Image: Screen Shot via Google Books
While Chester might not have truly written a physics paper, according to certified cat behavior consultant and animal behavior researcher Mikel Delgado, cats are pretty smart creatures who like to experiment with their environment. Maybe they’re all just physicists wrapped in fur.
“I think that all animals are intelligent because they’re still present on the planet, despite humans screwing up their environment and that they’re good at particular things,” Delgado told Gizmodo. “Cats are good at predation and predicting moves of their prey and being successful hunters. They can also exploit human resources and survive without us.”
Cat owners are keenly aware of their cats’ “physics experiments,” which usually involve knocking things over for no apparent reason.
“I think things that knock things off shelves are usually bored,” Delgado said. “They’re looking to see if they can get something in their environment to interact with them, and often, when they knock things off shelves, a lot of people will notice that the cat is usually staring right at them.” Apparently, cats do this because they’ve learned to get our attention, so clearly, they understand response to stimuli. Cats would use science for mischief.
Though F.D.C. Willard has long since died, his legacy endures. Hopefully, more scientists will follow in Hetherington’s footsteps because honestly, physics needs more cats.
“I think more scientists might want to credit their cats for helping,” Delgado said.