In stark contrast, the time-dependent Schrödinger equation is completely determinate, with the superposition explicitly known as a function of time. This can, in concept, be exhibited by selecting "show quantum superposition," but it is, in fact, inaccessible to human perception!

The current consensus on Schrödinger's cat is that such quantum superposition cannot occur on a macroscopic level (the cat actually knows what is happening) because of decoherence. (Proponents of the "many-worlds interpretation" of quantum mechanics would argue that all possible outcomes do occur, thereby creating parallel universes.) In any event, on an atomic level, possibly within the feline's catnip receptors, quantum superposition can still occur. Numerous experiments on atomic ions have since been able to detect interference between wavepackets representing a single microscopic system in separated regions of space. (Inevitably, some such entities have been dubbed Schrödinger's cations.)