Can cats be trapped by drawing circles on the ground?

Although domestic cats have been domesticated by us, are cats at home really obedient? We will still see cats making untimely noises and running around at home, and we will still be extremely annoyed when our cats get into trouble and we want to catch them but can't. However, if there is a way to make cats obedient, the owners will be very happy, right? Some netizens claimed that as long as a circle is formed on the ground, "cats" will come and occupy it. Is this true?

Recently, a group of cat slaves claimed that they have discovered a simple way to make cats obedient - just draw a circle on the ground, and the cats will instinctively feel that they cannot move forward, and then they will sit down obediently. It's inside. According to this theory, cats cannot resist the attraction of circles or similar shapes on the ground, so as long as you use items such as chalk, string, tape, or elastic bands to make a circle about 2 feet in diameter on the ground, the cat will He entered the circle and couldn't get rid of it no matter how hard he tried. It may seem unbelievable, but in recent weeks hundreds of photos and videos have appeared online of cats trapped in such a circle.

"The red coil is OK, the transparent rubber ring is OK, and the triangle is OK. Even if you take off your pants and throw them away, the cat will get in. The two cats will still fight for the sovereignty of an indivisible circle. Let's fight..." Related Weibo reports revealed that foreign cat lovers have discovered a clever trick that can quickly surround "cats" and published the experimental process and results online. ​​

As soon as this experiment in which "cat people" were "sealed" came out, it was immediately sought after by a large number of cat fans on Weibo. Many netizens said that curiosity really killed the cat, "I can no longer look directly at the cat." Some netizens said bluntly: "The real-life version of surrounding the nervous cat has finally happened."

As for "drawing a circle and the cat will crawl into it", "cat slaves" began to experiment one after another. As expected, some "cats" were successfully sealed, but at the same time, many netizens announced The roundup failed. Netizen "Isis' Counterattack" is a cat lover and has two kittens. She also tested the two cats separately according to online tutorials. After separate experiments, one cat was successfully surrounded and squatted inside for a long time without coming out, while the other cat just sniffed and left. However, many other "cat slaves" are not as lucky as "Isis Strikes Back". Netizen "mino_糯米" also tested it with his own kitten. She placed the jump rope on the floor, also forming an irregular circle, and then hid behind the curtain. But her pet cat Nuomi just came closer and took a look, then left without looking back.

So, does this case really prove the effectiveness of cat circles? Is there any mysterious reason why cat traps can control cats? It’s no secret that just as cats like to climb high and have a bird’s eye view of the big picture, they also like the sense of security that comes with enclosed spaces such as boxes, shopping bags, and cardboard boxes. Moreover, everyone knows that cats have their favorite places in the house. But the experts I contactedNo one has ever seen a cat trapped in a circle. Professor Daniel Mills, one of the UK's leading experts on animal behavior, believes that cats are indeed attracted to circles, but only if the circles look like obstacles - such as a ring of sealing strips, a tea towel or a row of socks.

University scholar Lincoln said: "Low obstacles will give cats a sense of security because they allow cats to curl up inside. If you take your cat to the veterinarian and put it under In an unfamiliar cage, if there is a litter box in the cage, it will usually sit there. The reason for this may be that the edges of the litter box are raised, so the cat can hide its eyes underneath. But they don't realize that their ears are standing up." This may explain why cats are attracted to raised circles but not interested in flat circle marks on the ground.

Another reasonable explanation is related to cats’ sense of smell, because we all know that cats like to smell. They mark the boundaries of their territory with excrement, and they also assert their ownership of boxes, furniture, and even humans by rubbing their scent glands on their cheeks. Professor Mills said: "If you put a circle on the ground with tape, you are also giving the cat a smell that it is interested in. This smell may be interesting to it." But attracting cats to the circle It may not be this unfamiliar smell. If a cat feels safe and is not too timid, anything new can arouse its interest. Vicky Halls, a cat behavior consultant and best-selling author, believes that most cats are naturally curious—especially when they are in the safety of their own territory. She said: "A cat is a solitary survivalist. It does not rely on the group for survival, so when it sees something new, it can only figure out whether these things are safe or not, but this also depends on this Does a cat have enough self-confidence? From a survival point of view, it is a very stupid behavior for a cat to completely ignore or disdain new things. So the question comes again, what exactly arouses the cat’s curiosity Is it the act of drawing a circle itself, or the tape on the ground? Dr. Henlen Zulch, an expert on animal behavior, said: "There is an old saying that 'curiosity killed the cat.' If you are interested in something , which will also make the cat more interested in the matter. If you focus on the circle on the ground, cats that are bold and interested in new things may come closer and focus on you. "

Domestic expert Mr. Duan, associate professor of zoology at Rongchang Campus of Southwest University, explained, "This is a learning behavior of cats, and the results are very random. "Regarding this kind of behavior of cats, cats as pets generally have a certain master-slave relationship with their owners, and cats get certain instructions through the owner's body language and eyes." For example, the owner draws circles on the ground. , at this time, the cat willAs if receiving instructions, take action with the belief that you will get some kind of reward if you sit in it. "Teacher Duan explained that this is somewhat similar to the master's training, and he pointed out that the success rate will be higher if the master does the test himself.