The Japanese Internet has brought us lots of cat-related goodness. We’ve had Cat Island, as well as Fuu-chan, the troubled cat. And that’s not even mentioning the cutest partnership of all time, Granny and Fukumaru.
And now, the Japanese Internet, in its infinite wisdom, has brought us the answer to an age old question: Why are there no police cats?
You’ll never guess why. Read on to find out.
From Ameba News:
Why Are There No “Police Cats” When There Are Police Dogs?
Lemon, a crime-fighting cat.
Police dogs use their five sophisticated senses to track down and capture criminals. They even work as part of drugs investigation teams. We are often moved by the sight of a police dog obeying precise directions. So much so, that there are even those who say that since dogs never betray, they are more trustworthy than humans.
But on the other hand, you never really hear about “police cats”. It does seem that if a cat has extraordinary reflexes, then it could work in the police too, so why don’t police cats exist?
○ Reason 1: Cats Only Do What They Like
This must be the main reason there are no police cats. Basically, even if you give a cat an instruction, it won’t listen to you. In contrast with dogs, who are fundamentally pack animals, after a cat separates from its parent, it lives a solitary life, and as an animal it has no affinity for team playing. Even when cats started to live with humans, their personalities did not change, and fundamentally they still only do what they want, and what pleases them.
Unlike dogs, cats have no desire to be praised by humans, so it is no mean feat to get them to learn tricks. Plus, you can’t scold a cat because it has failed or done something bad. Because a cat won’t reflect on its actions. They don’t wonder to themselves ‘why was I scolded?’, they just feel stressed because they were scolded. It seems that the last thing cats, who go at their own pace, are suited to is police work, which requires strict order and endurance.
But that doesn’t mean that cats can’t learn tricks and routines. You can make them remember simple movements like “paw” and “roll over” using a tool that makes a clicking sound.
In the acclaimed Russian cat movie, “The Little Cat”, cats give a great performance. A Russian man called Andrei Kuznetsov, who guided the cats’ performance in the film explained that the trick of getting cats to perform: “Cats only do what they want to do, so it’s important to be creative in getting the cat to enjoy itself”. Those who think that “cats can’t do tricks!” should watch “The Little Cat”.
○ Reason 2: Their Sense Of Smell Is Not As Good As A Dog’s
They say that a dog’s sense of smell is 1,000,000 times better than that of a human. Dogs can detect a tiny grain of scent that is merely one millionth of something that a human would judge as “Oh, there’s a smell”. They can use this sense of smell in various areas of police work, such as tracking down criminals or discovering drugs at a port. Cats have better noses than humans too, but a dog wins every time.
Still, a cat’s special skill is its hearing. They can detect sounds at frequencies five times higher than humans can. But there are not many situations where cats can use their sense of hearing as police cats.
Plus, compared with a dog, cats are good at movements in vertical directions, namely climbing trees and jumping, but they don’t have many chances to use this talent. Indeed, for a cat to really use its abilities, it seems that it would only be suited to jobs such as eating mice after hearing them squeak and working in a warehouse where there is a need to climb up into the loft.
○ The US Did Train Spy Cats
It was revealed that in the 1960s, America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) did attempt to spy using cats. This was called the “Acoustic Kitty” project. Cats were fitted with small mics and antennae, and the CIA attempted to use them to eavesdrop in urban locations. When a spy cat had enough training, it was placed in a park near the old Soviet Embassy in Washington D.C., but the plan ended in failure.
When the cat approached a man who was having a conversation, it appears that it got run over by a taxi and died as a result. The Acoustic Kitty project met with severe criticism even within the US when it was announced, because the plan wasted around $20,000,000 and five years, and also because of ethical issues.
○ The Sole (?) Police Cat, Rusik
Tom-cat Rusik worked at a customs post set up along a smuggling route in the Southern Russian city of Stavropol, on the Caspian Sea. Rusik’s job was to check whether sturgeon or caviar had found its way into baggage. Rusik, who had been abandoned, was taken in by the head custom’s official at Stavropol, and was raised eating confiscated sturgeon.
For that reason, Rusik’s nose was better than the police dogs they used to use, since no one could beat this caviar-detecting police cat. In reality of course a dog’s sense of smell would be better, but if a cat has the motivation to find something that it likes to eat, then it will be much more serious about the search for caviar than a dog. How very cat-like.
Rusik, the Russian caviar-catcher
○ Summing Up
If cats were to work in the police, then it would definitely be on the condition that the job was enjoyable for the cat. Cats don’t do it if they don’t see the point. And if a place of work required a good sense of hearing and good reflexes, then a cat’s superiority could be shown.
Finally, I’d like to tell you about a cat from the South Pole, though he’s not a police cat. It is well known that in the story Antarctica, there were two Sakhalin dogs on the boat called Taro and Jiro, but in fact there was also a male tortoiseshell cat called Takeshi. Of course, Taro and Jiro’s job was to pull a sled, but it seems that Takeshi was just there to console the troops when they got to the Showa base. Indeed, rather than fulfil a practical task, cats are probably more suited to being in charge of consoling people.
■ Author Profile
Yamamoto Munenobu
Works as a vet. As assistant director of cat hospital “Syu Syu CAT Clinic”, he practices veterinary medicine. He will answer any queries you have relating to cats, including of course medical queries, in an accessible way. From time to time he posts on the cat blog “nekopedia”, which digs deeper into the mysteries that surround cats.
Tama, a Japanese station master.
Comments from Ameba News:
kuromitsu-milan(R357暴走Fever/)さん:
It doesn’t even matter if they’re a bit stupid as long as they’re cute…and as long as they can also be replacement hot-water bottles, and savor their food as they eat then I’m happy…and…to ask too much of a cat is just “nonsense”.
ColdSteel†はぐれメタラーさん:
Kitties are great just as they are! I don’t want cats to collaborate with the police! (-_-)
梅ちゃんさん:
Cats are free spirits, when we see them live following their hearts, it consoles us as humans. That’s why kitties are so cute. Police cat? Don’t talk nonsense!
研二の足の裏さん:
All cats do is go “miaow miaow” when they want food.
本間さん:
How about getting a cat to be station master? (*^o^*)
朱華さん:
I lolled at the title of this article, but I really recommend the Russian film “The Little Cat”. Even if you don’t like cats it’s a heartwarming film.
ひめかさん:
Isn’t it because cats act on their whims? That’s why they’re cute too, though.
三毛猫にゃんこさん:
Cats are really therapeutic.
詩野舞（チョビ）さん:
Cats are angels! Little demons! They console humans, then they manipulate them! But that’s fine with me!
優子さん:
I have a cat. And that’s all I need to console me. Isn’t that why nurse cats and station master cats are popular…?
ｍｙｒｉａさん:
For cats, being cute is their job.
美味しいおさるさん:
I love cat…
あずみさん:
Getting on your lap and snuggling up to you is enough (o^-‘)b ! Cute (=^ェ^=)
