quote:Cats leave food for their "masters" (hard to believe any cat thinks it has a master, in the way I understand it from the many I have owned). Maybe it is for all three reasons presented. As a gift, as a learning opportunity, and for random fun. Maybe, depending on the cat, it could be for all reasons at the same time. Who says the cats have to have only one reason for their behavior?
Actually, cats leave food for their kittens. By bringing us food, they are taking care of us.
(My cats just read what you said about "masters" and they are now over in the corner, nudging each other in the ribs and chuckling)
quote:Such convoluted structures do not have anything to do with the higher functions of the brain.
No, that's not true.
Humans have a greater brain surface to volume ratio than any other mammal.
That's because our cortex, which regulates all of our higher functions, takes up a much greater proportion of the human brain compared to other mammals.