Signs your cat is 'plotting to kill you', from staring to unwanted gifts
The world is full of cat lovers, but few could deny harbouring the secret fear that their clawed furry friends could actually be out to get them.
Comedian Matthew Inman even wrote a satirical book about it - How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You - which predicted an oncoming kitty apocalypse. He humorously claimed that when your cat kneads against you, it isn't a sign of affection, but rather them checking your internal organs for weakness.
But jokes aside, if you often find your cat staring at you with a twinkle in their eye, then it could indeed be their killer instinct.
As showcased in Netflix's Inside the Mind of a Cat, research from the University of Edinburgh looked at the character traits of domestic pet cats and compared how similar their behaviour is to wildcats and big cats, such as lions.
Cats can have a certain look in their eye (Getty Images/iStockphoto)The study found that domestic cats share the same characteristics related to dominance, impulsiveness and neuroticism as the snow leopard, the Scottish wildcat and the African lion. And if the average domestic cat were any bigger, it too would probably try to kill you.
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The cats were rated on the 'Big Five' human personality traits, using a scale of one to five. These traits were: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion/introversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
Psychologist Dr Max Watchel said that cat owners need to remember that by keeping one as a pet, they are inviting "little predators" into their home. Dr Wachtel told 9NEWS: "It is good to understand the personality characteristics of our pets.
"Different cats have different personalities. But as a species, there are a lot of commonalities. They're cute and furry and cuddly, but we need to remember when we have cats as pets, we are inviting little predators into our house. For a lot of people, it is worth it. Cats can be fantastic, sweet companions. Until they turn on you."
The experts say to be wary of their staring competitions (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Meanwhile, according to experts at Little Robot, cats deploy certain tactics to keep an eye on you, similar to how wildcats watch over their prey. But the observations aren't cause for concern until they start hiding in dark corners of the house.
"You have nothing to fear when your cat is hiding in plain sight, but it's when it reverts to the darkness that you want to keep your wits about you," the playful blog comments. They also warn to look out for how they shovel their litter, and if it appears to be unnecessarily erratic, "be wary".
Cats are also big fans of a staring contest, but if this is on the regular, then the blog warns it is a way of "testing your strength and resolve." "Your cat wants to know exactly what it's up against, and how hard it will be to fell you like a tall tree when the time comes," the post adds.
Another past-time for outdoor cats is chasing mice and birds, and bringing presents into your home in the form of a dead animal. Many pet owners as a sign of respect or subservience. But in reality, the experts claim it's a sign of dominance. "What your cat is telling you is, 'I've exterminated this mouse, and then that bird, and also this opossum, and soon there will be nothing standing between you and me, and then I will take my final prey, my grand trophy.'" They recommend the safest course of action is to ignore the present in a bid to assert dominance.
On top of this, loud meowing and excitable behaviour could be signs that your cat is a psychopath, according to a groundbreaking study published in 2021. Researchers from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University developed a detailed questionnaire that owners can use to analyse their indecipherable feline friends to see if they possess psychopathic tendencies.
The test, named the CAT-Tri+, comes in the form of 46 statements that require owners to rate how well each one describes their pet. The results help measure the cat’s levels of 'meanness' – traits such as a lack of empathy and callous aggression – 'disinhibition' as in issues with behavioural restraint, 'boldness' as well as its level of unfriendliness towards people and other pets.
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