The brand new must-have pet accent? A concrete slab.
On #CatTok, movies are racking up views as cat homeowners deliver slabs into their houses, set them down, and watch their beloved pets sniff, lick, roll, and rub towards their new favourite toys. Bonus factors in the event that they’re positioned in a sunny spot.
@mrmilothechonk
I ought to have purchased 3 😂 #foryou #foryoupage #cats #catsoftiktok #viral
♬ Nearly forgot that this was the entire level – Take my Hand Instrumental – AntonioVivald
The pattern seems to have began with an orange tabby named Kurt and his proprietor, Abram Engle. “Kurt loves rolling round on the concrete exterior, so I’m bringing the concrete to him,” Engle explains in a video posted again in Might. That video has since gained 4.7 million views and impressed different cat homeowners to strive the DIY enrichment hack for themselves. Some are even taking their cats to House Depot to select their very own slabs.
@abrameng
Kurt was conking the crete
♬ authentic sound – Abram Engle
A number of cat homeowners have speculated whether or not their pampered pet’s former life may need one thing to do with the attraction. “Since Minnow was initially a avenue cat, I used to be questioning if she missed being exterior on the pavement,” one proprietor theorized. “It’s protected to say she cherished it, and now I’m caught with this new piece of furnishings.” Or, as one commenter put it, “the toe stubber 3000.”
@shecatcalls
PART 2 | Cat enrichment concepts. The way in which she sits extra on this $7 brick than any of the particular cat beds and huts I purchase her 😂 Can anybody else relate? 🤦♀️ Video thought impressed by Kurt the Cat @Abram Engle @The House Depot #creatorsearchinsights #cats #cattok #sillycat #humorous #meow
♬ Cute – In Music
If it’s not nostalgia for a life as soon as spent sleeping tough on the streets, what explains the attachment to what’s, in any case, only a block of concrete?
Whereas there haven’t been any formal research on the phenomenon, Purina pet behaviorist and TikTok consumer Dr. Annie, aka Annie Valuska, PhD, has a number of theories. For one, “they’re new and form of misplaced,” she explains. “On account of cats’ territorial and predatory nature, they actually like new stuff.”
The fabric itself may play a job. Concrete’s porous floor holds onto scent—a serious approach cats can talk {that a} area belongs to them. It additionally provides a satisfying texture for scratching. And if you happen to park it within the solar? Even higher.
“It warms up actually properly when it’s positioned in a sunny spot,” Valuska says in a single video. “Cats like heat as a result of they’ve the next physique temperature than people do, they usually developed from a species tailored to a heat surroundings.”
Better of all? It’s cheaper than most cat bushes or towers.