Are cats self aware?

This week I wanted to look into whether cats are self aware. 

First off, what does it mean to be self aware? According to biologyinsights.com, self awareness is the ability of an organism to perceive itself as an individual entity. They say that beyond just being conscious, or aware of external stimuli, this means that you are aware that your body is seperate and under your control, which is bodily self awareness. Going deeper, there is more complex self awareness which means you can think about your own thoughts.

A common test used by scientists to investigate self awareness in animals is called the mirror self-recognition (or MSR) test. This is also sometimes called the mark test or red dot test. This test involves sedating an animal and placing an odorless mark on it somewhere they wouldn't normally be able to see. Then, when they wake up, they are given access to a mirror. If they notice the mark in their reflection, and try touch it or try to get it off, that is taken as a sign that the animal is self aware. They recognize themselves in the mirror and understand that that is not a different animal. 

So, how do cats do on the MSR? Do cats see their reflection? Can cats recognize their reflection?

According to catster.com, when the test is applied to cats, they may ignore the reflection, look behind the mirror to try to find the cat they see, or even act defensively to try to scare away the other cat they see. These are considered to be failures of the self recognition test. 

However, biologyinsights.com says these failures of the MSR test by cats might be a result of the way cats sense the world and may not provide the definitive answer for whether cats are self aware. They say cats rely much more heavily on their sense of smell and hearing than us humans do, and a reflection in a mirror doesn't provide any clues via sound or scent. So, if a cat can't recognize their reflection, it may just be because it's not an interesting enough stimulus for the cat to react to. Or, they might be confused by seeing something that they can't smell or hear. They also say that the vision of cats is optimized for low light, and movement, but that they tend to be nearsighted, so that objects closer than 10 inches from them can be blurry. This argues that the MSR might not be a fair test of self awareness for cats. 

Biologyinsights.com goes on to offer some other behaviors of cats that argue that cats do possess self awareness. One behavior they mention is grooming. Anyone who has been around cats knows that they spend a good portion of their day grooming themvelves. They learn this behavior from their mothers, and shows that they are aware of their own cleanliness. They also say it is a way of self soothing and comforting. This suggests that cats are aware of their own bodies. 

Further arguments that cats are self aware is that they have been shown to respond to their own names, and are good at judging how their bodies relate to their environment. For example, they can gauge how far to jump up onto the counter or the bed, can tell if they can squeeze through small spaces and can pounce on that mousey toy in the middle of the room. Even when playing, they'll react to actions taken by their playmates, whether another cat, or animal or human, which suggests they at least have a sense of bodily self awareness. 

And, all of this doesn't mean that cat's aren't smart! Catster.com offers some examples of other tests that show that cats are intelligent. For example, cats understand the concept of object permanence. If they knock their favorite toy under the couch, they understand that it still exists and hasn't just disappeared. They may even enlist your help to get their toy out from under there if they can't reach it. They also also capable of learning. If they do an action that leads to a desired effect, like they do something cute and get a treat. They can learn to do that action again in order to try to get that desired result again. 

Biologyinsights.com says that more research needs to be done, and that other tests that rely less on sight, and more on smell or sound might reveal more about cats and self awareness.