A cat who was brought up around dogs has delighted internet viewers with her hilarious attempts to bark just like them.
While most felines will meow, purr, and maybe even hiss if they are angry, the same can’t be said for one particular cat who grew up in a household with dogs. Indeed, pet owner Cathy shared a video on TikTok (@cathyann.9) of her gray-and-white cat standing to attention at the window and trying to bark just like the pups do.
Cathy said in the TikTok caption that her pet had seen “another cat and instantly started barking” through the window. During the video, the feline can be heard letting out a high-pitched noise as she attempted to copy what she has seen the dogs do.
Social-media users certainly can’t get enough of the barking cat who has “grown up with dogs.” Her hilarious antics have gone viral online with more than 23.3 million views and over 4.5 million likes on TikTok at the time of writing.
Newsweek has contacted @cathyann.9 via TikTok for comment. We cannot verify the details of the case.
In fact, the cat wasn’t just trying to sound like the dogs but acting like them, too. During the clip, she was perched on the windowsill and barking at the other feline outside, as if protecting her home like a guard dog.
While it is possible that cats can mirror behavior they observe in other felines, animals, or humans, but it is not widely understood how or why. They can develop personality traits in response to the beings they interact with regularly, so perhaps mimicking has a role to play.
A 2020 study showed evidence of a cat from Japan recognizing and directly mimicking human behavior. The cat, named Ebizu, was shown two new behaviors, and, after hearing the command for each one, he was able to repeat the correct action in 81 percent of the cases. The results suggested that felines may have imitative skills and the ability to recognize behavioral similarities.
The TikTok Response
Since the video was shared online, internet users have become obsessed with the idea of a barking cat. This has led to more than 20,400 comments on the TikTok post so far.
One comment read: “cat hardware, dog software.”
Another person replied: “God forbid a girl wants to learn a different language.”
A third TikTok user posted: “Your cat can put bilingual on her resume.”
One commenter added: “And I thought it was bad having dogs raised by cats.”
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