The newest trend on the internet - it's scaring cats with cucumbers. "Cats afraid of cucumbers" seem an unlikely phrase, but thanks to the viral video "Cats Spooked by Cucumbers Compilation," the phrase is now known to over 1.7 million people.
The "cats afraid of cucumbers" trend has been going on for the past few months. People who get into it take a video of their cats while the animals are happily chomping down their favorite food, then that's when the cucumbers "attack." Naturally, the surprised felines jolts in hysterical acrobatics after the cucumbers seemingly attack them out of nowhere.
A National Geographic report also claims that a possible reason for cats being afraid of cucumbers is that they mistook the cucumbers for snakes.
However, cats aren't really afraid of cucumbers,Metro reported. Their response could reportedly be triggered simply by having an object unexpectedly sneaking behind them while they're eating.
Dr. Roger Mugford, a world renowned animal psychologist, said that it's not the cucumbers that are scaring the cats. The reason for the reaction could be due to the cat finding an unusual subject seemingly creeping in on him while he eating and was busy with his bowl of food. It is highly likely that the cat would have the same reaction if it were a plastic fish or spider.
While the video seems all in fun, according to The Inquisitr, experts claim cat owners shouldn't scare their cats with cucumbers.
Clinical animal behaviorist Pippa Hutchinson said if this was done regularly then the animal would be put under a lot of stress and this could have negative effects to his body.
Jill Goldman, another animal expert from California said:
"If you cause stress to an animal that's probably not a good thing. If you do it for laughs it makes me question your humanity. [A cat] would not normally see cucumbers on the floor. With a startle response, a cat will often try to get out of there as quickly as possible and then reassess from a distance."
However, according to Food Beast, a little scare shouldn't be too harmful for cats if no serious psychological or physical trauma has been reported. In addition, cats are generally skittish despite the sneaking cucumbers.
In the end, it's up to the owners of the cats if they want to get into the "cat afraid of cucumber" trend. However, it's probably one to skip if you don't want to cause your pet any stress.
