• SokathHisEyesOpen@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Dogs definitely know when they’re doing something they’re not supposed to be doing. They get all sneaky and quiet, and look hella guilty if you catch them.

    • RandomLegend [He/Him]@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      Yeah, just like the post described - they know good and bad. They get sneaky, quiet and guilty because they know they were bad.

      I have a cat and a dog and i swear to god, my cat gives me a challenging look of pure intent when she does something that she KNOWS she is not allowed; Like jumping up the kitchen counter. We don’t want her on that. She sits in front of it, sees me coming, looks me in the eyes with a very certain look and jumps on it. When i tell her to jump down, she will do it immediately but again… a look of pure intent and naughtiness.

      • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        My cat has never even once jumped on the table to get something she shouldn’t have. The ONLY reason she ever gets up there is when she decides she’s been crying for dinner too long, because she knows she’s not supposed to. She doesn’t even know WHY she’s not supposed to, she has no idea what to do when she’s up there. She gets up on it and just stands there and looks at me.

        • MarmaladeMermaid@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          With mine is the blinds. She doesn’t mess with them unless she’s mad at me about something, and then she waits until we make eye contact and then begins her assault on the window treatments, while maintaining eye contact. She’s Alpha as fuck.

      • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Absolutely! My parents have a horizontal bar slightly higher than the working surface in their kitchen. The cats are allowed on the bar, not on the surface. These fuckers lay on the bar and stretch their paws down so they are barely hovering above the surface, as if they were saying “I’m not touching it!” like a child. And that’s not a relaxed position, they have to really stretch their paws to touch it. Yet they always do it and look at you like “what are you gonna do? I’m not touching it!”

      • Khrux@ttrpg.network
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        1 year ago

        I’d say dogs kmow when they’re intending to be bad, such as stealing food, going in places they’re not allowed whilete think their owner isn’t home or when they generally think they’re yet to be caught being bad, they act mischievously. I’d also say that it’s the intention to be bad that is naughty, and dogs are very capable of that.

        I think the difference is that dogs can think “hoohoo I’m gonna be bad >:)” which is a naughty thought, and means they understand it, but they can’t go to that next point where cats are which is “I’m gonna do something naughty and I don’t even care about the bad bit at all”.

    • s_s@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Dogs don’t know guilt.

      They do know that looking at you a certain way makes you no longer mad at them.

  • SwampYankee@mander.xyz
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    1 year ago

    To be fair, raccoons give (and take) gifts. I think they consider anything shiny or colorful you leave out accessible to them a gift. My wife was attempting to feed neighborhood cats and we did get some, but we also got raccoons. They took a bright red bowl we were feeding them out of. In return, we’ve received several shiny rocks and a spoon.

  • Prophet@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I left out a crockpot of mostly eaten mac and cheese on the counter. I was on the couch half-asleep when I heard my keys (which were next to this crockpot) jingle. I didn’t say anything, I just turned my head and saw my cat running for cover as if it had just tripped the alarms during a heist gone wrong. How do I interpret this in any way other than my cat knowing what it was doing was naughty?

    • Ziglin@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I can sometimes hear my cats jumping off of something in the kitchen and they then look at me guiltily while I investigate the countertop to make sure they didn’t do anything.

  • bmsok@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I was cat-sitting for a friend once when the cat started scratching my friend’s couch. I wasn’t even looking at the cat and in a very gentle tone I said “I could could end you really quick if I wanted. Not cool, dude.” (obviously an empty threat)

    The little guy went off to another room for his own little shame party then sulked back into the room and we were couch friends again.

    They absolutely know what they’re up to.

  • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Volunteered in a wildlife shelter with two foxes. When I brought in the meals, one of the foxes would wait at the door, and as soon as I laid down the food he would take his choice piece of the meal, walk somewhere and hide it for himself.

  • Dmian@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Also, one of the most stubborn animals in the animal kingdom. If they want something, they’ll do it, again and again, no matter what you tell them or do to them.

    If they want a specific door or window to be left open, they’ll sit there until you open it. Then they’ll stay there to make sure it stays open. If you close it, they’ll complain.

    They want to get on top of something? They’ll climb on it. No matter if you shoo them away, yell to scare them away, or get them off. They’ll do their best effort to get on top of that place.

    The only thing that can move them from those fixations is by awakening their hunting instinct. Get the laser pointer, and they’ll forget (at least for a while).

    But we love them to death. How couldn’t we?

  • datelmd5sum@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    If I give a boiled egg to our cat it might eat it if she’s hungry. If I leave a boiled egg on the table, she’ll stalk it, steal it and run under the couch with it.