Next up: Kido shills to fleece a mark.

January 16, 2013 7:20 AM

Kido the Kitty playing (and winning) the shell game [slyt]
posted by quin (16 comments total)

Cats' ears are very sharp at located sound sources. It's how they hunt.

It would be a very simple matter for that cat to follow the cup that has the bell. I'd like to see this tried with something silent, like a cotton ball.

But then it wouldn't be as cute.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:23 AM on January 16, 2013 [9 favorites]

Ding!
posted by hank at 7:27 AM on January 16, 2013

I first watched it with the sound off. I was really impressed.
posted by jeather at 7:38 AM on January 16, 2013

I'm impressed because there's no way my cats would indicate which cup had the ball even if they knew. They don't give a shit about anything.
posted by Maisie at 7:42 AM on January 16, 2013 [23 favorites]

Yeah, I'm going to be trying that when I get home.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:43 AM on January 16, 2013

I'm impressed with how absolutely calm that kitty was. Most cats I've known would flip out if you did something that noisy right in front of them.
posted by Malor at 7:46 AM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

As the uploader points out in the description, the impressive part isn't that the cat was able to guess correctly, but that he was willing to play the game at all.
posted by neckro23 at 7:48 AM on January 16, 2013 [10 favorites]

My cat would just expect me to pick it myself - "If you wanted to find it, why the hell did you hide it in the first place?".
posted by arcticseal at 7:50 AM on January 16, 2013 [3 favorites]

Which sums up the lives of people who love their cats (like me!): we're just thrilled when the cat pays attention to us at all.
posted by Nelson at 7:51 AM on January 16, 2013 [5 favorites]

This was far more impressive when first saw it as a gif.
posted by chimaera at 8:53 AM on January 16, 2013

Awww...
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:55 AM on January 16, 2013

Here's one without a bell.

My cat wouldn't play this game, although he does play fetch.
posted by and for no one at 9:33 AM on January 16, 2013 [5 favorites]

As kinnakeet pointed out cats have fantastic hearing, but most people don’t realize how good their sense of smell is. One day I looked out the window and saw a neighbor cat, that fights with my cat, prowling around my back yard. It took off when I opened the window. About 15 minutes later my cat showed up, nose to the ground, following his enemy’s scent trail.
posted by Huplescat at 10:30 AM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Very cute. Humans can't win the con version of this game because the ball is in the operator's palm, not because they can't track the cup.
posted by w0mbat at 10:34 AM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

They beauty isn't that the cat played the game. The beauty is that the cat played the game despite not caring even one little bit. It was clearly just humoring its owner.
posted by srboisvert at 11:50 AM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Fair enough, but didn't we have a cat beating analysts with his stock market picks yesterday ? Let's not lower the bar, here.
posted by devious truculent and unreliable at 3:39 AM on January 17, 2013