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Veterinarian delivers best response after being told it's 'disgusting' to let cats on furniture

Don't mess with cat people.

@dr.mattmcglasson/Instagram

Pretty sure every cat person feel the same way.

No one would get a dog expecting it to not bark, try to eat human food or need daily walks. And yet people regularly get flummoxed when their just-as-loveable cat exhibits completely natural behaviors like climbing tabletops or scratching at furniture.

Of course, cat people, who delight in adapting their life to make it as enriching as possible for their feline fur babies, know the flaws of this logic. After all, most cats spend more time in the house than their human counterparts. So shouldn’t the house belong just as much to them?

If you answered yes—then this clapback video (from a vet, no less), should have you feeling pretty vindicated. And if you answered no—prepare to see the error of your ways.

Dr. Matt McGlasson is a veterinarian in Kentucky, who also happens to be the proud dad of a 5-year-old special needs cat named Rupaul.

McGlasson recently was told by a viewer that it’s "disgusting" that he allows Rupaul on his furniture (as opposed to human butts only, which are okay, I guess?).

McGlasson’s response to this comment recently racked up over 11.8 million views, with good reason.

In a clip posted to his Instagram, McGlasson holds up Rupaul, who can’t use her hind legs, and shamelessly lists off all the other things he would allow for his kitty, including:

-Cosigning a loan for Rupaul

-Letting Rupaul do his taxes

-Giving Rupaul the passwords to all of his accounts.

-Capital Punishment, which he’s not normally a support of. But if someone hurts Rupaul, “that’s another story."

-Going into a business with Rupaul

-Giving Rupaul $20,000 for bringing him a dead mouse

-Making Rupaul the beneficiary on my life insurance policy.

And last, but certainly not least…letting Rupaul on the furniture.

Put simply: “My cat can do whatever she wants. It's her world. I'm just living in it.”

Down in the comments, fellow cat owners couldn’t agree more with McGlasson’s sentiment.

“My husband picked his new chair based on the cat , the arm had to be wide enough for her to sit whenever she chooses to have quality time with him.”

“I would donate my kidneys to Square if she needed them. Yes… I mean both 😂”

“‘You let your cat sleep with you?’ Ma’am, I’d let him represent me in court.”

“I bought my house for my senior kitties. I wanted to get out of our apartment so they could feel grass beneath their paws again before their time was up.”

Others reiterated how it’s a gift to be able to create a healthy, happy life for a pet, and freaking out about furniture is kind of missing the joint.

“Like I don't understand ppl who r so against cats on furniture. If ur against pets on furniture probably don't have them. Treat your pets with love and respect. When you take an animal into ur home it becomes their home and safe place. All of the things in ur house become a part of their world and cats like to naturally be elevated. My cats do what they want because they aren't pets they are family. They own the place I just live here. Lol,” wrote one person.

Bottom line: climbing is part of a cat’s inherent programming. And if cat owners truly want their home to be a safe space for their kitty, then this should be taken into consideration.

The good news is, there are plenty of cat-friendly ways you can coax them off of furniture, like making sure there are plenty of dedicated cat trees to climb and scratching posts to sink their claws into, or opting for furniture with fabrics that cats don’t love as much, like microfiber.

And as a general rule, cats respond to positive reinforcement, rather than punishment. Contrary to outdated, yet still popular belief, cats don’t “know” when they're being bad. And they will learn to associate their own with negative attention. That’s not fun for anyone.

As McGlasson, or any other pet owner can attest, having their presence in our homes provides so much fulfillment and connection, that small compromises—or large bank loans—are well worth it.

By the way, McGlasson’s TikTok and Instagram are full of hilarious (and informative!) cat content. Here's a small sampling:



For more pawsome videos just like these, be sure to give McGlasson a follow.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Joy

He made a tiny house for his stray cat visitor, and it turned into an adorable kitty village

Talk about heartwarming kindness.

Representative Photo credit: Canva and Rumeysa Yilmaz|Pexels

A sweet story of the cat distribution system at work.

Tiny houses are still a popular choice for people trying to downsize but tiny houses for cats are springing up in one man's backyard.

Back in 2024, Barna thought he was doing a good deed for a stray cat that decided that he kinda liked hanging out in this human's backyard. At first, the cat would show up but wouldn't eat the food set out for him. That didn't stop Barna.

The man continued to set food out for the cat. Taking note of the changing weather, Barna decided to take one of his hobbies and build the cat, now named Domino a cozy little house. Building things is a hobby for him, so he made sure to equip Domino's tiny abode with a heating pad, light and camera.

Before too long the situation turned into a version of the famous children's book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Another cat showed up (because of course Domino had a bestie) but it didn't stop there.

Barna built a tiny two story condo for the two cats to hang out in while still keeping Domino's original tiny house. The backyard looks like it was made to host furry tenants in a makeshift cat community because more cats indeed showed up. Soon the tuxedo cat had several neighbors to hang out with and thanks to Barna, none of the cats looked like they were missing any meals.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"We have about four or five cats who will go in and sleep in the houses," Barna told The Dodo. "One night one of the biggest storms of the year hit, I saw that two kittens actually took shelter in the house. That was one of the sweetest things ever."

Barna had cameras set up inside and outside of the itty bitty kitty community so he can keep an eye on his feline neighbors. The cats' landlord expressed that he feels gratification seeing his little houses be used by furry tenants. Having a group of cats around probably isn't too terrible for keeping pests away either, so it's a win for all involved.

Down in the comments, people applauded Barna for taking such good care of his feline friends.

"If you build it, they will come. what a kind and thoughtful gentleman to take care of these babies during the hard weather."

"This man has such a good heart."

"How a man treats animals reveals who the man is. This is a good man."

"Just imagine how good the inside of those little houses feel to a kitty after he or she has been outdoors in all kinds of weather for who knows how long. They would finally be able to relax and get a good sleep. Kudos for being so kind and handy."

"There is most definitely a special place in heaven for the animal rescuers. I love you."

"This world NEEDS more people like this gentleman.""Indeed, the world could definitely use a few more Barnas. Best of luck to him and his kitty companions.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Animals & Wildlife

Scientists have finally discovered the gene mutation that makes most orange cats male

For decades, the gene that results in only 1 in 5 ginger kitties being female has eluded researchers.

Photo credit: Canva

We know 80% of orange cats are male, but until now we didn't know the specific gene mutation that causes orange fur.

If an orange cat were to show up at your doorstep and you had to wager whether it was male or female, the odds would definitely be in your favor if you bet male. Only around 20% of orange cats are female, making them fairly rare (though not as rare as a male calico cat, as 99.9% of calicos are female).

Up until now, scientists assumed that the male-to-female ratio for orange cats was due to an X chromosome gene mutation. Since male cats have XY chromosomes, having the gene mutation on the X chromosome makes a male cat orange. But since female cats have two X chromosomes, they have to inherit the mutation on both of them, making it statistically less likely for a female cat to come out with orange fur. While the fact that a sex-linked gene causes orange coloring in cats was understood, which specific gene and what kind of mutation have been an elusive mysteries for decades.

orange cat, ginger kitty, male orange cat, female orange cat, genetic mutationA genetic mutation deletes a piece of DNA that usually suppresses a specific gene in orange cats.Photo credit: Canva

Not anymore. In two studies published simultaneously in the journal Current Biology in May 2025, geneticists at Stanford University in the U.S. and Kyushu University in Japan have pinpointed the exact gene mutation that causes orange pigmentation in cats. The gene is known as Arghap36, and the mutation appears to delete a section of DNA that normally suppresses the expression of the gene, allowing it to remain active.

But the finding was surprising in a few ways.

“At the time we found it, the Arhgap36 gene had no connection to pigmentation,” said Stanford geneticist and lead author Christopher Kaelin, PhD. in a statement. Arhgap36, which has been studied in cancer and developmental biology research, is normally expressed in neuroendocrine tissues. Overexpression there can lead to tumors, but the increased activity of the gene in orange cats causes their unique pigmentation.

orange cat, ginger kitty, male orange cat, female orange cat, genetic mutationMost orange cats are male.Giphy by UC Davis

“In a number of species that have yellow or orange pigment, those mutations almost exclusively occur in one of two genes, and neither of those genes are sex-linked,” Kaelin said. “The mutation in orange cats seems to turn on Arghap36 expression in a cell type, the pigment cell, where it’s not normally expressed.”

Notably, this seems to truly be specific to orange cats and only orange cats.

“Arghap36 is not expressed in mouse pigment cells, in human pigment cells or in cat pigment cells from non-orange cats,” Kaelin said. “The mutation in orange cats seems to turn on Arghap36 expression in a cell type, the pigment cell, where it’s not normally expressed. Certainly, this is a very unusual mechanism where you get misexpression of a gene in a specific cell type."

orange cat, ginger kitty, male orange cat, female orange cat, genetic mutationOrange cat pigmentation is due to a unique gene mutation. Photo credit: Canva

The development of genomic research over the past five to ten years is what enabled the scientists to pinpoint the way the gene mutation works. Hiroyuki Sasaki, a self-proclaimed cat-lover and geneticist at Kyushu University’s Medical Institute of Bioregulation and the Institute for Advanced Study, organized a crowdfunded effort in Japan, raising $70,000 so he could fund his study.

“Identifying the gene has been a longtime dream, so it’s a joy to have finally cracked it,” Sasaki said in a statement. "Arghap36 is essential for development, with many other roles in the body, so I had never imagined it could be the orange gene."

Sasaki points out that the DNA deletion lies in a non-coding deletion region of the gene, so the protein itself doesn't change. Arghap36 is also active in many areas of the body, including the brain and hormonal glands, which means the activation of it could theoretically affect more than just fur color in orange cats.

“For example, many cat owners swear by the idea that different coat colors and patterns are linked with different personalities,” laughs Sasaki. “There’s no scientific evidence for this yet, but it’s an intriguing idea and one I’d love to explore further.”

One thing the scientists don't know for sure is when along the line of evolution this mutation first occurred. Kaelin says it probably occurred early in the domestication process, but Sasaki has ideas for figuring it out.

“One idea is to study ancient Egyptian cat paintings—or even to test DNA from mummified cats—to see if any cats back then were orange,” he says. “It’s ambitious, but I’m excited to try.”

You can read more about the study from Stanford University here and the Kyushu University study here.

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Pets

Woman builds an elaborate hotel in her yard for stray cats to stay cozy through the winter

People are calling it "Hotel Catifornia" and "The Fur Seasons."

Images via Canva

A woman in China provides a cozy home for stray cats in her neighborhood.

When winter comes around, people may wonder how stray animals stay warm and safe. Stray cats in particular are highly adaptable creatures and their home is the great outdoors, so most of the time there's not much that people need to do to protect them. But when temperatures dip to dangerous levels, caring humans naturally want to make sure strays have a place to go to get out of the harsh elements.

One woman has taken that desire to a whole new level with an elaborate cat apartment she built for the many stray cats in her neighborhood. We're not just talking about a shelter–it's like luxury hotel living for her feline friends. The apartment has multiple rooms, cushy blankets that get taken out and cleaned, and even a temperature-controlled water source so they're always able to find drinking water in frigid temps.

Check this out:

The woman who built the apartment actually lives in China and was sharing her videos on TikTok, but it seems her account has since been deactivated. This hasn't stopped people from talking about her and her impressive project, though. This thread on TikTok contains updates about the cat hotel from people finding and reposting the adorable story.

Welcome to the Meowtel Catifornia

Of course, the clever hotel jokes and puns started rolling in first thing:

'Welcome to the hotel catifornia."

"Such a lovely place."

"They can check out any time but they won't ever leave ^^"

"I prefer Hotel Calicofornia."

"Meowriott."

"Given my skill, mine would be more like Meowtel 6."

"Pawliday Inn.'

"The Fur Seasons."'

"Meowne Plaza."

People loved seeing the care and ingenuity she put into the "meowtel," as well as how happy the cats seem with the arrangement. In fact, some people were sure their own house cats would move out just to go live in this kind of cat commune.

"My cat just looked at me and sighed…"

"All the neighbours be looking for their cats and they’ve bailed to live at the kitty motel."

"They’d pack their little bags and move in without a second thought."

"They wouldn't even wait to pack their bags."

"Alright Carol it’s been real but we’re gonna head out. Found a great deal on a luxury apartment so yanno… take care."


Cats live where they want when they want

cats, stray cats, pet cats, felines, kittiesKitten snuggled in a person's arms. Image via Canva.

Those people may have been joking, but several others shared that their cats really did ditch them to go live with neighbors who had more desirable living situations.

"I’ve had two cats do this. One was annoyed at our second dog’s puppy energy so she moved in with an older lady a street over. We used to see her all the time until she passed. The other missed our kids being little so she moved next door where there’s a little girl. We talked to both neighbors and said if they get sick of them to let us know and we’ll take them back but both lived the rest of their lives with their new families."

"One of our cats moved next door because he loves children and wanted to be with the little girl next door. Because it’s a very small village, he goes to the school most days to wait for her and they come home together. School is 3 buildings away."

"We had a cat do the same thing about 20 years ago. She hated the barks of our new puppy and would put her paw on his mouth to try and stop it. One day, she slipped outside and I found her a month later, two streets over, hanging with a couple who didn’t have a dog. They said she just showed up at the door and moved in. I gave them all her cat food and hope she had a nice quiet life."

Is it a bad idea to feed and shelter stray cats?

cats, stray cats, feeding cats, feral cats, shelter catsCats eating kibble on the street.Image via Canva

People have differing opinions about whether it's good to feed stray cats or not, as cats can cause problems for local wildlife and it's not great to encourage an increasing stray cat population. According to Catster, in the United States alone, an estimated four billion birds and 22 billion mammals (such as mice, voles, rabbits, and shrews) are killed annually by both domestic and stray cats. In Canada, cats are the number one of killer of birds, killing "between 100 and 350 million birds every year." These numbers are staggering, but the bird and small mammal populations can be protected if stray cats are cared for responsibly: namely, spaying and neutering those in your area to cut down on the population and finding homes for those who are friendly and comfortable with humans.

According to the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, here are the best practices for feral and stray cats:

- Spay/neuter to prevent additional litters

- Find homes for friendly cats

- Feed outdoor cats on a schedule

- Remove food & dishes when they are done eating

- Pick up scraps and keep the feeding area tidy

- Provide fresh water

- Provide a warm place for the cats to sleep

So, go ahead and care for those kitties and keep them warm through the winter—just make sure they can't make any more kittens.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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