Few things unite people online like a cat knocking a glass off a table with total confidence. But why have these small, independent animals become the unofficial mascots of the internet?
One theory is that cats are wonderfully unpredictable. One moment they are elegant hunters, and the next they are stuck inside a cardboard box that is clearly too small.
Another explanation is their attitude, since cats rarely seem to care about our approval. That cool indifference makes every rare moment of affection feel like a personal achievement.
Cats are also experts at doing absolutely nothing in the most photogenic way possible. A sleeping cat in a sunbeam requires no explanation, no translation and no context to make someone smile.
There is something comforting, too, in watching an animal that refuses to rush. In a world of deadlines and notifications, a cat stretching for the fifth time in an hour feels like a small act of rebellion.
Our investigation concludes, without any real evidence, that cats simply understand the internet better than we do. They nap, they judge and they let us do the posting for them.