear they were the masters of the bar.
Then just don’t be gay anymore?
Duh
Well then I’ll be your wing person.
Now I’m hungry…
Can confirm, purring is a sure way I can get attention from my gf
Meow at the moderately acceptably good (minus minus) looking and you may have some luck… but please don’t get offended if we start pspspspsing you, it’s just a reflex
Did you try letting them scratch under your collar?
They don’t even meow to each other, just to humans. They know what they are about.
No, they do sometimes. Some meow in greeting to each other, as seen on cat cams.
they do sometimes do really low meows to intimidate other cats
Chinese people are right
Context?
Yeah but we chop their balls off soon after. I don’t think it works out evolutionarily.
Their many siblings in the wild shall provide the young
Lmao aint no cat just moonwalking into my house and claiming part of my budget automatically. To the pound with you!!!