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Computing the volume of a cat

Cat volume computation
How do you compute the volume of a cat?

Dunking it in water doesn't work-- you only get the volume of the rat-like creature that lives inside the cat; much like the feeble alien within a Dalek. (And, if your answer had anything to do with contour integrals, get real.)

Here is a low-tech method that works: Using successive approximation, determine the smallest box that the cat will fully enclose itself in, and measure the size of that box. Cats tend to leave a few appendages hanging out of the corners-- you may need to assist with folding the cat into the box for the final stages of approximation.

This cat is approximately 648 cubic inches in volume.

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Neatorama » Blog Archive » Computing the Volume of a Cat.
Tracked on Monday, July 09 2007 @ 11:04 AM PDT
How to Measure a Cat's Volume from Needcoffee.com
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Tracked on Friday, July 20 2007 @ 05:23 AM PDT
Geek Drivel >> Blog Archive >> “Computing the Volume of a Cat”
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Computing the volume of a cat | 25 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Monday, July 09 2007 @ 05:41 PM PDT
Lenore -- I was tempted to try & get this re-posted on Cute Overload (http://www.cuteoverload.com) but it's stiff competition there and more strictly about Teh Qte™.

I did put it on my own Vox page, though: http://teho.vox.com/

- Theo
Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Monday, July 09 2007 @ 07:27 PM PDT
Hmm. Judging by how well cats can shrink to get into someplace you don't want, or at least expect them, and then expand to cover the entire bed or floor, I'd say that the volume of a cat is a perpetual variable.
Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Monday, July 09 2007 @ 07:46 PM PDT
alternatively "the cat" could become a standard measurement for boxes. Like that box would be one cat and a fridge box would be 53 cats.
-Mattyfu
Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 10 2007 @ 11:06 AM PDT
By immersing the cat-filled box in water, you could also calculate volume easily.
Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 10 2007 @ 11:51 AM PDT
is it possible to cook a cat via electrocution, i wonder?
Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Wednesday, January 16 2008 @ 04:46 AM PDT
XKCD, as always, has a comic that's appropriate here:

http://xkcd.com/26/
Computing the volume of a cat
From: cab1729 on Wednesday, January 23 2008 @ 10:27 AM PDT
just make sure before you put the cat in the box, there's no radioactive particles, a geiger counter and a flask of hydrocyanic acid already in there...
Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 29 2008 @ 07:52 PM PDT
I would say cats are highly variable in all measurements. Mine apparently has a minimum volume of only 0.17 ft^3, but can expand to cover an entire bed, squash himself under furniture only 2 inches off the floor, and yet can still manage to put noseprints 4 1/2 feet above the ground on pane of glass! His weight seems to fluctuate wildly too, depending if he's sneaking onto the countertop or stomping across my face at 3am.
Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Friday, February 29 2008 @ 12:13 AM PDT
Cats are a liquid. They completely fill any object into which they are placed.
Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Thursday, April 03 2008 @ 01:12 PM PDT
You could place cat into a wet suit and lower into water to get the crucial volume measurement. Don't forget to remove cat from water, wet suit (trash bag w/ straw air pipe) in roughly that order.

But that's only if you must use water. How about using cat chow or wood chips?

Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Monday, April 07 2008 @ 08:29 AM PDT
Well actually, the method that you've outlined would be pretty hard for me to follow. My cat thinks he's a dog, so he doesn't really like being put in a box, and since he's really agile, it'd be pretty hard for someone to force him in against his will!

Computing the volume of a cat
From: Anonymous on Friday, April 18 2008 @ 03:14 PM PDT
Consider a spherical cat ....