From the tips of their tails to their boopable snoots, cats keep netizens endlessly amused. Whether they’re blepping, loafing, bleploafing, or getting a case of the zoomies at 3 in the morning, they’ve firmly claimed their place as the internet’s favorite animal.
One online community (boasting over half a million members) is dedicated to posting pics of cats proving that they can, and will, pour themselves into the most curious places. So, are cats liquid or solid? Dive into this collection and decide for yourself!
More info: Reddit
#1 It's A Catscade
Image credits: Little_Sumo
#2 How I Found My Cat This Morning
Image credits: Jealous-Stable-7095
#3 He Can Play Tetris
Image credits: ndf99
It kinda makes sense that the internet is one big cat playground. While dog owners have always been able to socialize with their pets outdoors, it wasn’t until the web came along that cat lovers could share their obsession. It also doesn’t hurt that the kind of people who spend most time indoors and online (i.e. introverted geeks) are more drawn towards a pet that can walk itself.
Of course, it’s not hard to be the internet’s favorite animal when everything about you, from your physiology to your personality is just purrfect, even when you’re just a kitten. Of all the digital communities dedicated to celebrating felines, today we’re all about r/catsareliquid, a place where pics of cats who have poured themselves into odd places are the norm.
#4 Literally
Image credits: Beneficial_Sink_2949
#5 Mods Are Sleeping. Upvote Sleeping Cat And Pan!
Image credits: Honeycastle
#6 Meet Blossoms!
Image credits: JacquelinLaughridge
Just what makes cats so flexible, though? According to experts at Cats.com, cats have a jaw dropping 53 vertebrae (more than humans, who only have 33), mostly due to having over 20 of these small bones throughout their long tails. The bones in a cat’s spine are also very flexibly connected, with elastic cushioning discs between each one.
The elasticity in cats’ vertebrae lets them turn their head and trunk around almost 180 degrees, meaning they can have their body facing one way while their head and neck are pointing in the complete opposite direction. These super flexible spinal connections explain why cats can twist in mid-air without damaging their spines and change direction in the blink of an eye.
#7 14 Pounds Of Cat In A 12” Sink
Image credits: gknaussfsdf
#8 Cat Fits Perfectly In Violin Case
Image credits: THESILVERDRAGONYT
#9 Does Anyone Have A Towel Or Something? The Cat Spilled Again
Image credits: wildblood859
Now that we know a bit about what makes our feline friends so amazingly bendy, let’s tuck into the topic at hand: are cats liquid? Well, interestingly enough, there’s actual science about this. Writing for Scientific American, Manon Bischoff says that memes referring to cats as liquid caught the eye of physicist Marc-Antoine Fardin of the Jacques Monod Institute, and he had an idea.
In 2014, he began to scientifically study the fluid behavior of cats, a hobby that allowed him to put off his actual work. “This procrastination actually led to some success,” he explains in his TEDx talk. “It won me the Ig Nobel Prize of Physics, which rewards research that makes you laugh as well as think.”
#10 Perfectly Fit
Image credits: ElfinAllocation
#11 Hey Bro, Your Cat Has Melted
Image credits: hoangdl
#12 Spilled A Little Cat Into My Catholder, What Do I Do?
Image credits: NKVDawg
Fardin’s research was based on the science of fluid dynamics, also called rheology. In this field, objects that have a constant volume and a fixed shape are solids. On the other hand, the volume of liquids remains the same, but their shape can change. The latter criterion seems to apply to cats: despite a constant volume, they can bend as they please to squeeze into the most unlikely of places.
As Fardin points out, cats share other properties with liquids, too. For example, they have a yield stress, meaning that a minimum amount of force must be applied before they flow out of a container. In addition, cats, like a fluid, adapt their body to the vessel they enter so that they fill it completely. Basically, if a cat’s head can fit in it, the rest of its body can too.
#13 Our Sunbathing Cat Tiny Melting On The Porch
Image credits: Auridion
#14 Turns Out Pretzels Sink When Dropped In A Jar Of Cat
Image credits: Gimpyface
#15 Cat... Slug?
Image credits: dvargas135
Well, who are we to argue with science? In the end, whether cats are officially liquid or just chaos wrapped in fur, the internet has spoken. Every photo of a cat melting into a bowl, vase, or sneaker reminds us why we love them: they literally bend the rules, reshape reality, and make the world delightfully weird, one physics-defying act at a time.
What do you think of the cats poured into curious places in this list? Do you have a cat that does the same? Upvote your favorites, share with a cat fan, and feel free to leave a comment if you can’t resist!
#16 The Purrfect Spot
Image credits: reddit.com
#17 Dam Broke
Image credits: Bicc_boye
#18 Someone Told Me You Guys Would Love Honey! He Loves This Position
Image credits: Queasy-Stay1882
#19 This Is Basil, And He Is 1 Gallon
Image credits: Justinehatesyou
#20 Liquid Cheek
Image credits: reddit.com
#21 Maybe Not Quite Liquid Yet But Definitely Melting
Image credits: Prior-Space-2732
#22 Magic Void Liquid Is Stored
Image credits: nya4nko
#23 Liquid Cat In A Bowl Served With Toe Beans
Image credits: SimplyEquivocal
#24 Stretched, Melted, Fell Asleep
Image credits: original-CABANARAMA
#25 Someone Remembered To Water The Flowers
Image credits: ilumewey
#26 The Cat Water Bowl Is Filled
Image credits: tyw7
#27 When Your Cat Arrives In The Mail
Image credits: giodongqua
#28 :3
Image credits: Amateurlapse
#29 Liquid Yeti Filling Up A Small Box
Image credits: TranscendentalNova
#30 Cat.zip
Image credits: Ch00singBeggar
#31 I Am Plant
Image credits: Lill34
#32 Awww 🥰
Image credits: AwwCatsDotCom
#33 A Noodle
Image credits: raijin90
#34 This Belongs In Here
Image credits: u--x
#35 Always Remember To Water Your Plants
Image credits: bouchandre
#36 Soup Of The Day
Image credits: MethaneProbe4MrLion
#37 Freeze Frame Just Before This Cutie Goes All Over The Counter
Image credits: sfaulkner89
#38 Pixel Is Liquid
Image credits: NothinButKn8
#39 Liquid In A Wooden Bowl
Image credits: bou4pas
#40 Didn't Stop Meowing Until He Was In The Cup
Image credits: VickeyBaran
#41 Somebody Forgot To Put The Cap On And He's Just Oozing Out
Image credits: 9999monkeys
#42 Ooooo I’ll Take The One On The Bottom Left
Image credits: Public_Climate_7434
#43 Tough Economy, Liquidating My Assets
Image credits: cakes1todough1
#44 Almost Spilled
Image credits: vihor
#45 The First 90 Degree Weekend In Colorado Melted My Cat
Image credits: kendrafae7
#46 Proof Cats Are Liquid
Image credits: fireboltz200
