Sometimes I wonder what the fuck these so-called scientists think they are 'discovering'.

[lil_shepherd]

What sort of researchers are these people on the Beeb researching cat behaviour who are telling viewers things that EVERY SINGLE CAT BREEDER has known for years? Yes, related queens feed each other's kittens and actually steal them, yes the tail-up signal has been known for years and years and we have all seen it used with both other cats and

Comments

[cmcmck]

It's true in so many fields.

The fact that trans women have the same basic brain structures as other women seems to be 'discovered' by scientists every five years or so...........

Lord defend us from 'experts'!

[dickgloucester]

I love you!

[lil_shepherd]

Ah, yes, but, unfortunately for that excuse, the work had been done by scientists many years ago. It was old when Desmond Morris wrote "Catwatching" in the 1980s (and he's a pretty respectable scientist) and converted it to a TV programme shortly afterwards.

[dickgloucester]

Interestingly, we have observed how male cats will tolerate and teach kittens/young cats in their house and even in their near neighbourhood. A cat I grew up with brought up several kittens. In France, Mr H was tolerated and taught by a neighbour's cat until he was a year old, and then he in turn tolerated and taught the neighbour's newest kitten until he was a year old. One year seems to be the age of "you've graduated and now you're fair game"...

[coth]

I'm noticing this in fiction too. Every five years or so someone comes along and writes Rome or Egypt or Athens in fiction for a new generation. It's always new to someone, even if all they do is recycle old knowledge.

[lil_shepherd]

Blimey, yes!

What's even worse are the literary authors who think they have had a brand new idea that has been a trope in SF for years and years.