Ariel and Aurelia used to follow me around, meowing, when they wanted attention. Or food, or water, or their beloved cat grass. But now it’s a different story. These two little furries rarely meow at me to play with them anymore. They want something more, the next level, they want their bird shows! On YouTube. Yes, you read that right, they want to watch TV!And they ask for it. Almost every day, nice and loudly.
I’ve had Ariel with me for 13 years, and she has never showed any more interest in watching TV than in watching my dining room chair. And Aurelia, in her 4 years with me, would only occasionally glance at the TV if a loud noise or bright, shadow-causing flash came from it. Mostly, if they were sitting on the couch it was to curl up either on my lap or in a comfortable resting spot.
Until we moved into our new home, and Walt upgraded us to a 4K TV, during a New Years Day sale. When he brought it home, I jokingly made fun of him for getting the largest size he could safely fit on the wall. But, when I actually saw the picture quality, I was jaw-dropped, wide-eyed, amazed! And the unreal nature scenes! Made me feel like I could just reach in and touch the tree leaves, flowers, and ocean waves with my fingertips. I became more obsessed than Walt, and started played background scenes on repeat.
Ariel and Aurelia LOVED their New TV!
It had only been up on the wall for a few days when I noticed other interest in the TV. The cats seemed to actually be watching the nature shows with me. So naturally, I decided to do an experiment: checked YouTube for a video of birds for cats, which I found in 4K, and pushed play. The reaction was priceless!
Both cats jumped to the middle of the room. Ariel began her “hunt chatter”, paced back and forth a few minutes, and finally prepared to pounce. With a little butt wiggle, she jumped almost 4 feet to the bookshelf to paw at the screen! Which I promptly pulled her down from. Aurelia, just as excited, started meowing at the TV (why she thinks that will help her catch a bird is beyond me), then launched onto the same shelf. She sat there watching intently, every muscle in her body tracking these birds. When they jumped out of sight, she actually checked behind the TV for them.
Needless to say, not only the cats, but also Walt and I have had hours of entertainment from the cats watching their “birdies” on TV.
Our Cats Now Enjoy Their TV Time
They are watching them now, as I sit here writing about their newfound couch potato habits. The thought is crossing my mind though: is it actually ok for cats to watch TV? I mean, one of the biggest struggles we have with our baby is working hard to NOT give him screen time. Should we be doing the same for cats? Will it somehow hurt them or cause behavior issues?
Is Cat TV Time Safe?
Well, there hasn’t been much research done to give us these answers. The only study I could find was from 2008. Apparently back then cats could tell there was movement, but didn’t really care about it. But think back to 2008… I don’t know what you owned back then, but I was still (embarrassingly) watching a tube TV. Yes, one of those giant, heavy TV’s the size of an ottoman, that would occasionally get the lines in the picture. Well if the cats were watching TV on that, can you blame them for not caring?
There is something about the new 4K image technology that is not only captivating humans, it looks real to the cats! I wish I could do an updated study on how much they like TV now.
Yes, Cats Should Watch TV!
But is it actually ok for them? Well, the general consensus is yes. TV time for cats can actually help with anxiety, help to desensitize them to loud noises, and be an indoor enrichment activity. Authors seem to agree that while cats do enjoy TV nowadays, what they really enjoy the most is interaction with you. Read more from Hills Science Diet (have you checked Elle’s list for our favorite cat food?) Remember, your fluffy loves you! So make sure to still make time for them in the day. Michelle C Hollow does an informative piece on cats and TV, that answered some of my concerns about cat TV time (thank you!) So, until we find a good reason not to, we are going to let our cats watch “the birdies” to their hearts’ content!
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