Caught my cat staring at a car manual for 20 minutes straight

Yesterday I left the owner's manual for my 2009 Honda Civic on the couch and my tabby, Mabel, plopped right on top of it, nose pointed at a diagram of the brake system. She didn't move until I waved a treat bag, which made me wonder if she actually thinks those squiggly lines mean something. Does anyone else's pet sit like they're genuinely trying to decode the text, or is mine just really committed to the bit?

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beth5591mo ago

Oh man, I gotta say this totally changed my mind about cats and reading. I used to think they just stare at stuff because they're zoning out or whatever, but the way you described Mabel parked on that brake diagram really got me. My dog does the same thing with my laptop when I leave it open, he'll just sit there with his nose basically touching the keyboard like he's waiting for the words to make sense. Honestly I've caught him doing it for like 15 minutes straight before and I just assumed he liked the glow of the screen. Now I'm wondering if he's actually trying to figure out my email drafts and I'm just being rude by shooing him off. I don't know if they're actually learning anything but I think we've been underestimating how focused they can get on stuff we think is boring. Makes you wonder what else they're quietly absorbing when we're not looking.