Cats and Cucumbers – sad or funny?

Most of us who are animal, or pet lovers, tend to watch a lot of animal videos, and enjoy them immensely. Videos of dogs, cats, pandas, koala bears, penguins, you name it, have us going “Awwwww…” and we generally have a sort of emotional meltdown of the best kind! And we all (sadly!) love to watch dogs doing zoomies and crashing into furniture; pandas climbing ladders and falling off; and cats getting startled and jumping out of their skin!

One of the funniest sights that has most of us laughing out loud is the way cats react to cucumbers. So, what is it that scares the living daylights out of cats when they encounter a cucumber? This is a question that has baffled many of us to this day. And although there is no official, or researched, explanation for this, there are some possible answers to this situation.

For one thing, there is a theory that cats are genetically wired to avoid snakes, and the threat that they pose to life and limb. Now, it would seem, cats perceive a cucumber as resembling a snake and react with the same level of terror that they would experience when seeing a snake. Their first instinct then, is to take off like a bat out of hell!

Another theory is that cats are naturally startled when they suddenly notice something that has suddenly appeared next to them. So, if you quietly place a cucumber just behind or next to a cat without the cat seeing you, when the cat turns and suddenly notices it, it instinctively panics and takes off like a shot. And although most of us derive a great deal of amusement from watching this, it can be a terribly traumatic experience for your cat.

So, please do remember, that what is funny to us, can be terrifying for your cat. And it’s a good idea not to do anything that scares your cat so much – not even for a good laugh. After all, everyone wants their pet to be happy. And the best way to do this is to ensure their mental health is stable.

However, I have seen cats who were totally unfazed by cucumbers and such-like!