ARE CATS AFRAID OF CUCUMBERS?
The vast expanses of the internet are flooded with videos of cats
jumping skyward and running away at a sight of a cucumber.
Watching these videos made me wonder, are cats really afraid of cucumbers and why? It seemed that the easiest way to answer that question would be to put a cucumber in front of my cat and see what happens.
But I find such «experiments» cruel, and feel pity for the frightened animal. On the other hand, my cats are living with me for a long time, and seen cucumbers many times, so presumably such «experiment» would do them no harm.
WARNING: If you decide to check whether your cat is afraid of cucumber or not, do not carry out such experiment in the places where your pet rests, eats or goes to relieve itself, in case they are indeed afraid of cucumber. Scaring your pet in such places will often lead to them being cautious of those places and you will have to re-teach them, for example, to go to the toilet or eat in their usual place.
I decided to choose a neutral place, and put the cucumber while my cat was busy cleaning itself. And then I waited patiently, what will happen when the cat will finish its procedure and will see the long green «monstrosity». But alas, nothing happened. My cat did not pay any attention to the cucumber and solemnly walked past it, unable to understand why am I watching him so closely.
So to answer the question «are cats afraid of cucumbers» — in my case, no, they don’t.
But there must be a reason why cats are afraid of the cucumber. Maybe the cats on those videos have never seen a cucumber? Well I tried using banana instead, since my cat have never seen one — no reaction.
Or maybe cucumber has a specific smell which causes such an inadequate reaction. But on some of the videos that are out there, the cucumber is wrapped in a plastic, therefore there is no smell.
Naturally, the search for a reason why cats are afraid of cucumbers lead me to the internet, back where it all began. Of course there are tons of rumors and speculations, but i was looking for an information from experts. And that is what I found:
«British scientists, experts in animal behavior, say that the cats get frightened
by the cucumber, because they expect it to be on the table, where it belongs. Misplaced items cause a reflex called «startle response».
A very strange explanation, and I find it hard to believe that a cat knows where the vegetables should be stored. Oh well, they are called experts for a reason.
On the other hand, once, my son came back home and threw his baseball cap on the couch, right near the cat who was sleeping. When the cat woke up and saw the cap, he jumped up and ran away in fear. We laughed about it, put the cap where it belonged and calmed down the frightened cat. But since then we never left any items of clothing where they didn’t belong. A good way to teach yourself to be neat.