During the 2020 lockdowns, animal psychology researcher Gabriella Smith worked with a number of volunteers on experiments to determine if cats, which will frequently sit in boxes and had been shown to sit in squares taped on the floor, would sit in a square less clearly delineated.
Two sets of four "Pac-Man" figures were arranged on a floor. One set had the open mouths of the Pac-men pointed outward and the other had them arranged to suggest a square inside them relying on the negative space they outlined. Cats were recorded to see if they would prefer the negative space square over the other arrangement, and they did.
Left unresolved is the reason why cats prefer such spaces, with cats themselves displaying the expected attitude of, "Because I damn well please, primate."
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