Object permanence in domestic cats (Felis catus) using violation-of-expectancy by owner and stranger

Abstract

Object permanence, the understanding that objects continue to exist while out of sight, is a key part of the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development. Cats have been shown to reach Stage 5 object permanence by passing successive visible displacement tests, but their understanding of Stage 6 object permanence is less clear. We tested 18 domestic cats on their understanding of Stage 4 and Stage 6 of object permanence in their home environment. Additionally, we investigated how person familiarity may influence study engagement. In single visible displacement (SVD) tests, the box manipulator (owner or researcher) hid a toy in one of two cardboard boxes for the cat to find. In invisible displacement (IVD) tests, we implemented a violation-of-expectancy procedure in which the box manipulator showed a toy re-appearing out of either a) the same box it was hidden in (consistent trials) or b) the box it was not hidden in (violation trials). Approximately half of the cats (56%) did not find the hidden toy in SVD trials, with 42% of these cats not attempting to find the toy, despite previous research demonstrating that cats can retrieve hidden objects in successive SVD tests. None of our predictors significantly influenced whether cats found the toy, or which box was checked first (toy or empty box). In IVD trials, we unexpectedly found that cats were more likely to play with the toy and displayed more toy box-directed behaviours in consistent trials than violation trials. Similarly, we found that cats were more likely to display box-directed behaviours in trials where the researcher acted as the box manipulator. Breed, outdoor access, cat sex, and the first person to act as the box manipulator also influenced toy-directed behaviours. We discuss the complexity of person familiarity in research contexts and highlight some methodological challenges in studying cat cognition.

Fig 1. Screenshots of the experimental setup in one owner’s home during a violation trial.

The first camera was positioned facing the inside of the boxes (a) and a second camera was positioned facing the outside of the boxes (b). The manipulator (owner) is sat behind the open side of the boxes. The bystander (researcher) is sat behind the outside of the boxes. The cat is gazing at the toy placed on top of one of the boxes.

Fig 2. Forest plot depicting experimental and lifestyle predictors for whether a cat played with the toy in event trials.

Significant predictors have p < .05. The squares and bars represent the odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Odds ratios calculated by exponentiating the log odds from multivariate logistic regression model.