Politixia
In the footage, cats showed signs of distress and dissatisfaction — hissing, trying to escape or break free.
Popular videos with cats on social media may conceal signs of stress and discomfort in animals. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the University of Adelaide in Australia.
A veterinarian, together with colleagues, analyzed 11 popular videos on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, whose authors labeled the clips as “play.” In the footage, cats showed signals of distress and dissatisfaction — hissing, trying to escape or break free.
The scientists also examined 1,100 comments under these videos. From 75 to 93% of comments positively evaluated such interaction with the animals. Users called the situations “cute” and “funny” or perceived them as a manifestation of “cat love.”
The researchers identified nine thematic categories of viewers’ reactions. Among them were the romanticization of signs of disagreement, misinterpretation of animal behavior, the belief that negative interaction helps cats adapt, as well as the opinion that the animal would leave on its own if it did not like something.
In 7 out of 11 videos, people received visible injuries from bites or scratches. In the comments, the severity of these injuries was downplayed, although they may pose a risk of infection.
According to the scientists, systematic ignoring of early stress signals can lead to short-term discomfort in cats developing into a chronic condition that negatively affects their health.
The researchers also drew attention to social media algorithms that stimulate user activity regardless of whether the content contains problematic interactions with animals.
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