Although house cats are now domesticated, do cats really behave obediently at home? We still see cats making untimely noises and dashing around the house, and we are often extremely frustrated when we want to catch them after they cause trouble but fail to do so. However, if there were a method to make cats obedient, owners would surely be very pleased, right? Some netizens claim that just by drawing a circle on the ground, the "meow star beings" will come and occupy it. Is this true?

Recently, a group of cat lovers claimed they found a simple way to make cats obey — just draw a circle on the ground, and cats will instinctively feel they cannot step over it and thus obediently sit inside. According to this theory, cats cannot resist the attraction of circles or similar shapes on the ground, so if you use chalk, string, tape, or elastic bands to make a circle about 2 feet in diameter on the ground, the cat will enter the circle by itself and you cannot drive it out no matter what. This sounds somewhat incredible, but in recent weeks, hundreds of photos and videos have appeared online showing cats trapped inside such circles.

"Red string circles are fine, transparent tape circles are OK, triangles are no problem, even discarded pants attract cats to crawl in. Two cats will even fight over sovereignty of an indivisible circle..." Some related Weibo posts revealed that foreign cat lovers found a trick to quickly enclose "meow star beings" and posted their experiments and results online.

As soon as this experiment of "sealing the meow star beings" was released, it quickly gained the favor of many cat fans on Weibo. Many netizens said that curiosity really kills cats, "I can no longer look at the meow star beings," while some bluntly said, "The real-life version of trapping crazy cats has finally premiered."

Regarding "drawing a circle and cats will crawl inside," cat owners have started their experiments. Indeed, some "meow star beings" were successfully enclosed, but at the same time, many netizens declared failures in capturing them. Netizen “Isis’s Counterattack” is a cat lover who owns two kittens. She tested both cats according to online tutorials. In separate experiments, one cat was successfully enclosed, squatting inside for a long time without coming out, while the other only sniffed and left. However, many other cat owners were not as lucky as "Isis’s Counterattack." Netizen “mino_StickyRice” also tested their kitten. She laid a jump rope on the floor in an irregular circle shape, then hid behind the curtain. But her pet cat "StickyRice" only approached to sniff, then walked away without looking back.

So, does this case really prove the effectiveness of the cat circle? What mysterious reason makes the cat circle work? As widely known, just like cats like to climb high places to get an overview, they also enjoy the security brought by enclosed spaces such as boxes, shopping bags, and cardboard boxes. Also, everyone knows cats have their favorite spots inside the house. However, none of the experts I contacted have ever seen a cat trapped inside a circle. Professor Daniel Mills is one of Britain's top experts on animal behavior. He believes cats are indeed attracted to circles, but the circle must look like an obstacle — for example, a circle of sealing strips, towels, or a row of socks.

University scholar Lincoln said: "Low obstacles provide a place for cats to curl up, giving them a sense of security. If you take a cat to see a vet and place it in an unfamiliar cage, if the cage contains a litter box, it will usually sit there. This may be because the edges of the litter box are raised, allowing the cat to hide its eyes behind them, although they may not realize their ears are still upright." This may explain why cats are attracted to raised circles but uninterested in flat circle markings on the floor.

Another reasonable explanation relates to cats' sense of smell, since we know cats love sniffing. They use excrement to mark their territorial boundaries and rub scent glands on their cheeks against boxes, furniture, and even humans to assert ownership. Professor Mills said: "If you tape a circle on the ground, you also give the cat an interesting scent, which may arouse its curiosity." However, the attraction into the circle might not be due to this strange smell; if a cat feels secure and is not too timid, any new object can attract its interest. Vicky Halls is a cat behavior consultant and bestselling author who believes most cats are born curious — especially when they are in their safe territory. She said: "Cats are solitary survivalists independent of group living, so when they see something new, they must figure out on their own if it's safe, but it depends on the cat’s confidence. From a survival perspective, ignoring or disregarding something new is a very foolish behavior." So the question arises: what actually triggers the cat’s curiosity — the act of drawing a circle itself or the tape laid on the ground? Dr. Henlen Zulch, an animal behavior research expert, said: "An old saying goes 'Curiosity killed the cat,' and if you are interested in something, cats become even more interested in it. If you focus your attention on the circle on the ground, bold and curious cats may come over and focus their attention on you."

Domestic expert, Associate Professor Duan from the Southwest University Rongchang Campus's Department of Zoology, explained, "This is a kind of learning behavior in cats, but the results are very random." Regarding this behavior, as a pet, there is usually a master-subordinate relationship between a cat and its owner, and cats get certain instructions through the owner’s body language and gaze. "For example, when the owner draws a circle on the ground, the cat may take it as a signal and act based on the idea that sitting inside might earn some reward," Professor Duan explained. This is somewhat like owner training, and he pointed out that the experiment done personally by the owner has a higher success rate.