Cats VS Cucumber Facts infographic
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Caturday Cats VS Cucumbers Infographic

If you love cats, sharing makes us purrrr :-)

Last summer a Japanese video about a cat leaping in fear from seeing a cucumber went viral and last week a second wave of Cat Vs Cucumber videos went viral again. There was speculation about cats being startled by cucumbers because they resemble snakes but it doesn’t explain the behavior. In all the videos the cats are eating and the cucumber is placed behind their backs. When they turn around they are startled to see the cucumber but there are videos of cats being scared of bananas, stray socks and any number of random objects. There are also plenty of boring non-viral videos of cats not reacting to cucumbers or behaving in a playful manner. So, if you have hopes of your cat becoming the next Internet sensation, don’t bother.

Why?

If your cat is relaxed and well adjusted, chances are they will react like these cats. They didn’t even sniff at the cucumber, let alone jump 6 feet in the air.


A more skittish cat may react with a strong fear response which can spiral into other fears and phobias. Not worth the cheap trick or laugh or their expense. While browsing on YouTube, in bed, I found videos of cats being deliberately scared with foreign objects, spooky masks responding with a defensive yowl while their human howled with laughter. One cat yowled so loudly, Domino who was peacefully lying at my feet, jumped up looked in the direction of the sound and growled. I clicked the video off and reassured Domino who remained alert and refused to go back into slumber mode. Sadly, as long as humans think it’s fair game to exploit animals for laughs, this mania for viral cat videos will continue.

I made this shareable infographic to weed out facts from fallacy. Hopefully if it makes even a few people change their minds about scaring cats, it’s worth it.

Cats VS Cucumber Facts infographic

 

 

 

13 Comments

  • Angel Ms. Phoebe's Family

    I agree with you 100% on this one and was disgusted to see the glee in the eyes of people who showed me this, many saying they wanted to try it on their cats. I didn’t understand at first why some cats were scared until watching a second one and realized it was because they were not expecting anything to be there, especially in the comfort zone of eating.
    I do believe Deb is right in that not everyone who finds these funny is mean, but just uneducated about the bad effects that could result. That’s why your post is so important and infographic perfect to share- which I will be doing! Thank You.

  • Flynn

    My mum tries to make sure that nothing frightens me because I do get nervous quite easily. If she thinks I am getting uneasy about something, she picks me up and reassures me.
    You asked how Flynn got on at the vet. I put an update on last Wednesday’s post but will repeat it on tomorrow’s as well. Over all the vet is pleased with how well he is looking. Heart and BP good, but he has another UTI. I know that being more susceptible to infection is the downside of being on pred., but it is the only thing that he has been able to tolerate that is keeping his T4 from going through the roof. The dose is low (1mg twice daily) and while I would prefer he didn’t have to take them, it is weighing the pros against the cons. I have tried natural products but even they reacted badly with him.

  • Deb Barnes - Zee and Zoey

    This is one of the lessons I took away from the #BetterwithPets Summit – sometimes people don’t necessarily know what they are doing is harmful and it is up to those of us that do know, to politely educate. Thank you for this great infograph – hopefully it will help the situation.

  • Skeeter and Izzy

    Why do we as humans insist on being so utterly stupid? There are certainly enough things for animals to be frightened of without people adding to the list. Perhaps the biggest thing that they need to fear is us. This is sadly one way that the internet can be so bad.
    Luvs to all,
    Skeeter and Izzy and the Feral Gang + Twig & Peanut & Romeo and the Angels >^..^^..^<~

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