Study Attempts To Uncover The Mystery Behind The ‘If I Fits I Sits’ Feline Phenomenon

Aside from the general adoration of cats on the internet, it’s known that our feline friends like to “sits where they can fits,” as demonstrated by communities like /r/CatsAreLiquid and the meme “If It Fits I Sits.” Now, science has gotten down to the real truth behind this phenomenon in a recent study that shows why cats love to sit in boxes — including fake ones.

According to a new study published in Applied Animal Behavior Science, aptly named “If I Fits I Sits: A Citizen Science Investigation into Illusory Contour Susceptibility in Domestic Cats,” cats are more likely to sit inside shapes that resemble a square, whether that be a 2D shape or a 3D box.

While humorous, the study may give us insight into cats’ perception of visual illusions and trickery. The study’s co-author Gabriella Smith, an animal cognition researcher at Hunter College, said she got the idea for this research after viewing a lecture on dogs’ susceptibility to optical illusions.

“Cats like boxes and even shapes outlined on the floor,” Smith told Gizmodo in an interview. “Would they sit in a box that is an illusion?”

To find out, Smith and the other members of the study constructed an experiment with the help of 30 cat owners around the web. Owners were tasked with creating shapes from paper to resemble a box with corners and one without edges (known as the Kanizsa square illusion). Testers then placed the shapes on the ground in different arrangements, avoid interaction with their cats, then let them enter the room to see how they responded.

So pleased to announce that my paper, "If I Fits I Sits: A Citizen Science Investigation into Illusory Contour Susceptibility in Domestic Cats (Felis silvestris catus) has just been published in AABS! #IfIFitsISits #CatSquare #CitizenScience #CommunityScience pic.twitter.com/AXbDttnOGC

— Gabriella Smith M.A. (@Explanimals) May 4, 2021

Researchers then recorded whether or not the cats stood in a shape for a minimum of three seconds to determine which shape they preferred. Of the 30 tested pets (which started out with over 500 but was scaled down due to incomplete trials), nine of them consistently chose the square, the Kanizsa square seven times and the misshapen Kanizsa square just once.

“The major takeaways are that cats are susceptible to the Kanizsa illusion in a human-like way, and are most likely attracted to 2-D shapes for their contours (sides), rather than solely novelty on the floor,” Smith told Gizmodo.

While the research done in the study found that cats selected the illusion almost as consistently as the regular square, it doesn’t fully answer the mystery of why cats “sit where they fits.” Smith and the other study members plan to expand their research into 3D Kanizsa squares following this study, so perhaps we’ll find out soon enough.