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What kind of locomotion is that? What is the evolutionary advantage? (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago by regdog@lemmy.world to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

25 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36846914

Down we go

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[-] miss_demeanour@lemmy.dbzer0.com 85 points 10 months ago

[-] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 15 points 10 months ago

Close, but not sideways, no cheek-skritch action

[-] brisk@aussie.zone 77 points 10 months ago

[-] Soup@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

“That’s so weird!”

“And what are you doing?”

“…”

They expect embarrassment but they will only get pity.

[-] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 38 points 10 months ago

[-] logicbomb@lemmy.world 34 points 10 months ago

What is the evolutionary advantage?

Preservation of energy. Anti-parasite behavior.

[-] selokichtli@lemmy.ml 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

By lack of limb and intestinal autonomous motion! Yep, the cat is also digesting while flowing down.

[-] JohnAnthony@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 10 months ago

Also, autonomous bodywide scratching

[-] whosepoopisonmybuttocks@sh.itjust.works 31 points 10 months ago

I'd say the silliness seen here goes hand-in-hand with curiosity and intelligence, which makes them clever and effective hunters. This type of derpiness also earns them a rent free spot in monkey houses. So, dumb as it may seem, this is actually a very fit behavior.

[-] death_to_carrots@feddit.org 30 points 10 months ago

Well, cats are basically liquids, so flowing down the stairs is actually the expected behavior.

[-] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 24 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Your premise is mistaken. The cat is rubbing its scent glands/scratching its cheek (and shoulder) on the stairs' edges, to satisfy an itch and mark its property simultaneously. Sliding down the stairs is merely a benign side effect.

[-] manuallybreathing@lemmy.ml 20 points 10 months ago

I bet theyre also having fun, because cats do like fun

[-] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 13 points 10 months ago

The temperature in your house is too high .... because your cat has taken to its liquid form.

[-] carmo55@lemmy.zip 12 points 10 months ago

Sometimes when I'm really tired in the morning I get out of bed like this, it's the path of leadt resistance.

[-] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 12 points 10 months ago

slinky cat!

[-] blackbrook@mander.xyz 12 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Example of convergent evolution.

[-] Zephorah@discuss.online 8 points 10 months ago

He wants pets and is using the stair edges to handle it himself.

[-] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 1 points 10 months ago

A pet with pets? Petception.

[-] SkabySkalywag@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

Felis Slinkere!

[-] slothrop@lemmy.ca 6 points 10 months ago

Cathartic?

[-] jaybone@lemmy.zip 4 points 10 months ago

Looks like a sidewinder snake.

[-] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 3 points 10 months ago

not everything is an Darwinian adaptation.

[-] sqw@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 10 months ago

i think stairs can just be awkward for cats to navigate too. they are designed for human feet...

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

... Drunken Tiger Paw?

Evolutionary advantage...?

Uh... its fairly energy conserving, accomplishes the desired goal when time is not a critical factor, also keeps kitty limber via basically a light stretch/workout of many diffent muscle/tendon groups?

[-] ewigkaiwelo@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

"On the rheology of cats" is the article that studies this phenomenon, please if you don't trust my link don't follow it just search the name in quotes from the beginning of the message (you should never trust the links (-________________-) ) https://www.drgoulu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Rheology-of-cats.pdf