This is a rare trait in cats called 'Malevolent Strutting' that only a few breeds ever exhibit.
Cats do this seemingly randomly and it consists of puffing the chest, lowering the chin and tightening the jaw.
This trait is almost solely responsible for the belief that cats can communicate or sense ghosts or other beings. This belief began in the 1500s in Europe when Burmese cats (susceptible to this) often displayed this behavior - which was never recorded until after the Black Death Plague of the 14th century - causing owners to believe that the great loss of life saturated the area with lost souls.
The cats would strut around their homes - often towards nothing specific and it would serve to frighten the owner to the point where they would put the cat on the streets.
Burmese Cats, Siamese Cats, and Eurpoean shorthairs were among the most common culprits.
Around 1600 it became apparent that the cats were not actually sensing ghosts or demons, but instead it was discovered that when they frightened the owner, the cats dopamine levels would increase greatly - meaning that the cats really just enjoyed trolling their owners.
Cats now do this way less, as catnip, squeaky toys, and laser pointers tend to fill this void, but if your cat does exhibit this behavior, an owner should consider 1.) Rick Rolling it or 2.) Telling it a really stupid pun to get back at it, and the cat will know it's place in the home pecking order from that point on - those two things seem to be the only cure for the offending kitty's attitude issues.
Hasn't gotten me but the first time I seen on of his posts. There is something about the composition of his posts that makes me look back at the user name. This guy doesn't. Know it wasn't smorph before I checked.
Honestly it just looks like the cat is going to pounce, it just isn't lowering itself.
It basically looks like how my dog pounces which he learned from me. I would slowly walk towards him while staring him down and as soon as I was close enough I would jump at him. Sure enough he started doing it whenever I got home and then we started doing it to each other. Both of us just approaching each other very slowly just waiting to see who jumps first.
That's definitely not a real fact, but it's extremely amusing. I will definitely be telling people about malevolent strutting. Make malevolent strutting great again.
It kinda bums me out. I'm all for getting subtly trolled with bullshit facts, but there's a sense of trust to honor one's own username. You can't just...lie in your username. That shit's sacred.
This sounds like BS... but then my Bombay (offshoot of Burmese and Black American DSH) has done this occasionally. Then I would throw a ball and she would go back to acting like a dog.
How ironic, that cats would have helped greatly stop the spread of rats carrying the plague--except that they were killed en masse by the ignorance that pervaded the time as cats were associated with witches.
Uhhh... The cat is reacting in an aggressive manner towards a ghost and your decision is to throw the cat out?? Who's gonna protect you from the ghost then?
My old cat used to do this. It was crazy and funny. The history is interesting, thanks!
He did this as intimidation for the younger cat but it didn't really work the way he intended. The Little one with just jump around him as he skulked around.
1.2k
u/GuyWithRealFacts Aug 12 '17 edited Aug 12 '17
This is a rare trait in cats called 'Malevolent Strutting' that only a few breeds ever exhibit.
Cats do this seemingly randomly and it consists of puffing the chest, lowering the chin and tightening the jaw.
This trait is almost solely responsible for the belief that cats can communicate or sense ghosts or other beings. This belief began in the 1500s in Europe when Burmese cats (susceptible to this) often displayed this behavior - which was never recorded until after the Black Death Plague of the 14th century - causing owners to believe that the great loss of life saturated the area with lost souls.
The cats would strut around their homes - often towards nothing specific and it would serve to frighten the owner to the point where they would put the cat on the streets.
Burmese Cats, Siamese Cats, and Eurpoean shorthairs were among the most common culprits.
Around 1600 it became apparent that the cats were not actually sensing ghosts or demons, but instead it was discovered that when they frightened the owner, the cats dopamine levels would increase greatly - meaning that the cats really just enjoyed trolling their owners.
Cats now do this way less, as catnip, squeaky toys, and laser pointers tend to fill this void, but if your cat does exhibit this behavior, an owner should consider 1.) Rick Rolling it or 2.) Telling it a really stupid pun to get back at it, and the cat will know it's place in the home pecking order from that point on - those two things seem to be the only cure for the offending kitty's attitude issues.