Apparently when something interests you, the best way to figure it out is to smack it really hard, and repeatedly. If you're a cat, at least.
h/t @ferrisjabr
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Do cats have self recognition? This video suggests they might not, at least in terms of passing the mirror recognition task. But, well, this isn't really the mirror recognition task. And the mirror recognition task may not be the best way to test self recognition in cats.
I think hitting hard has to do with the perceived size of the thing. In contrast, a first encounter with a ping pong ball would be a light tap. A cat will tap a little puppy, but slug a big dog.
I'm tempted to buy a treadmill just to see how my cats will react.
Your YouTube link doesn't seem to work any more, but I think this is the same video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeYKqRRKpDo
Damn, it's been removed "due to terms of use violation". Bum.
Thanks to Laura (@2), the evil cats are back messing with the treadmill.
I saw a range of different touches - the poke and back off (which didn't look like a hard strike to begin with) is the first, which makes sense if they're expecting things to try to counterattack. I particularly liked the black-and-white cat trying to hold the belt back.
When in doubt, groom!