Hello Gnees Army,
Good Morning,
You’ve seen this video at least one time on the internet, haven’t you? If not, see it at below –
What the first thing comes to your mind looking at this video? Yeah…It’s too funny!!! And the next question might come then…Ummmhh…Wait! Why cat scared of cucumber?.. What is the relation between these twos?… What if I do the same with my cat? Are you willing to get these answers? Here we go…
Although the video showing cats afraid of cucumbers which is very entertaining, experts advise not to try any similar pranks at home with your pet by scaring. Doing so isn’t good for both mental and physical health for them. National Geographic reports trying to do so can cause cats to injure themselves, break something, or lead to continued stress.
Then why they react like this?
If you watch the above videos carefully, you’ll notice the cats are never suspicious of the cucumber from the start. For most of the time, only they leaping up when they see an unexpected thing (cucumber). In the videos, their owners secretly place a cucumber behind them.
When the cats turn around, they are startled by the fruit that wasn’t there before, often leaping back. Although the cat reactions look shocking, the question remains as to why cat scared of cucumber?
The Misconception – Cucumbers are their enemy!
There is a misconception that cat always scared by cucumbers. Although it’s right, not 100%. The unexpected presence of any item could cause an identical reaction to cats. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the cucumber, but the fruit can be anything which can scare them if it is placed without their knowledge.
Besides, one thing to note here that not all cats scared of cucumber, you may notice it in the above video. So, Why cat scared of cucumber? – The answer: it depends from cat to cat, situation to situation.
The main question – Why are cats afraid of cucumbers?
Most experts and people believe that cucumbers remind cats of snakes. From the beginning, cats are genetically very responsive through instinct to avoid snakes. Cucumbers look enough like a snake to have the cat’s instinctive fear of snakes. It’s not just cucumbers, any snake-like object may cause a similar response. If a cat sees something sliding over the ground, the cat often will jump a couple of feet up in the air, a behaviour prevents getting bitten by a snake.
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Another thing that can be explained – THE UNEXPECTEDNESS! A cat, or in fact, most animals eat only when they’re sure that they are not under any physical threat. If you have seen above video of cats getting scared of cucumbers, you might have noticed that cucumbers are carefully put behind cats when they are peacefully enjoying a meal with their heads sunk in their food bowl.
Cats only eat when they are sure that they are not immediately threatened by anything/anyone near to them. In other words, cats join their “Food Mania” where they are perfectly safe and secure.
As that time, when a cat spots a green cucumber lying on the floor behind them, it scared them because the cat didn’t expect it to be there. They wouldn’t normally find cucumbers lying on the floor. So due to the novelty and unexpectedness of finding an unusual object, the whole thing freaks them out.
Why cats fear at certain things and do the same thing happened to us?
Imagine this:
You’re chilling in your home at the chair. There is no one to disturb you around. And suddenly, you see a stranger sitting in a corner. What will you feel then? Don’t you immediately get startled or jumped? That exactly happens with the cats. They jumped or get threatened when they see something unexpectedly quiet and unfamiliar things (here cucumber) that could be dangerous.
So the answer is YES! Both we humans and animals might fear at certain things which is fearful to the victim and may look enjoyful to us.
Then, What’s the relationship between the cat and the snake?
As we said earlier, The cucumber looks a lot a common as a snake which is treated as a threat for a cat. Cats are sharp and alert animals and as such, they always keep their guard up and have good situational awareness. Unlike dogs, which are generally found in groups, cats are lone hunters and lone eaters.
This could explain why they tend to be more cautious than other types of pets. So as the snake and similar predators that are known to attack and even can eat cats. This similarity to something threatening, force a cat to be scared.
But why they jump?
Any unknown objects that might look threatening cause the cat’s startle responses. This response comes out in the form of their jumping, heart rate increase, aggressive behaviour. It shows how the cat responds to a surprise. However, upon experiencing the stimuli by that object (here cucumber), the cat’s muscles harden and it arches its back. Thus their heart rate increases and its fear response is heightened.
They jump to avoid bitten by any threats as they treat cucumber as a threat (here snake). But these responses aren’t limited to cats. Humans and other animals also respond similarly to unexpected surprises. You’ve probably jumped or screamed at the sound of sudden loud noise, you’re heart-rate increases and so on. So, why it can’t be with cats?
After the sudden stimuli have passed, it takes a while to return to their normal condition. Like, the heartbeat, as well as hormone levels such as adrenaline, takes some time to normalise.
Why you shouldn’t scare cats with Cucumbers?
- Repetition of these acts cause them anxiety and sustained stress. And this sustained anxiety and stress can reduce the overall well-being of your pet and decreased their immune system making them more susceptible to diseases.
- It can also lead to their destructive behaviour
- Inducing fear equals emotional damage which impacts heavily on their health later.
- It can also break pet-owner relationships.
What’s more even worse is that it can force the cat to hate its home’s confinement and leave the house.
Besides, by attempting to scare your cat with a cucumber you’re encouraging acts of animal cruelty.
You might be laughing at all those cat videos. But you wouldn’t be laughing if someone does any fearful thing with you which you don’t like, on purpose over and over again. Would you? Probably not… Therefore, think twice about how your small friend will feel when you decide to test its fearlessness or to do a prank by scaring.
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