Cat Distress in Online Videos Is Too Often Dismissed, Study Finds

Cats are all over the internet: it is easy to find them swatting at things, racing across the floor, interacting with their owners, or doing some other endearing activity.

But is this stream of content genuinely good for cats - and for people?

Research published in Anthrozoös by scientists at Adelaide University in Australia suggests that commenters too readily brush off signs of feline distress in online videos as insignificant, adorable, funny, or even beneficial to the animals involved.

That is troubling given that several earlier studies have shown how important human-cat interactions are to feline welfare.

"Play is increasingly promoted by advocates and practitioners as a tool for human-cat bonding and feline enrichment," write the researchers in their published paper.

"Our findings highlight a critical need for educating the public about recognizing, and more crucially, respecting cat dissent, as well as cat preferences for touch and interaction and the serious human health risks of cat bites and scratches."

Watch the video: Untitled manual playlist

Cat distress in online videos

Veterinary scientist Julia Henning and her team located 11 human-cat interaction videos on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Their creators had all described the clips as ‘play’, despite each showing clear indications of cat distress, including hissing or attempts to escape.

The researchers then examined 1,100 comments in total.

Although the cats showed distress, between 75-93 percent of comments on the videos were positive about the interaction between the cat and the person.

"When a cat's early dissent signals go unrecognized or ignored (as they were in each of the videos included in this study), a cat experiences acute stress that may become chronic if unwanted interactions occur repeatedly," the team writes.

"This can have serious consequences for cat health and well-being.

"Despite this, cat dissent behaviors were frequently trivialized by viewers."

Summary of online videos used for analysis and sentiment within the first 100 viewer comments. (Henning et al., Anthrozoös, 2026)

How viewers dismissed cat dissent

Based on the content of the comments, the team identified nine distinct themes.

One was ‘if they didn't like it, you would know’: comments rooted in the assumption that a cat would display stronger distress signals, or simply walk away, if it did not enjoy the interaction.

The researchers also identified ‘lost in translation’, in which viewers misunderstood the distress cues; ‘they just get it’, based on the idea that cats understand when a person is only playing; and ‘you'll win them over’, the belief that negative interactions will ultimately have a positive effect.

Other themes included ‘that's cat love’, which romanticised dissent; ‘satisfying the killer inside’, suggesting cats need to act out their predatory instincts; and ‘but it's cute’, where cuteness took priority over other signals.

The two remaining categories were ‘just having a laugh’, in which cat distress was considered amusing or entertaining, and ‘Karens take a back seat’, where commenters criticising the interaction were dismissed as lacking knowledge about cats.

"Social media may magnify these perceptions through algorithms that reward engagement regardless of problematic content," write the researchers.

"Considering the influence of social media and perceived social norms in maintaining cognitive processes, guardian social media usage and media literacy are likely important elements to consider when creating preventative interventions."

The researchers say social media's structure may not be helping. (Jonas Leupe/Unsplash)

Risks for cats and people

Cats are not the only ones affected: 7 out of the 11 videos contained an observable injury to a person. Though these injuries might have appeared slight and were frequently minimised in the accompanying comments, they still pose a risk of infection.

Related: Cat Ownership Linked to Increased Risk of Schizophrenia, Study Suggests

For the next stage, the researchers say more work is needed to tackle preconceptions and cognitive biases in the way people view online material. This should include teaching viewers what cat dissent actually looks like, as well as removing social-media features that may promote the normalisation of animal distress.

"These findings suggest that traditional educational approaches focusing solely on correcting interpretation of cat body language are likely insufficient for long-term alteration of human behavior," Henning and team conclude.

The research was published in Anthrozoös.

This article was fact-checked by Rachel Garner and edited by Rebecca Dyer. While we pride ourselves on our process, we are only human. If you spot a mistake, please let us know.