A Maltese cat has admitted that humans putting plastic water bottles on their doorsteps to scare them away does not work.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t remain silent any longer,” said Xandru, a ginger cat from Dingli.
“For decades we’ve laughed at humans behind their backs for their misguided belief that water bottles can somehow repel us from going near their homes,” he said, adding that the myth wasn’t just prevalent in Malta but was popular in countries as far away as Japan.
“I thought, perhaps naïvely, that the humans would figure it out eventually. I mean, what’s the science behind it supposed to be? Are we meant to be frightened of our own reflections, or do they think bottled water has magical powers or something? I just don’t get it,” he said while walking back and forth between two bottles to prove his point.
Xandru believes that the water bottle myth is not only damaging to humans, but also to cats themselves.
“Some cats might think it’s funny, but this ‘trick’ perpetuates the offensive and outdated stereotype of the ‘scaredy cat’, as propagated by old cartoons like Tom & Jerry. I can’t believe this stuff is still around in 2019.”
Xandru said he was planning to write a book on the subject, titled ‘The Water Delusion’, with help form his friend, Richard Pawkins.
“And don’t get me started on humans picking us up without our consent, #MeowToo,” he added.
