FIGURE 12-8 Innate Releasing Mechanism in Cats (A) Displaying the Halloween cat image stimulates defensive responses in cats–raised fur, arched backs, and bared teeth. This behavior appears at about 6 weeks of age in kittens who have never seen such a posture before. (B) The scrambled “Picasso cat ” evokes no response at all.

Courtesy of Arthur Nonneman and Bryan Kolb