The real gem is the scientific article hidden in the pubsci article: Gabriella E. Smith, Philippe A. Chouinard, Sarah-Elizabeth Byosiere, If I fits I sits: A

The real gem is the scientific article hidden in the pubsci article: Gabriella E. Smith, Philippe A. Chouinard, Sarah-Elizabeth Byosiere, If I fits I sits: A citizen science investigation into illusory contour susceptibility in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus), Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 240, 2021, 105338, ISSN 0168-1591, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105338 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105338. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159121001258 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016815912...) Abstract: A well-known phenomenon to cat owners is the tendency of their cats to sit in enclosed spaces such as boxes, laundry baskets, and even shape outlines taped on the floor. This investigative study asks whether domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) are also susceptible to sitting in enclosures that are illusory in nature, utilizing cats’ attraction to box-like spaces to assess their perception of the Kanizsa square visual illusion. Carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study randomly assigned citizen science participants Booklets of six randomized, counterbalanced daily stimuli to print out, prepare, and place on the floor in pairs. Owners observed and videorecorded their cats’ behavior with the stimuli and reported findings from home over the course of the six daily trials. This study ultimately reached over 500 pet cats and cat owners, and of those, 30 completed all of the study’s trials. Of these, nine cat subjects selected at least one stimulus by sitting within the contours (illusory or otherwise) with all limbs for at least three seconds. This study revealed that cats selected the Kanizsa illusion just as often as the square and more often than the control, indicating that domestic cats may treat the subjective Kanizsa contours as they do real contours. Given the drawbacks of citizen science projects such as participant attrition, future research would benefit from replicating this study in controlled settings. To the best of our knowledge, this investigation is the first of its kind in three regards: a citizen science study of cat cognition; a formal examination into cats’ attraction to 2D rather than 3D enclosures; and study into cats’ susceptibility to illusory contours in an ecologically relevant paradigm. This study demonstrates the potential of more ecologically valid study of pet cats, and more broadly provides an interesting new perspective into cat visual perception research. Keywords: Cat; Behavior; Vision; Cognition; Kanizsa illusion