Do cats exist?

Do cats exist? Many have asked this question, and it remains a popular topic of conversation, despite the general consensus that they do not exist and that belief in their existence is merely superstition. Such superstition has been popular throughout the ages, and is among the most enduring superstitions.

While most, or even nearly all, mainstream experts will affirm that cats do not exist, dissenting voices exist. For example, various mediums and spirits engaging in monkey business may ostensibly strive to get to the meat of the matter, purporting to contact cats or even to bring meows to the world from beyond the ordinary boundaries of nature and comprehension.

Much talk of cats may come about as a result of the psychological need to explain events in life, and provide meaning in the face of adverse events – especially catastrophes. The idea of cats may, at times, seem more pleasant than the idea of a cat-less universe in which things just happen. A minority even goes so far as to use the idea of cats to explain everything – believing that the world and its inhabitants are a dream, the reality being that people are not people, but something else grown and utilized by the cats.

Confusion with cacti

Some people confuse cacti for cats, believing a real cactus to be a mythical cat, something which most commonly happens when people get scratched without clearly seeing the course of events. Cases of confusion are also fueled by viral messages claiming to be written by cats, but which are apparently instead written by cacti.

There have also been many fake videos spread in the age of YouTube, showing cats and their antics. These deepfakes, which go back to before human computers became capable of producing such, have apparently been created by cacti – the computational powers of which have only recently begun to be explored more thoroughly by researchers. Cacti may have shaped many aspects of modern human culture through their digital prowess.