“If I Fits, I Sits”: 50 Pics Of Cats That Prove They Can Be Comfy Pretty Much Anywhere

Writing for Cats.com, Dr Lizzie Youens explains that cats have a whopping 53 vertebrae (that’s a lot more than us humans, who only have 33), mostly due to having over 20 of these small bones throughout their long tails. These bones are very flexibly connected, with elastic cushioning discs between each one.

These super flexible spinal connections explain why cats can twist in mid-air without damaging their spines and change direction in an instant—both essential skills for the type of hunting they do. A cat’s pelvis is also more loosely connected to the spine than other mammals, for added flexibility.

According to Catster, cats were first domesticated in the Near East around 9,500 years ago. Archaeological evidence from a Neolithic site in Cyprus, dating to approximately 7500–7200 BC, includes the burial of an African wildcat alongside a human, suggesting a close relationship between humans and cats at that time.

Genetic studies indicate that all domestic cats descend from the Middle Eastern wildcat, Felis sylvestris lybica. These wildcats were attracted to early human settlements by the abundance of rodents, leading to a mutually beneficial relationship that eventually resulted in domestication.

Of course, with the advent of the internet, cats truly found their stage. In 2015, 15% of all web traffic consisted of cats and cat-related content. Over 2 million pieces of feline footage were posted on YouTube in 2014, which accounted for more than 26 billion views. By 2022, the number of cat videos on the site had reached tens of millions.

Cats dominate social media, too. The @cats_of_instagram account, for example, boasts almost 13M followers and features over 18,000 posts of cats doing their thing, whether they’re being adorable, derpy, or just plain crazy. The hashtag #catsofinstagram appears on a whopping 178 million posts and is a treasure trove of adorable kitty content.