It's Time to Glow Up | Funny Animals Video #shorts
Channel: Daily Cat Story
Date: 08/10/2021

It's Time to Glow Up | Funny Animals Video #shorts

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Why are kittens so cute?

Yes, Pickle, a kitten, is still cute. All kittens are. But, why? Why are these miniature monsters, with their aloofness, numerous spiky bits, and tendency to murder things and bring you their mangled remains, so capable of triggering human empathy and adoration? They’re not even the same species as us! Countless people ask Google, “Why are kittens so cute?” every day, so it’s obviously a common question. Thankfully, science has provided a few answers and explanations.

Part of it is the fur. Studies have shown that primates instinctively seek out, even need, soft pleasant contact, preferably with our own parents and kin, but the basic tactile sensation will do usually. This may stem from an evolved like of social grooming, and extremely rewarding and influential practice among social mammals like us, so the very act of running your fingers through the long soft fur of another being is likely something we respond to at a deep, instinctive level, so any animal which seems to be all soft fur is going to be instinctively more appealing. And kittens are exactly that. The Oatmeal’s Matt Inman describes stroking a kitten’s tummy as “like frolicking in the back hair of an angel”, which sounds just right. This may also explain why scaly or slimy creatures don’t get the cute label, but birds often get a pass, particularly the ”fluffier” ones. Feathers are nice and soft too, after all.

It’s not just the fur though, obviously. Rats and mice have fur, but we have industries dedicated to wiping them out. And tarantulas are technically furry, but…

So what else is it about kittens that trigger this cute reflex? Much of the earliest work into cuteness as a scientific phenomenon began with Austrian scientist Konrad Lorenz who coined the term “Kindchenschema”. 

As the name suggests, it basically proposes that the more qualities and features something has in common with human babies, the cuter it’s perceived as being. For instance, babies have disproportionately large heads and eyes compared to their eventual adult form, thanks to the uneven ways the brain and body develop. Kittens (and puppies) also have large heads and huge eyes, so are considered cuter than the more evenly-proportioned beady-eyed rodents nature provides us with.

Younger animals generally provoke this cuteness reflex more, even if the adult version is still relatively small and fluffy. There are many theories as to where it comes from, or what it’s for, but it’s a particularly potent one that “hijacks” many neurological processes. Many argue that it stems from an evolved pressure to care for babies, as human ones are so vulnerable and need constant care, so it’s good for the species. It can even go “too far”, where the cute reflex is powerful but regularly thwarted (due to species, distance, cultural limits on what’s acceptable interaction etc), and results in aggressive elements being invoked (“So cute I could just squeeze it/eat it up!” and so on).

Kittens seem to trigger a lot of the inherent reflexes in our brains that we’ve acquired over the millennia of evolution. Their furry small bodies with the huge heads and eyes tick all the right boxes, so we find them so cute, we let them get away with murder. Literally.

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