Cats are undoubtedly clever creatures. The species is known for getting into all kinds of mischief. From stealthily stalking their prey to making their every desire known, cats are ahead of the curve. But this video by Hosico Cat begs the question, can cats see optical illusions?

While cats don’t seem to be able to, for instance, recognize themselves in the mirror, optical illusions are a bit different. The illusion only requires sight, not precisely a deeper level of understanding. The understanding portion comes in understanding the illusion actually doesn’t exist.

The true answer to this question would, of course, require an actual scientific study. The video is merely adorable, anecdotal evidence. But it is interesting. Hosico (the cat) does seem to peer at the carpet as though he thinks something has gone amiss. At the beginning of the video, he also remains firmly on the “flatter” area of the optical illusion carpet.

That is, he keeps himself out of the area that seems like it may lead to a fall. The video also captures Hosico peering rather intently into the hole. Almost as though he believes himself to be looking down into something.

As time goes on, however, Hosico seems to leave the visual cues of the optical illusion behind. He lies down across the carpet and seems to forget all about any kind of strangeness in favor of lounging. We can absolutely relate to that feeling.
So, can cats see optical illusions? Well, this one video certainly can’t answer that question. But one thing is for sure when you combine cats and optical illusions, everyone wins. It really looks like Hosico is one step away from creeping into a void. And who knows what kind of mischief he will get up to in there? The world is certainly not ready.