Who's The Fairest of them All? More "Cats in Paintings", and then, "Cats in Books". For some reason or other I got into doing internet research into how cats have been depicted in paintings. Like, I have a gazillion links. But this painting by Frank Paton caught my eye because of my interest in how cats behave in response to seeing themselves in mirrors, and how cats perceive space. I've posted several YouTubes of cats and mirrors click here , and my considered verdict is that they have no idea what's up with mirrors. Nonetheless, there is something essentially true about this painting: Who's The Fairest of them All? Frank Paton ca. 1880 Quoted from wiki - Frank Paton(1855 - 1909) was an English artist of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, best known for his paintings of animals and scenes of rural life. His most famous compositions, "Fairest of Them All" and "Puss in Boots" (1880), have adorned many a wall in the form of plat...

Another video from my archives/ library of fun kitteh YouTubes: Direct link is here Note how Stitch tries to find the birdies behind the screen. Very similar to kittehs trying to find the "other cat" behind the mirror, as seen below (Human says: Chewie the kitten can't understand where the other kitten is) Direct link is here As I said when I first posted the video just above, I've long wondered about the way kittehs perceive our world, the world we find so "usual". I remember a friend telling me about the kitteh that loved to watch ballet on the telly. And then, would try to find the dancers after they went off screen, looking for them at the side and the back of the telly. More at link .

Direct link is here (0:57)

Oh my, here's another one. And this is just an itty bitty kitteh. Direct link is here (1:14)

In response to an earlier post Cats Do Not Understand Mirrors Ka-thunk!" , Phoenician in a Time of Romans said "I'm pretty sure the kitteh is trying to figure out which one of them is dominant - not particularly easy when dealing with a mirror...". That comment got me to go look for more kitteh YTs with mirrors. Amazingly, I found one that shows a different kitteh, Ragdoll not Bengal, and in a different household, but same behavior, in front of the same type of full wall mirror. Behavior- kitteh fluffing up and arching his back to look bigger. And, another "ka-thunk"! And, growling. Direct link is here (0:51) Human says: Here's our American Ragdoll kitten, Mr. Bigglesworth, wigging out on his own reflection in the mirror. He's about 6 weeks old in this video. Mr. B only did this crazy thing with the mirror for about two weeks after we got him. After that, I guessed he learned the reflection was not a threat (LOL). He was kinda 'psycho' ...

Further evidence that cats Do Not Understand Mirrors. Ka-thunk! Part of an occasional, continuing series. Part 1 is here . Direct link is here (0:50)

I've long wondered about the way kittehs perceive our world, the world we find so "usual". I remember a friend telling me about the kitteh that loved to watch ballet on the telly. And then, would try to find the dancers after they went off screen, looking for them at the side and the back of the telly. And then there's my own experience- kitteh is insistent about going outside, via the back door. But hey, it's snowing out there! Kitteh changes mind about going out via the back door. Then, runs to front door, with same insistence for going outside. But, then, hey it's snowing out there too! As Marion in Savannah has said in comments, it's a challenge to figure out what's going on in a kitteh's mind! Click here to go directly to the YouTube above.