When thinking of a feline, Garfield is likely to pop into your head first rather than a puma. But the domesticated cat as we know it came from the felidae family of mammals, comprising animals such as jaguars, leopards, lions, tigers, and cheetahs, among others. After quite some time of alteration, the species developed into the furry, lovable goofballs we now observe sleeping peacefully in the wilderness of a living room. (Be that as it may, a domestic cat still shares as much as 95% of its genome with an actual tiger.)

It is believed that there are around 40-100 different domesticated cat breeds. Some of the most popular ones include the Siamese, Persian, Maine Coon, and Ragdoll, followed by the Bengal and Abyssinian. What is slightly more difficult to determine, though, is the exact number of cats currently wandering the streets around the world. It is estimated that there are around 600 million of them globally.

Even after finding their forever homes, kitties might exhibit some features that were predetermined by genetics or something out of the new owner’s control. As Dr. Tony Buffington explains in this TED-Ed video, there's a scientific reason cats are such creeps—it reflects their evolutionary history. 

"Cats today retain many of the same instincts that allowed them to thrive in the wild for millions of years," Buffington said. "This explains some of their seemingly strange behaviors: To them, our homes are their jungles."

According to cat behaviorist and educator Alice Chau-Ginguene, there are four main factors that affect cat behavior the most. She discussed them with Bored Panda in a recent interview, naming genetics as the first one: “If the cat’s parents were of a nervous nature, they are more prone to being nervous.” The second factor was the in-vitro condition: “Studies show that mothers undergoing stress during pregnancy will be more likely to have nervous kittens,” Alice added.

Kittenhood and adoption were the next two factors believed to have an effect on a pet’s behavior. While talking about the former, cat behaviorist Alice Chau-Ginguene expanded: “The experience of the first few months of the cat’s life will affect how they perceive the world. For e.g., if kittens have never been picked up during the first few months of their life, they are more likely to be scared of being picked up.”

She also covered the fourth factor—adoption: “Often, owners only come into the picture at this stage. So you can see there are many things out of their control at the start, but all is not lost. There is so much we can do by management, enrichment, and training the first day you take your cat home.” 

According to Alice, it’s not only a matter of taking action; it all starts with awareness. “The problem is that society has this wrong perception that cats are ‘low maintenance’. Most people just take the cat home, open the carrier, and hope for the best. That’s not right,” she said.

People who share their home with a cat know how strong their love for naps is. For empty boxes, too. Combine the two and you get the perfect nap station for your four-legged friend. But why do cats sometimes choose the weirdest places to get some rest? Well, it is actually based on their instinct.

Cat behaviorist Alice Chau-Ginguene expanded on the matter: “Cats are predators and prey at the same time in nature. Safety is the top priority for their own survival. They have a much shorter history of living with humans, in comparison to dogs. As a result, their natural instinct is still very strong. ‘Seeking cover’ is a natural behavior and that’s what they do to survive in nature. That’s why they love to sleep in tight spaces, to blend into the environment for their own safety.”

Cats are fascinating not just because of their ability to fall asleep in the most random places. Some other unique features include but are not limited to their vision and, of course, the renowned legend of them always landing on their feet. But do they always?

A gentle landing depends on numerous factors, which is why it’s never 100% definite that the cat will land on its feet. However, they do have a thing that helps them do so most of the time. Known as the righting reflex, it allows the felines to turn over mid-air in case of a fall. They use the vestibular apparatus, located in their ear, to establish the right way up and orient themselves accordingly.

As for special features when it comes to vision, cats are known to have excellent eyesight at night. The component responsible for that, the retina of the eye, consists of cells called photoreceptors. These cells—their smaller units called rods, to be exact—detect brightness and shades of gray. They allow cats to see way better at night than a human does, as felines boast a larger number of the aforementioned rods.

Another interesting thing about cats is their uncanny desire to bring home their prey. It is unlikely that a cat owner hasn’t been caught off guard by this rather disgusting surprise at least once in their life. But before judging the fur ball, it is important to understand why it is behaving like that.

Hunting is an instinct for cats. So is their need to teach their kittens certain skills. And if there are no kittens around, the owners become the ones to pass the knowledge to. The cats then feel the need to demonstrate all that is related to hunting and devouring your dinner. Even if the dinner suddenly started moving again and is now making a break for it through the open door.

Despite a few arguably unpleasant habits, such as bringing home half-dead dinners, cats make great pets. Their company was appreciated even more during the time of Covid. Statistics show that during that period, one in five households adopted a dog or a cat. And it wasn’t a short-term project as 85% of the cat owners don’t plan on rehoming their newest family members anytime soon.

As seen in some of these pictures, cats often manage to get themselves into quite a predicament. Getting stuck somewhere that was easy to get to but impossible to get out of is a form of art mostly pursued by felines.

Unique in their own ways, cats are some of the most lovable and confusing creatures all at once. One thing is universal, though—no panda is bored around cats. They constantly find things to surprise you with, whether it’s a mouse they brought for lunch or a vase that needed to be thrown off the table for reasons only known to them. But that’s just part of their charm, only a small amount of which, sadly, can be conveyed through pictures.