なぜ猫は夜に「集会」を開くのか？何もせず座っているだけの謎を動物行動学で解く【動物行動学×生態学】
吾輩は、気になる猫である
94,951 views
In parking lots and shrine grounds at night, several cats gather and simply sit there without fighting: the “cat meeting.” Cats were supposed to be solitary hunters, so why do they go out of their way to gather at night?
From the perspectives of animal behavior and ecology, this video looks at the first detailed record of such gatherings in 1965, the feral cat survey on Ainoshima island in Fukuoka, a study that tracked 925 pet cats by GPS, “traffic control” done with the eyes, the rite of passage for newcomer tomcats, the meaning of slow blinks and grooming, and the legends of the “cat council” and the “dancing cats” of Odoriba in Yokohama, sorting everything into facts, hypotheses, and legends.
If you enjoyed the video, please subscribe and give it a like.
We will keep explaining “why things look the way they do” and “why people think the way they do” from the perspectives of cognitive science, psychology, mythology, and society.
[Timestamps]
0:00 Opening: the “dancing cats” legend of Odoriba
1:39 The scholar who recorded cat gatherings (a square in Paris)
3:29 Cats are not lone wolves (feral cat survey on Ainoshima)
5:11 Three yardsticks for judging why they gather
6:40 Cats' home ranges overlap (GPS studies)
8:13 Traffic control with the eyes
9:28 If you were a newcomer tomcat
10:41 Why they do nothing (slow blinks and grooming)
12:36 Why at night?
13:38 Separating facts, hypotheses, and legends
14:48 Summary
[Sources]
Leyhausen P (1965) The communal organization of solitary mammals. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 14.
伊澤雅子・土肥昭夫・小野勇一 / Izawa M, Doi T, Ono Y (1982) Grouping patterns of feral cats (Felis catus) living on a small island in Japan. Japanese Journal of Ecology 32(3):373–382. https://doi.org/10.18960/seitai.32.3_373
Liberg O (1980) Spacing patterns in a population of rural free roaming domestic cats. Oikos 35:336–349. https://doi.org/10.2307/3544649
Crowell-Davis SL, Curtis TM, Knowles RJ (2004) Social organization in the cat: a modern understanding. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 6(1):19–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfms.2003.0...
Kays R, Dunn RR, Parsons AW, et al. (2020) The small home ranges and large local ecological impacts of pet cats. Animal Conservation 23(5):516–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12563
Jensen HA, Meilby H, Nielsen SS, Sandøe P (2022) Movement Patterns of Roaming Companion Cats in Denmark—A Study Based on GPS Tracking. Animals 12(14):1748. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141748
Thomas RL, Baker PJ, Fellowes MDE (2014) Ranging characteristics of the domestic cat (Felis catus) in an urban environment. Urban Ecosystems 17:911–921. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-014-03...
van den Bos R (1998) The function of allogrooming in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus); a study in a group of cats living in confinement. Journal of Ethology 16:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02896348
Humphrey T, Proops L, Forman J, Spooner R, McComb K (2020) The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat–human communication. Scientific Reports 10:16503. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73...
踊場の地名の由来：国立国会図書館 レファレンス協同データベース「横浜にある地名の由来を知りたい。『舞岡』と『踊場』は舞台と関係ある地名なのか知りたい。」（参考資料『12万人の田園・交響曲 -泉区ふるさと白書-』横浜市泉区役所 1989年 p.60 ほか）
For readability, the sources are listed here in the description rather than in the video.
“About 85 cats in 3.6 hectares” is a rough estimate that simply applies the Ainoshima density (23.5 cats per hectare) to the average home range of pet cats. It does not show the actual number of cats in any town.
The reasons gatherings take place at night (fewer people, cats' eyes being good in the dark) have not been confirmed by research; they are presented as possible explanations.
This video is a summary based on my personal research. If you notice any errors or have additional information, I would be grateful if you let me know in the comments.
[Voice]
VOICEVOX:青山龍星
20 Comments
ネコも縄張りを主張するようになると面倒です。毎日見回りにきて、開いている窓から入ってきます。
追い払ってみました。
ネコを指さし、自分の足元を指さし、繰り返します。足元にやってきたら、ネコを指さし、次に遠くを指さし、繰り返します。
ネコがその方向に行きかけて、振り返って鳴きます。懲りずに指差しを繰り返します。
追い払われたことを理解し、ニャーと懐柔、あるいは怒りを示しても、怒らせない範囲で、ネコが諦めて立ち去るまで指差しを繰り返します。
20分くらいかかりました。それを見ていた近所の人が「ネコとお話してる」と噂を飛ばしました。
他のネコにも実施しようとすると、既に意図を理解しているようで、やっぱり自分もかという風に、走り去っていきました。
それから5年以上経過しましたが、近所に沢山いたネコを、今は全く見かけません。
ネコの集会で他の猫にも、嫌われていることを伝えてくれたんでしょう！高い知性がある証拠でしょう。
ネコに言いたいことがあれば、自分の気持ちを、穏やかにかつ正確に伝えることが大切なのですね。
近所のネコ(全員飼い猫)４人と私の飼い猫の５人で、眠っている私の布団を囲んで、ケンカもせずグルグル言ってました😺
引っ越して半年ほど経った頃に、
どうやって知り合ったのか解らない（完全室内だったので）のだけれど、
友達猫さんができてそれ以来、うちの庭が集会会場に😅
月に数回、カーテンを開けて。と言うので開けたら、沓脱ぎに友達猫さんが、庭のあちこちに計6匹の猫さんが…
暫くすると解散。
声も立てず、動きもしない。
不思議な集会でした。
なぜ猫は夜に「集会」を開くのか？何もせず座っているだけの謎を動物行動学で解く【動物行動学×生態学】
吾輩は、気になる猫である
94,951 views
In parking lots and shrine grounds at night, several cats gather and simply sit there without fighting: the “cat meeting.” Cats were supposed to be solitary hunters, so why do they go out of their way to gather at night?
From the perspectives of animal behavior and ecology, this video looks at the first detailed record of such gatherings in 1965, the feral cat survey on Ainoshima island in Fukuoka, a study that tracked 925 pet cats by GPS, “traffic control” done with the eyes, the rite of passage for newcomer tomcats, the meaning of slow blinks and grooming, and the legends of the “cat council” and the “dancing cats” of Odoriba in Yokohama, sorting everything into facts, hypotheses, and legends.
If you enjoyed the video, please subscribe and give it a like.
We will keep explaining “why things look the way they do” and “why people think the way they do” from the perspectives of cognitive science, psychology, mythology, and society.
[Timestamps]
0:00 Opening: the “dancing cats” legend of Odoriba
1:39 The scholar who recorded cat gatherings (a square in Paris)
3:29 Cats are not lone wolves (feral cat survey on Ainoshima)
5:11 Three yardsticks for judging why they gather
6:40 Cats' home ranges overlap (GPS studies)
8:13 Traffic control with the eyes
9:28 If you were a newcomer tomcat
10:41 Why they do nothing (slow blinks and grooming)
12:36 Why at night?
13:38 Separating facts, hypotheses, and legends
14:48 Summary
[Sources]
Leyhausen P (1965) The communal organization of solitary mammals. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 14.
伊澤雅子・土肥昭夫・小野勇一 / Izawa M, Doi T, Ono Y (1982) Grouping patterns of feral cats (Felis catus) living on a small island in Japan. Japanese Journal of Ecology 32(3):373–382. https://doi.org/10.18960/seitai.32.3_373
Liberg O (1980) Spacing patterns in a population of rural free roaming domestic cats. Oikos 35:336–349. https://doi.org/10.2307/3544649
Crowell-Davis SL, Curtis TM, Knowles RJ (2004) Social organization in the cat: a modern understanding. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 6(1):19–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfms.2003.0...
Kays R, Dunn RR, Parsons AW, et al. (2020) The small home ranges and large local ecological impacts of pet cats. Animal Conservation 23(5):516–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12563
Jensen HA, Meilby H, Nielsen SS, Sandøe P (2022) Movement Patterns of Roaming Companion Cats in Denmark—A Study Based on GPS Tracking. Animals 12(14):1748. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141748
Thomas RL, Baker PJ, Fellowes MDE (2014) Ranging characteristics of the domestic cat (Felis catus) in an urban environment. Urban Ecosystems 17:911–921. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-014-03...
van den Bos R (1998) The function of allogrooming in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus); a study in a group of cats living in confinement. Journal of Ethology 16:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02896348
Humphrey T, Proops L, Forman J, Spooner R, McComb K (2020) The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat–human communication. Scientific Reports 10:16503. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73...
踊場の地名の由来：国立国会図書館 レファレンス協同データベース「横浜にある地名の由来を知りたい。『舞岡』と『踊場』は舞台と関係ある地名なのか知りたい。」（参考資料『12万人の田園・交響曲 -泉区ふるさと白書-』横浜市泉区役所 1989年 p.60 ほか）
For readability, the sources are listed here in the description rather than in the video.
“About 85 cats in 3.6 hectares” is a rough estimate that simply applies the Ainoshima density (23.5 cats per hectare) to the average home range of pet cats. It does not show the actual number of cats in any town.
The reasons gatherings take place at night (fewer people, cats' eyes being good in the dark) have not been confirmed by research; they are presented as possible explanations.
This video is a summary based on my personal research. If you notice any errors or have additional information, I would be grateful if you let me know in the comments.
[Voice]
VOICEVOX:青山龍星