32 thoughts on “Crypsis in Felis silvestris catus”

  1. This is undoubtedly a case of behavioral phenotype matching rather than evolution to match the background

    Depends on how old that carpet is.

    1. Yeah, quite. This is clearly an example of a carpet evolving to match the Once and Future Kitteh, prolly so it doesn’t get clawed. Much.

      1. I really like this explanation. My question is, which came into the household first? — the cat or the carpet? Or did they arrive together?

  4. Is the domestic cat now offically a silvestris subspecies, rather than being marked as an official species? (So that the relationship is like that between wolves and dogs. Particularly considering silvestris and the housecat can and do completely interbreed.)

    By the way, Professor Ceiling Cat, did you see this? A lovely Tumblr essay on the self-domestication of the housecat, and the behaviours that have evolved from said self-domestication.

    1. There’s no way those stairs were carpeted in the 70s, there is no discernible wear on the carpet and the picture appears to have been taken with a phone. The carpet and photo are both recent.

      1. Which means (shudder) that you can still buy carpet like that and people CHOOSE to use it!

        1. That was my other thought, but it was too horrific to truly contemplate. I had successfully managed to repress it…until you had to go and post it….

          b&

          1. Sorry….here think of other thoughts, nice solid colours, butterflies, tasty deserts, those bike cops in Germany….oops sorry that was my thought…..kitties, bunnies, ocean waves.

          2. Daytime double-digit high temperatures?

            …nah…my imagination’s not quite that good. I might have to settle for imagining water coming out of the tap that’s almost as cold as what comes out of the door in the refrigerator….

            b&

      2. The carpet could have been installed in the 1970s, and then successfully repelled boarders both microscopic and macroscopic for some decades.
        But there also exists the possibility that the carpet is new, and was chosen to match the cat. “?”
        Who was it who came up with the phrase “as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs”? If the whole house is carpeted like that, then that kitteh has got some serious carpet-mining to do before s/he can sleep safely on a busy afternoon.

        1. I hadn’t heard that simile before. I hope to remember it to use in the future!

  7. Na uh! Evolution can’t be true because have you ever sawed a catstare the doG painted those stares one of those days of creation I don’t remember which exactly maybe the second probably sometime before the light was turned on.

    Pretty cat and I like the flooring because it matches the kitty.

  8. We have a one year old kitten – we adopted her from a local rescue organisation known as PALS – stands for Protecting Animal Life Society. In Canada she is known as a “tortie” – for tortoiseshell. She is identical to the cat shown above, except that ours does not have white paws – they are the same colour as the rest of her.

  9. Beautiful Beautiful kitty. In her invisible mode, too. We aren’t supposed to be able to see her!(As a tricolor she has to be a her — tricolors are never male.)

  10. I love the way cats find the place where they are camouflaged to sit. I have a Ragdoll who matches my couches and sits on them and a tabby who does his best with the Persian rug, it hides him remarkably well considering he isn’t actually covered in medallions!

    Going down the stairs in that house must be fraught with danger.

    1. Brilliant! It might even have been meant intentionally as such a metaphor…I wouldn’t be surprised if the artist lurks in this general vicinity….

      b&

  15. More likely the owner bought the carpet to match the cat. You know how weird these cat types are.

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