Why do cat people accept behaviors that would seem bizarre to anyone else? — Cat pawrents share the strange feline habits that unite the community: 'My cat will only drink water out of a red solo cup'

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Oct 8, 2026 6:15 PM EDT

You might be surprised at your capacity to live with things you once thought you couldn't handle before.

One of our most defining characteristics as hoomans is our adaptability. We learn quickly and can adapt to not only new environments, but also new mental states and new problems relatively quickly compared to other species. We wanted to learn how to get things from point A to point B faster? We invented the wheel. Floods destroyed our crops? We learned how to build canals and aqueducts to channel water to places we wanted it to be. The hooman history of tool building and adaptation is actually pretty neat when you start to look at it from this purrspective.

But now? We have all the comforts we could ask for. Homes with climate control, running water, and cars that take us efficiently and safely from point A to B with incredible speed, so what did we do? We searched for the next big challenge - living with cats. 

Truth be told, hoomans have been cohabiting with cats for a long time. And in the thousands of years since the first cat domesticated itself, I'm pretty sure not much has changed. We tell the cats what we want, they ignore us, and then they do whatever they want and we have to live with it. Sound furmiliar? It definitely does to me. I've been trying to teach my cats that the kitchen counter is forbidden for close to 10 years. 

Cat owners may not gather together a lot like dog owners, but we do have some common expurriences that connect us together - the main one is learning to live with your cat's weirdo quirks. Some cats are obsessed with chewing on plastic, some dunk their toys in water and then demand you take them out, and others come up with things not even our wildest imaginations could think of. We all were purrplexed by them at the beginning and by now, we accept them as part of our daily routines. They may make our lives a little more complicated, but in the end, our felines accept us with all of our flaws, faults, and habits, so why shouldn't we accept them with theirs?

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  • What is the weirdest habit your cat has that you’ve just come to accept?

  • 01
    We've had to childproof everything to keep our food (and him) safe'
    via Malena Ugaz

    Orange cat guarding his leopard print cat tree

    Not actual story subjects.

  • 02
    Anytimeartist Her grabbing my feet and ankles as I walk by if she's hiding under something. It used to annoy me so bad I wanted to scream because she was not gentle about it, but over time she learned not to use her claws and now I just accept that there's essentially a monster under my bed.
    via @

  • On the grand scale of cat weirdness, this falls pretty low on the rating system. For them, batting at your feet as you pass by is a fun game that happens to satisfy many of their hunting instincts. Considering how many cats I know that are obsessed with socks, I also think it has something to do with smell. Not only that, but some cats love to sleep with their faces in your smelly shoes. So, yeah, it definitely has something to do with smell, which is weird, but hey, I'm not here to shame anyone.

  • 03
    Eta, I totally forgot about another weird habit of hers because she doesn't do it often and I have definitely not accepted it yet because it's creepy She will wait until late at night when everyone else is asleep, then yell (not exaggerating, it's a yell) "MMAAA" exactly one time. This yell sounds exactly like a child in distress, but none of her other noises are even remotely close. It has terrified me almost every time. She's really something.
    via @
  • 04
    tdak15 he has a continuous-flow water fountain, and he has to stick his paw into the flowing water, smack it a few times, and shake his paw aggressively before he'll start drinking
    via @
  • 05
    auldSusie5 I'm a tummy sleeper, and she stretches out on my back and neck and sleeps with her head on my head. This cannot be comfortable, but she does it anyway.
    via @
  • 06
    serenethirteen Two things: Our female cat, Mischief, flosses her teeth. She pulls a thread loop out of any cloth she has access to and bites it over and over, running her teeth through it. She discovered doing this on our mesh dirty laundry bag.
    via @

  • This is pretty cool, honestly. A cat that taught themselves how to floss? Not only is that kitty going to have purrfect oral hygiene, but their understanding of tools is also quite impurressive. All that's left is for you to teach them how to brush their own teeth, and you have a cat that's worthy of going on America's Got Talent.

  • 07
    The second thing is, she tells us her food bowl is empty by pretend biting things. When I get up in the morning and pee, she pretend bites the nightlight in the bathroom while making eye contact.
    via @
  • 08
    scheru He tries to bury everything almost obsessively. He likes his food? Eats it, then spends like a minute scratching at/around the bowl. He doesn't like the food? Straight to "burying."
    via @
  • 09
    He doesn't like your food? Bury bury bury... Fuzz on the floor? Magazines on the table? Gets buried. Don't get me started on the litter box. Scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch before and after.
    via @
  • 10
    'He licks windows when he can reach them
    via Daria Shatova

    Funny cat lying upside down while waiting for treats

    Picture does not depict real parties.

  • 11
    I wonder if it's some kind of anxiety thing. If you go give him a little affection while he's doing it he stops immediately and calms down. So I try to reassure him when I see that he's doing it. But the kid ain't gonna stop. (Oh and he licks windows when he can reach them lol)
    via @
  • 12
    mypitssmelllikesoup My cat will only drink water out of a red solo cup.
    via @
  • 13
    Geggingin He likes to jump in bag for life and be carried in it upstairs. He also refuses to use his fancy bed and instead sleeps on a pizza box.
    via @
  • 14
    'Eating plastic. We can't stop him
    via [kaˈmeːli̯ə] ...

    Cat waiting for another treat

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 15
    No_Brick_6579 My cat loves opening cabinets we've had to childproof everything to keep our food (and him) safe
    via @
  • 16
    Honest_Succotash_610 Eating plastic. We can't stop him. Especially packing tape.
    via @
  • 17
    pocomomo_ Grinding her teeth/acting like she's chewing on something but nothing is there. I thought it was some sort of medical thing so brought her in. Nope. Just does it for attention.
    via @
  • 18
    BeautifulBunny_209 My cat loves to cradled at night to sleep but only if we sleep on one side. If I or my husband rolls over she will grab our face with her paw until we roll back over into position. We are hers.
    via @
  • 19
    My cat loves cradled at night sleep but only if we sleep on one side'
    via PhilCreates

    Cat sleeping on their particular side of the bed.

    Model representation. 

  • 20
    DerpingtonHerpsworth She licks doors. I used to think she just liked the moisture that built up on the edge of the bathroom door when I would shower in the apartment where we first got her, but she's lived in 3 other places since then with a variety of doors. She just likes to lick doors sometimes. I don't know how to explain it.
    via @
  • 21
    Temporary_Point1261 My void has figured out how to turn my portable ac on and off. In the warmer months, when she's decided it's past feeding time, she will press the buttons to turn the ac on or off. Once I move off my couch or approach her, she presses the buttons again. She will do this three or four times in a row.
    via @
  • 22
    GregoryGosling She must be presented with wet food every morning, but before eating, the food giver must pick her up and give her a narrated tour of the apartment she lives in. After five or so minutes of the tour you may put her down in front of the wet food and she'll eat. She purrs so loud during the entire tour.
    via @
  • 23
    I have had to explain this to pet sitters and my beloved cat-sitting in-laws.
    via @
  • 24
    Initial_Fudge_4559 He screams at empty walls nightly
    via @
  • 25
    DrumpfTinyHands They like being stuffed under my shirt.
    via @

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cat community bizarre cat behavior funny cats
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