This may be a rather odd question :-) but I'm going to ask it anyhow. I don't think that ours can possibly be the only cat on the planet who enjoys watching TV? Have you noticed your cats paying attention to certain programs or types of movements on the TV screen? Our cat used to sit in front of the TV when a few shows or channels were on... The Weather Station, SpongeBob Squarepants, and Dora the Explorer. What a combination!
When we got rid of the cable late last year because no one was watching TV any longer (well at least no humans!) I noticed that the cat often sat there expecting us to turn it on... but there was nothing to see. I bought a video of butterflies as an experiment and sure enough she sits there and watches it when I play it now. There's one certain part of it, caterpillars crawling on leaves, where she always goes right up to the screen and is fixated. That's the only part of the video she'll do that for!
What has your experience with cats and the TV been?
Actually, you know what? I've never noticed it before, but yes, my cat DOES enjoy watching TV. Wow. She loves sitting in my parents TV room. She'll sit in one of the chairs in there for hours on end, just staring at the TV. It doesn't even need to be on for her to do it. I always knew she loved that room, but the more I think about it her favorite rooms-and spots-have been those with a commonly watched TV. That may explain why she no longer sleeps with me and only with my sister. Huh. Pretty interesting. I wonder why that is? Perhaps they just enjoy the moving colors and nice noises.
It might also explain her fascination with my computer, since I'm always on it. She enjoys laying on my keyboard and watching me play games. A few, like Crysis, she would actively watch (sometimes she talks while doing it, it's pretty funny) Ever since I got my new headsets she hasn't done it anymore, though. So perhaps it has something more to do with the sounds?
My cat definitely likes to watch TV! Usually the more action-packed the show or movie is, the more it captures her attention. She'll sit right in the middle of the floor and stare at the screen. She's also very captivated by the cursor on the Wii menu. She likes watching video games, too!
(06-01-2013, 04:42 PM)maelstrom Wrote: It might also explain her fascination with my computer, since I'm always on it. She enjoys laying on my keyboard and watching me play games.
One of my cats does this, too. She'll often lie right on the keyboard or in front of it, making typing all but impossible. She's too cute to kick off, though, unless I have to work If I'm chatting, my friends now know to say hello to my cat anytime they see /.'.;'./ or some other random keystrokes show up in their chat! Funnily enough, if you're on Skype and hold down three keys at the same time, an icon of a cat walking over a keyboard shows up. Very accurate!
I don't have a TV, but I'm often watching shows on my second monitor. My cat loves sitting in front of it, patting the screen and meowing when something gets her attention. If I'm not using the monitor, I'll even put on some Cat TV for her. Bizarrely enough, she seems especially fond of the Rocky Horror Picture Show! If I ever pop in my DVD, I know she'll be in front of the monitor within a few minutes, hitting the screen anytime there's a lot of movement.
My current cat named Boba shows very little interest unless my husband is playing a video game where the charactors are moving quickly acrossed the screen. She will jump up on the entertainment center and bat her paws at the screen. Other than that though, she won't even aknowledge it if I put YouTube videos of meowing cats on.
My mothers two cats on the other hand, they constantly appear to be literally watching tv with my dad. They sit right up on the edge of the couch and just stare at it. Sometimes their eyes get huge and bob back and forth like they are following whatever is moving. The dogs could care less though. They never show an ounce of interest.
I don't watch television but when I watch a movie I definitely notice my cats taking an interest. One of my cats will curl up against the the monitor to soak up the heat, but the other one I've caught watching parts of a movie, she also likes watching the cursor on the computer move as well. Has anyone tried the cat tv dvds? I have played videos of cats from Youtube to see how mine would react. They both seem to be really interested in videos that have cats doing little meows.
This is interesting. I do not remember my cat doing this when she was alive or perhaps she never had the chance because she was always outside. I would like to see a cat do this. I will probably check out my friend's cat when I go to her place. I have always thought cat's were wonderful. I wonder how they see things on TVs. Do they see them in full color? Do they actually recognize the things on TV? If there was a fish on TV will they recognize it as something they eat?
We notice this as well when my wife and I do marathons on TV series. The cats are with us by the sofa and they seem to enjoy 24, Dexter, Game of Thrones, or any series for that matter. Strangely enough, they are not as attentive when we put on a movie. It's the same setting, some chips and soda by our side and maybe some alcoholic beverages occasionally. I'm theorizing that maybe they take on our attention level when watching. Movies are like casual entertainment, while TV series are something that require your attention lest you lose track of the story.
Our cats have never displayed this behavior, but it was fun for me to read about it. I can see your furry friends checking things out! No surprise that they like the movement, but kind of cool that the caterpillar is a particular point of interest!!
Only one of my cats seems to occasionally become interested in what's going on on my screen. She'll only watch it for a few minutes, before she quickly loses interest. However both of them love to play around with my keyboard, lol, especially when I am trying to get something done. That's the moment when they decide to jump up on my desk and pace back and forth across my keyboard (typing all kinds of gibberish) vying for my attention.
Cats and TVs... Have You Noticed? 
If I'm chatting, my friends now know to say hello to my cat anytime they see /.'.;'./ or some other random keystrokes show up in their chat! Funnily enough, if you're on Skype and hold down three keys at the same time, an icon of a cat walking over a keyboard shows up. Very accurate!