We show evidence that a well-socialized companion cat was able to reproduce actions demonstrated by a human model

Did we find a copycat? Do as I Do in a domestic cat (Felis catus). Claudia Fugazza, Andrea Sommese, Ákos Pogány & Ádám Miklósi. Animal Cognition (2020). Sep 18, 2020. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-020-01428-6

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Abstract: This study shows evidence of a domestic cat (Felis catus) being able to successfully learn to reproduce human-demonstrated actions based on the Do as I Do paradigm. The subject was trained to reproduce a small set of familiar actions on command “Do it!” before the study began. To test feature–contingent behavioural similarity and control for stimulus enhancement, our test consisted of a modified version of the two-action procedure, combined with the Do as I Do paradigm. Instead of showing two different actions on an object to different subjects, we applied a within-subject design and showed the two actions to the same subject in separate trials. We show evidence that a well-socialized companion cat was able to reproduce actions demonstrated by a human model by reproducing two different actions that were demonstrated on the same object. Our experiment provides the first evidence that the Do as I Do paradigm can be applied to cats, suggesting that the ability to recognize behavioural similarity may fall within the range of the socio-cognitive skills of this species. The ability of reproducing the actions of a heterospecific human model in well-socialized cats may pave the way for future studies addressing cats’ imitative skills.

Discussion

Our results show the first experimental evidence of the domestic cat’s ability of matching actions to the actions displayed by a heterospecific, human demonstrator in the Do as I Do paradigm. Thereby we provide evidence that the capacity of reproducing actions of a heterospecific model could be considered within the range of cats’ cognitive skills.

Based on the cat’s performance, we argue that she has the ability to map the different body parts and movements of the human demonstrator into her own body parts and movements, at least to some extent. Ebisu’s ability to reproduce the demonstrator’s actions when different actions were shown on the same object allow excluding that behavioural similarity relied only on perceptual factors, such as increased attention to the stimulus. In fact, the cat’s flexibly modified her behaviour based on the different actions that were demonstrated, thereby excluding stimulus enhancement and goal emulation as explanations for the behavioural similarity between demonstrator and observer (Dawson and Foss, 1965; Akins and Zentall 1996; van de Waal et al. 2012).

The two actions chosen as demonstrations were of similar difficulty for the cat and this is confirmed by similar success in reproducing those. One of the two actions—the paw action—was not completely novel for the cat, since she had been trained to touch other objects with her paw. In the case of this action, therefore, the novelty in the test consisted of the object to be touched. However, the face action had not been previously trained, and Ebisu had never been required to perform or imitate this action before the experiment. Her reproduction of the face-rubbing action since the first trial when this action was demonstrated indicates that she was able to generalize the Do as I Do rule to reproduce this action too. This also suggests that cats may have the ability to map the different body parts and movements of the human demonstrator into their own body parts. Face-rubbing is a behaviour that pertains to the natural repertoire of cats (Machado and Genaro 2014; Vitale Shreve and Udell 2017b). However, this action was not included in the Do as I Do training, and Ebisu had never been trained to perform it. Transfer tests of this kind, in which successful performance on one cognitive task is applied to another, ensure that the subjects learned a rule and not a stimulus–response association (Shea and Heyes 2010).

Importantly, in the very first trial when rubbing face on the box was demonstrated (trial 1, Table 3), Ebisu performed both actions: she touched the box with her paw (a body movement that belonged to her training repertoire) and she also rubbed her face on the box. Although this trial was excluded from the action matching analysis due to its ambiguity, we note that the cat performed the demonstrated action after the very first time seeing it and this shows that the cat was already able to use the demonstration as a sample against which to match her behaviour at the start of the experiment. The performance of the cat can be explained by imitation (Whiten and Ham 1992) or, alternatively, by response facilitation (Byrne 1994).

Unexpectedly, Ebisu did not always approach the object used by her owner during the demonstrations and in 4 trials she performed the demonstrated action “on nothing” or on the floor (so-called “vacuum actions”, Huber et al. 2009). This happened in three face action trials and in one paw action trials, suggesting that it was not an action-specific response. Moreover, the cat did not approach the object (and location) where the demonstration was performed more likely than chance level. This may simply be due to fatigue and reduced motivation related to the compromised health of the cat (i.e., it may be due to tiredness or low motivation, making it more likely that the subject would save energy and not move from her starting position).

Ebisu’s health condition did not allow further testing; therefore, some caution should be taken before generalizing the results to other actions, not tested in the present study. However, the results obtained by combining the Do as I Do method and the two-action procedure allow us to exclude that the cat’s performance relied on other processes, such as stimulus enhancement or goal emulation. These findings provide evidence that the cat was able to successfully learn to reproduce human-demonstrated actions with the Do as I Do method. Cats, similar to dogs (e.g. Fugazza and Miklósi 2014), might be able to map the different body parts and movements of the human demonstrator into their own body parts, at least with regard to the tested actions. Ebisu’s motivation for food and training activities made it possible to successfully train her with the Do as I Do method. Our experience about the time investment and difficulty of training cats prevented us from testing other subjects, therefore, the extent to which we can generalize these results to the cat population in general takes further investigation. We suggest that cats possess the cognitive skill to reproduce the actions of conspecific and—if properly socialized—also heterospecific models. Therefore, we think that these results could be replicated, provided that the subjects can be motivated enough by food, toys/play or social reward, to collaborate with a human trainer.