Adoring cat owners have admitted feeling baffled by their pets' behaviour ranging from fetching dead animals to their fondness for attacking feet.
A poll of 2,000 cat owners revealed 47% 'don't get' their furry friend - with 87% feeling stumped by their quirky behaviours. The most confusing behaviour listed was the feline's superpower of being able to differentiate the opening of a treat packet over a salad bag.
Designed to encourage cat adoption, rescue charity The Scratching Post says the research comes amid an "incredibly challenging" time as more owners are forced to abandon their pets due to the cost of living crisis, the Mirror reports.
Susan Delaney, founder of The Scratching Post, said: "The past few months have been incredibly challenging for rescue charities. Shelters have always struggled with abandonment, however the cost of living crisis has definitely contributed to more people having to part ways with their pets.
"Adoptions have also been impacting, reducing by 40% since pre-pandemic levels, which unfortunately is causing rehoming centres to hit crisis point. It was fun to showcase the personalities of our cats that are available for adoption, whilst also celebrating global fashion weeks."
Research commissioned by Wisdom Panel shows that despite their strange ways, 65% wouldn't change a thing about their fluffy friend, with 53% finding most things they do hilarious.
Other bizarre cat behaviours baffling Brits include their obsession with empty boxes, why they lie down on clothes you’ve laid on the bed to wear – and their fussiness over food brands.
Their persistent clawing of furniture instead of scratching posts and random outbreak of five-minute 'zoomies' also featured on the top 30 list of weirdest cat traits.
The mystery of how they can suddenly go from cuddling to 'attack mode' with seemingly no warning also appeared on the list. The average cat-owner has four felines in their lifetime with 39% admitting their current one is their ‘best friend’.
Unsurprisingly, 56% admit they find it hard to resist treating their own cat despite over a third (36%) suspecting it goes from house-to house hoovering up other people's offerings.
More than half (55%) believe each cat has many different personalities with 52% wishing they could speak with their cat if it somehow managed to learn their language. And according to the OnePoll study, almost half (48%) go as far as 'meowing' back as a way of communicating.
The DNA testing company has launched a 'catwalk' DNA kit. Georgina Richardson, head of Wisdom Panel UK, said: "Each feline catwalk model was tested with our new DNA kits - screening for 70+ breeds and populations, 45+ genetic health conditions, blood type and 25+ physical trait tests.
"We were thrilled to have ITV This Morning's vet Dr Scott Miller present the results at the event, uncovering the unique traits and genetic makeup of each rescue cat.
"We really want to encourage potential cat-owners to consider adoption and to do it properly by DNA testing them first in order to truly understand them."
Top 30 things cats do that baffle their owners
- How they can tell the difference between the treat packet opening and something that's of no interest to them like a bag of salad
- Why they ignore their scratching posts and go for the furniture instead
- Why they get 'zoomies' at random times and seem to go absolute mad for five minutes
- Why they meow at you when you're eating, seemingly asking for some of your food, and when you give it to them, they just ignore it
- Why they constantly seem to try and get in places you don't want them to, like cupboards or under the bed
- How they comfortable sitting in really uncomfy looking places
- Where they go when they're out the house
- Why they always seem to lie down on clothes you've laid out to wear
- Their obsession with empty boxes
- Why they suddenly go from purring and cuddling to 'attack mode'
- Why they'll eat one brand of food and not another
- Why they seem to lie on their back and ask for a tickle, then attack the tickler
- Why they get out of staring aimlessly out of the window for hours
- Why they choose 3am as the optimum time to sprint around the house at top speed
- Why they insist on bringing in dead animals
- Why they stare at you for long periods of time
- Why they try to fit themselves into a box of any size
- Why they seem to adore certain houseguests and hate others
- How they can nap in such weird places
- Why they seem to get on with some cats, and not others
- Why they always knock things off the side
- Why they rub their head against you when you're working
- How they can squeeze themselves through the tiniest gaps
- The weird noises they make if they end up in a cat fight
- Why they drag treats like chicken bones off to them in private
- Why they run away at the sight of a person
- Why they need such ridiculously sharp claws
- Why they attack your feet for no reason
- Why they play with hair bands etc. and ignore their actual toys
- Why they can't resist string
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