Dear cat owners and kitty lovers: stop cussing out your furry friends, they have done nothing to you!
In the world of cooked animal news, a UK based charity has revealed that using words with the “s” sound in them when speaking to cats — such as “puss puss”, “pspsps” and “psst” — is basically swearing at them as it sounds like “aggressive hissing”.
Instead, The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) vet nurse Genna Renwick has suggested that folks should “consider speaking their language and [meow] at them” when they’re trying to grab some feline attention.
“Cats pick up on certain sounds and tend to prefer fewer ‘s’ sounds. The ‘s’ noise is similar to a cat hissing, which is almost like swearing at them every time you want their attention,” Renwick told The Sun.
“Unlike hissing, adult cats don’t really meow at one another, but do use meows to communicate with us humans.”
Excuse me as I go on a quest to apologise to every cat I’ve ever met by yelling “pstpstpstpst”, and that includes an entire cat cafe in China…
Doubling down on the anti-pspspsps, cat expert Mikel Delgado told Inverse there’s no research that the absurd cat sound actually attracts cats.
“There’s been no research on the pspspsps sound response in cats, and we can’t ask cats directly why most seem to respond to it,” he told the publication.
Well, whenever someone decides to start research on this phenomenon, I’m putting my paw up!
Alongside the no “s” sound rule, the PDSA vet nurse also shared a number of other things that could potentially piss off cats, such as unwanted cat cuddles.
“Hugging, and other approaches we may consider signs of affection, can actually be detrimental,” the PDSA nurse shared.
“If a cat runs away as you come towards them or they dash off as soon as you let go, it’s a good sign they don’t want to be touched or have their personal space invaded.
“Always let your cat come to you and you’ll reap the rewards of consensual kitty cuddles.”
Some other things that are on the no-no list are eye contact, which can be seen as “threatening” and laser pointers, as it leave kitties with empty paws, leading to frustration and them hating you.
That being said, don’t be a sour puss and stop yelling “psssst” at random cats!
The post Using Words With ‘S’ Sounds To Grab A Cat’s Attention Is Allegedly Like Swearing At Them appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .