It’s no secret that the internet loves cats. Whether they’re wreaking havoc on the plants in their homes, cuddling in bed with their owners, overreacting to the tiniest noises or screaming that they’re ready to eat, we just can’t get enough of these precious creatures. And the Council Of Cats subreddit is the perfect place to visit if you’d like to see felines plotting world domination.
To learn more about this fabulous community, we got in touch with the creator of the subreddit, DryMouthKitty, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. "I created r/CouncilOfCats because I wanted to make my own cat-centric commewnity on Reddit. There are many different subreddits that focus on specific kinds of cats, or specific things cats are doing, but there wasn’t really anything for groups of cats," they explained.
We also wanted to know how exactly DryMouthKitty defines a council of cats. "Any group of cats (more than one)," they shared. "As a big fan of Pinky and The Brain, it was humorous to imagine that anytime two or more cats are together, they are secretly plotting to take over the world. So that is the type of discussion we encourage, and our Council Meowmbers picked up on that, and it just took off from there!"
We were also curious about what it's like to run this community. "As far as moderation goes, everyone is mostly just having fun, so we don’t have to remove too many things that are rude or off-topic," DryMouthKitty says. "The biggest issue is SPAM, content usually from bot account that is stolen and shared to farm karma. We have an OC (Original Content) only rule that is used mostly to discourage that, and automated filters do the rest."
And finally, the creator revealed which posts they consider to be the best in the group. "Our favorite posts are ones like this - where the cats seem like the photographer is intruding on their meeting, and the post title highlights that in a funny way."
We were also lucky enough to get in touch with Laura Watson, Cat Welfare Assistant at International Cat Care and Registered Veterinary Nurse, for this piece. Laura was happy to share her expertise and break down how cats typically feel about socializing with one another.
"Domesticated, or pet cats, originate from their wildcat ancestors, who were solitary predators and did not live in socially structured groups. They would hunt and live alone and rely solely on themselves for survival," Laura noted.
"However, cats are a remarkably adaptable species, and whilst retaining their roots as a solitary hunter, they have shown the capability to adapt to group living through the development of social structures – some might say they are socially flexible," she shared. "You can find out more about the social structure of cats here if you would like to read about it in more depth."
"As solitary hunters, it is also important for cats to establish a territory where they can hunt/find food and avoid conflict with other cats, as conflict could result in injuries that could be detrimental to their survival as a solitary survivalist," the cat expert says. "A cat’s territory also consists of a core area where they feel safe enough to sleep, eat, play, and potentially enjoy social interactions with people or other animals."
So what if you have decided to introduce a new cat into your household?
"It is always going to be potentially difficult to introduce a new cat to a resident cat," Laura says. "It is important to recognize that even when the introduction process is conducted as carefully as possible, there is no guarantee that the cats will happily accept one another. Some cats simply do not want to live with other cats, and it is important to recognize and act on this to ensure the cats in your care have the best welfare possible, both in terms of thinking about their physical health and their mental wellbeing. We encourage people to read our ‘Thinking of getting a cat’ article."
#20 Morning Council Meeting. Today’s Topic: Where Did All These Leaves Come From?
