Before I assess how exactly audiences’ receptions to cat videos have changed over time, it is crucial to understand how cats have been perceived in general, not just in the media but also in how people interact with cats in the real world. Such concepts that I felt were necessary to explore in my research prior to analyzing the videos themselves were ideas about how much of an emotional connection many people feel with cats compared to other animals such as dogs, the desire to pursue freedom and independence that watching cat videos inspires in viewers, and the ways that online content featuring cats have served as a form of an escape for audiences during times of despair and uncertainty.
Many people for decades, even predating the beginnings of the Internet, have admired cats and have expressed that admiration in mediums including paintings and poetry, but why are cats considered so appealing to such a large population? There are several reasons I have seen be used to argue this point, namely cats’ faces, the personalities of certain cats, and the often funny antics that we find ourselves laughing at when viewing cats, whether in real time or via a video or series of photos. However, one of the most critical points that I will need to consider as I watch the videos that I will later select for my analysis lies in the notion that cats tend to be very independent. Some of them might appreciate a nice stroking on the backs of their heads or the opportunity to lay on one’s lap, but for the most part cats generally act independent and often make their own judgments and choices without the input of their human companions. It is for this reason that Rene Landero-Hernandez, the author of the 2021 article ‘Pet-Human Relationships: Dogs versus Cats‘, argues that while the emotional connections that a sample of participants in a study in Mexico had with dogs were greater, those same participants had better relationships with cats due to how “the perceived cost of the relationship with cats is less” (Landero-Hernandez, 2021). This concept of a smaller cost in taking care of a cat, which in turn means fewer concerns about the responsibilities of feeding and exercising a cat, suggests that a happier relationship tends to exist between humans and cats, as the humans are not as occupied with the responsibilities that would be significantly greater with taking care of a dog, whereas the cats gain more opportunities to pursue freedoms that, while not entirely independent from the environment and activities set up by their owners, usually still offer the sense of joy that the cats need in their lives.
This connection that is often made between cats and the concepts of freedom and a lack of concern about responsibilities is one that persists as we look at how cats on the Internet, specifically in cat videos, and how cats’ feelings towards being watched by humans reflect how we want to let go of the self-conscious feelings we often exhibit on social media. For most of us, when we take photos or record videos of ourselves, we are usually concerned with how we look, if we are speaking clearly enough, or what is in the background of the media that we create. The notion of being watched and being caught doing something embarrassing is one that often affects how we create content and our willingness to share our content with others. Cats, however, are not concerned with these matters. This lack of concern regarding surveillance is one that is highlighted in Radha O’Meara’s 2014 article ‘Do Cats Know They Rule YouTube? Surveillance and the Pleasures of Cat Videos‘, in which O’Meara highlights how the cats’ “lack of self-consciousness and sense of authenticity are the key to their reception as ‘cute videos’” (O’Meara, 2014).
https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/794
Similarly, in the 2005 article ‘Internet’s Best Friend (Let Me Count the Ways)‘ by Sarah Boxer, we gain a clearer idea of how Internet users connect with cats. Unlike the ideas expressed in O’Meara’s article, which go into detail about the ways cats behave and how social media users generally wish they could be more confident in themselves, Boxer connects the behaviors of cats to how Internet users already behave. Boxer describes cats as being just like bloggers, in the sense that just as countless pictures exist online of cats looking at pictures of other cats, bloggers often spend time reading others’ blogs. This concept of cats being both unconcerned with how the world sees them and invested in images of each other is what leads Boxer to refer to cats as “the soul of the blogosphere” (Boxer, 2005).
https://www.proquest.com/docview/433107439/9699D91637274E8BPQ/4?sourcetype=Newspapers
These ideas continue to expand our view of why exactly many people, especially on the Internet, find cats so appealing. Instead of just being about how people tend to get along with cats because of the independent and relatively carefree nature, these ideas further expand into being about how we personify cats, often either because we see similarities between our own behaviors and how they behave, or how cats act in ways that we wish we could do just as easily.
Further research suggests that cat-focused content on social media has also been integral to how viewers cope with outside crises and times of uncertainty. Elizabeth Bernstein, in her 2016 article ‘Bonds: On Relationships: Go Ahead, Silly Cat Videos Are Good for You‘, refers to a study conducted by Dr. Jessica Myrick which revealed that participants who watched cat videos felt “significantly happier, more content and more energized” than they had felt prior to viewing the videos (Bernstein, 2016).
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1825767300/97EBA2B53D1742F7PQ/2?sourcetype=Newspapers
It would be easy to say that viewing cat videos could improve someone’s mood during a time of relative peace and stability in society. However, how could cat videos be significant in lightening the tone of a crisis? This concept is explored in Moa Eriksson Krutrok’s 2023 article ‘”Please. Do. Not. Share. Videos. Share. Cats.”.: Counteracting Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content on Twitter during Terrorist Attacks’, in which Krutrok goes into detail about how content such as cat memes and GIFs have become more relevant in recent times because of how they have been utilized as “countermeasures against terrorist propaganda” (Krutrok, 2023).
https://www.proquest.com/docview/2791664948?pq-origsite=primo&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals
By examining the notion of cat-focused online content being used to counter feelings of fear and uncertainty, the idea of cats and how they affect us is brought to new heights. Our relationships with cats because of their feelings of being independent and seemingly carefree have resulted in many watching and connecting with social media content featuring cats. The growth of cat-focused social media content as a phenomenon is one that has led to such content even being able to inspire levity and hope during times of despair.
Works Cited
Bernstein, E. (2016, October 5). Bonds: On Relationships: Go Ahead, Silly Cat Videos Are Good for You. Wall Street Journal. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1825767300/97EBA2B53D1742F7PQ/2?sourcetype=Newspapers.
Boxer, S. (2005, July 30). Internet’s Best Friend (Let Me Count the Ways). The New York Times. https://www.proquest.com/docview/433107439/fulltext/C9811E971B634247PQ/1?accountid=7092&sourcetype=Newspapers.
Krutrok, Moa Eriksson. (2023). “Please. Do. Not. Share. Videos. Share. Cats.”: Counteracting Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content on Twitter during Terrorist Attacks. Journalism and Media, 4(1), 368. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2791664948/fulltextPDF/3BF8C70496A4C4EPQ/1?accountid=7092&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals.
Landero-Hernandez, Rene. (2021). Pet-Human Relationships: Dogs versus Cats. Animals, 11(9), 7. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2576377344/fulltextPDF/90D379AFBE39476BPQ/1?accountid=7092&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals.
O’Meara, R. (2014). Do Cats Know They Rule YouTube? Surveillance and the Pleasures of Cat Videos. M/C Journal, 17(2). https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/794.
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