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Given my cat has figured out how to open three different kinds of doors (handle, slidding, and even knob) I'm sure they can figure that out.

Hell, my cat seems close to figuring out how to turn on our fire place. She goes and sits by the switch (out of her reach) and meows until we turn it on, then runs across the room to lay by it.

I'm confident given sometime they can count as well. Likely this would help them catch mice and what not, if they know how many there are.

Sounds like she isn't close to figuring it out, she already has :)

Definitely - the easiest way to get something done is to have someone else to do it. Taming is a two-way process.

The cat I had growing up had similar skills with doors, among other annoyingly intelligent behaviors. The only thing saving us from world wide cat domination is that cats aren't particularly social and don't really teach their young these skills.

> world wide cat domination

I'm careful to never let my cat have access to my computer. Otherwise she'd get on the Intercat and plot the Cat-astrophe.

It might already be too late: http://infinitecat.com/infinite/cat1.html

I can see some evolutionary advantages for a predatory animal like the cat in being able to subitize[1] (I suppose cats are also small enough to be prey themselves historically, so just as useful to count threats as opportunities). My cat like to turn on my bathroom faucet to play with the water, and will often unscrew the drain stopper once he's bored with that. I have to keep the drains closed and wire ties on the taps...

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subitizing

Historically? Round us, there are various predators (wild and feral) that would happily feed on a cat - hawks, owls, goannas, snakes, foxes, wild dogs. Mainly nocturnal, we keep our cats in at night (so they don't prey on native nocturnals themselves too). Plus our dogs roam the home yard, which helps keep predators at bay. We've had sheep killed though, and chickens, plus a rabbit that only has one ear left. People sometimes talk about a "natural death" as if it is some kind of peaceful alternative - but most deaths in nature involve being eaten alive by another animal.

How do you know the cat isn't merely opting for the bowl that most-recently had food put in? Can you please test this and get back to us?

I think this actually calls for a whole series of tests. Feel free to do a "show HN" with your test plan.

Because the cat doesn't switch bowls unless a bowl gets >2 scoops.

One way to test this would be to use a scoop that's 2x bigger than the other scoop, and putting in 3 scoops using the smaller scoop vs. 2 scoops of the bigger scoop.

Tried that by using three half-ish full scoops against two full scoops. He always goes to the bowl which has had the highest number of scoops in it, even though it might actually have a lower quantity of food in it. He seems to be counting rather than comparing quantity, because his trigger is the other bowl getting +1 scoop versus his.

Can we measure when he loses count by using many small scoops? I expect if his current bowl has passed a certain threshold of scoops he won't bother switching no matter how many scoops are going there.

Bowls aren't that large y'know

You need a tall but narrow scoop and a short but wide one (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_(psychology)#Li...)

I've tried to catch him out like that with a couple of variation, and he always sticks with the bowl with most scoops. I'll put a single scoop in his bowl -- which he starts to eat straight away -- then three scoops in the other bowl, then a final scoop in his. He stays with the other bowl, which has had one extra scoop of food, even though his own bowl has had the most recent scoop added to it.

If I put two scoops into his bowl, and two into the other, he stays with his bowl. He only switches when a third scoop goes into the other bowl. He's been consistent with this since I noticed him doing it, and I'm not sure how long before I noticed he was doing it that he started doing it.

Thanks for the good science!

Clever Hans Effect

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_Hans

It's definitely possible that's what's happening. He's never looking at me when he does it -- he's always eating, facing away from me, and I'm placing scoops into the bowls from behind him. I don't rule out that I'm reading too much into it, or seeing something that isn't there; I've tried to be 'scientific' about it, but I'm under no illusion that what I'm doing is in any way hard-scientific.

Would the cat be able to keep tracking of 3 or more bowls?

what if he is just switching because there is more in the other bowl?