If you live with a cat, you know two universal truths. First, when they come to you for cuddles, it means they love you very much. Second, cats seem to “flow” like fur-filled beings that can squeeze through extremely tight spaces and contort themselves in surprisingly uncomfortable ways.
Cats are also Internet stars. There are tens of thousands of videos showcasing their funny (and sometimes stressful) antics. A popular meme suggests that “cats are liquid,” which has led many people to wonder about whether this is true. A liquid, after all, molds to fit its container, and cats certainly seem to fit that description.
Beyond the humor of the meme, some have taken this question seriously to investigate whether cats are, in fact, filled with liquid. The conclusion is that they can calculate their body size extremely well and fit into all sorts of spaces.
Cats Are Aware of Their Own Size
Living with a dog and a cat often highlights how one of them tends to dominate its body and environment more effectively than the other. Dogs are generally clumsier and often underestimate both their strength and size. They frequently attempt to squeeze into spaces that are clearly too small, bump into furniture, and act like children.
By contrast, cats exhibit a different approach. If one of my cats ever collides with a piece of furniture, it’s usually because it has skidded across the floor and lost its footing. Cats’ remarkable ability to make precise jumps into tiny spaces and to sneak into seemingly impossible spots stands out. They take a moment to assess whether a move is feasible before attempting it. Additionally, it’s impressive how they can fall asleep in positions that leave you questioning the flexibility of their spines.
Intrigued by this behavior, Péter Pongrácza, an ethologist and researcher at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, decided to explore it further. He conducted a study published in iScience focused on domestic cats’ perception of their own body size. To evaluate this, he used a template with various openings, ranging from wider to much narrower, similar to an experiment he and his team previously conducted on dogs.
In the dog experiment, researchers noted that dogs tend to avoid narrow openings because they’re fast-moving pursuit predators. This instinct drives them to steer clear of tight spaces because getting trapped or colliding with something isn’t a viable option. In the experiment, when presented with an extremely narrow opening, dogs refrained from even attempting to go through. Pongrácz concluded that dogs understood they couldn’t fit and were continuously assessing their size relative to their surroundings.
The team used the same pattern of narrowing openings in the cat experiment. They observed that while cats passed through wider openings without a second thought, they exhibited hesitation for a few seconds before attempting to navigate the narrower ones. The cats’ whiskers play a crucial role in this process. Among their various functions, they help cats gauge whether an opening is passable and compensate for their limited near-range vision.
As such, cats can confidently enter very narrow holes. However, when faced with challenging situations, they take their time before attempting to pass through. In experiments involving height, if the opening was high and wide, cats would pass through without hesitation. In addition, when the height was consistent, but the width was narrow, they also showed no hesitation. The challenge arose when the height varied. In those cases, cats began to hesitate but ultimately attempted to squeeze through the opening, unlike dogs.
In Figure A, the openings decrease in width but not in height, with cats passing through any opening without hesitation. In Figure B, the openings decrease in height, making cats consider it more carefully.
These results led Pongrácz to conclude that cats are highly aware of their height. This awareness may stem from the fact that their whiskers help them gauge their width at all times. However, when it comes to height, they need to make additional assessments to navigate obstacles effectively. Ivan Khvatov, a psychologist at the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis in Russia, wasn’t involved in the study but agrees with the findings. He notes that cats are more adaptable and flexible than dogs, which means they’re less concerned about whether they can pass through openings unless these openings are very low, at which point they start to assess the situation.
Pongrácz told Science that no matter how narrow the opening becomes, cats don’t slow down as long as the height is suitable. They squeeze through. “They don’t use body awareness in this case–they’re basically like liquids,” Pográcz added. However, while the study provides valuable insights, it also has some limitations.
A total of 30 cats participated in the experiments, which were conducted in their homes rather than in a laboratory. In contrast, the study involving dogs took place in a specialized facility where all the parameters were measured.
In any case, the most interesting thing about these experiments is that researchers like Pongrácz have found that humans aren’t the only creatures capable of self-awareness regarding their bodies.
The recent study also notes that other animals, including ferrets, budgerigars, rat snakes, bumblebees, and Asian elephants, possess a sense of bodily self-awareness that has helped them survive in the wild for generations.
In case you’re wondering, I’m definitely planning to get a large cardboard box to replicate the experiment with my cats as soon as I get off work. Two will completely ignore me, but I’m sure the third will try to reach the food can waiting on the other side.
Image | Ludemeula Fernandes
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