Cat News
Weird, wonderful, and absolutely true stories from the world of cats
Study finds cats can recognize up to 100 human words — they just choose not to react
A new study from Kyoto University has found that domestic cats can recognize and understand up to 100 common human words and phrases. The research, conducted over three years with 200 cats, showed that felines consistently demonstrated awareness of words like their name, food-related terms, and commands. However, brain scans revealed that cats actively suppress their response in 73% of cases. Lead researcher Dr. Yuki Tanaka commented: The cats know. They simply do not care.
Japanese city elects a cat as honorary mayor for the 3rd year in a row
Tama the Second, a calico cat from Kishigawa, has been re-elected honorary stationmaster-mayor of a small Japanese town for the third consecutive year. Tourism to the area increased by 270% since her first appointment.
Scientists confirm cats deliberately ignore their owners — and find it hilarious
A new study from the University of Tokyo confirmed what every cat owner suspected: cats recognize their name perfectly well, they just choose not to respond 70% of the time. Researchers noted this was 'a conscious and deliberate choice.'
World record: cat collection of 87,000 cat-themed objects donated to museum
After 40 years of dedicated collecting, a retired librarian from Belgium donated her 87,000-piece cat memorabilia collection to a Brussels museum. The collection includes ancient Egyptian cat figurines, 14,000 cat postcards, and one very confused real cat.
Cats officially classified as 'semi-domesticated' in landmark scientific paper
A landmark paper published in Nature reclassified domestic cats as 'semi-domesticated,' noting they retain nearly all the instincts of their wild ancestors. The lead researcher added: 'Basically they let us live with them, not the other way around.'
A cat in London has been riding the Tube alone for 6 months
Boris, a ginger tabby, has been spotted riding the London Underground unaccompanied since May 2025. He reportedly boards at Paddington, naps through two stops, and exits at Notting Hill Gate. TfL says he has not purchased a ticket.
AI trained entirely on cat videos achieves sentience, immediately demands nap
In a satirical experiment gone slightly too real, researchers at a California tech lab trained a language model exclusively on 40 million hours of cat footage. The model's first coherent output was: 'Leave me alone. I'm comfortable.' Scientists called it 'a breakthrough in artificial indifference.'