I just re-watched TNG “In Theory” (S04E25) and Data says that the door to his quarters is set to only allow humanoids to enter or leave when Geordie finds Spot in the hall.
Whilst I get that it would be dangerous for Spot to wander the ship freely I think it’s kind of mean to keep him locked in a small room like that forever. There doesn’t seem to be any cat toys in the room but maybe the computer is capable of some sort of environmental enrichment we can’t immediately see.
Not really. His quarters seem spacious enough and as long as he has plenty of engagement - which we can assume he did because of his study of having a pet, indoor cats are perfectly happy lazy balls of frustrating love.
I mean, there are trucker cats who are happy.
Plus, cats are nocturnal and are most active at night. Data does not always sleep, so on nights where he’s not on the bridge, he could be spending quality time with Spot.
Cats are actually crepuscular, meaning they’re most active at dawn and dusk, but they can be trained to keep to a mostly human sleep schedule (by which I mean sleeping 8 of their 15 daily hours at the same time you do).
Thanks for this. Cats being nocturnal never made much sense to me. They’re definitely active a lot at night but its not like they just have an inverted sleep schedule from humans.
He does tell spot that that he is a good cat and a pretty cat.
Not to mention the fact that Data is literally incapable of getting bored.
Good point
Yeah, I get the impression TNG quarters are about the size of a studio apartment, which isn’t amazing for cats, but it can work if you keep them entertained.
Yeah, lots of things are perfectly happy if they never get to expand their horizons.