the strangest thing about this meme is how you were able to take both pictures in the same position and unblurred
this post was submitted on 19 May 2026
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What? I know they are memeable things, but cats aren't subject to the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle. Can you honestly tell me you have never seen a cat or any animal for that matter change their facial expression without much movement? Even a yawn?
I'll explain this joke to you when you're older.
I guess it's a whoosh moment? I thought you were claiming the image as AI :p
Wouldn't be so sure about that Heisenberg principle. This Schrödinger's Cat thing must come from somewhere...
I have to ruin the joke but this is not really accurate.
Cat's are not thinking about "killing" when they have this look. It's the "play & snack mode" a very positive feeling for the cat. They don't have the idea that they might hurt or kill another living being in the process.
The real "kill mode" is when having a dispute with other cats (or cat like animals) that they identity not as a snack but as a cat like thing. And this look is much closer to the left picture.
Fight mode is usually ears back, low to the ground, fur on end, tense muscles and accompanied by hissing/bapping. Tail tucked in or fully raised dependent on cat and whether they feel cornered or aggressive.
Eyes half squinted, ears generally relaxed/lightly twitching with occasional tail swish is chill mode.
Whiskers will be more horizontal as well. Drooping whiskers = relaxed.
The second move is for target acquisition and often precedes a pounce. The wide pupils let in more light, enabling a more precise pounce.
Why the cat's body is preparing to pounce is entirely situational. Maybe it's a hunt, maybe it's play, maybe it's just because the cat is being a little overenergetic derp. When you spend time living with a cat you usually learn to identify them pretty reliably. Especially the last one.
Exactly my stand is, that cat's don't differentiate much between play and hunt.
It's a joyful experience for them (most times), not a stress situation.
The left picture is also very close to a cat smile, a little more squinty-ness and that's a smile.
It's actually both
Depends on the lighting conditions
I dislike cats, have never had one, but this seems obvious.
Ain't nobody prowling around on the savanna in the day time with huge pupils like that.
Cats are crepuscular, which means they are most active at dawn and dusk. They aren't doing a whole lot of hunting in the middle of the day regardless of their pupil size.
This is also why they have a reputation for being really fucking annoying when you’re trying to sleep. They’ll keep you awake when you’re trying to fall asleep, because that’s when they are most awake. And then after you finally fall asleep, they’ll come snuggle up because they’re tired again. And then they’ll wake you up at 5:30 in the fucking morning, because they’re awake and energetic again as dawn approaches.
Our cat likes to "hunt" at around 3AM. Every morning there is a collection of his prey (toys) that he brings upstairs and leaves on and around the bed. At some point he will also loudly announce his arrival with his kills. It would be cute if it wasn't 3 AM on a Monday night!
Amazing.
The first is the judgement and planning phase.
The second is when demonic behavior might leak out.
..."might"? A decision has already been made behind those eyes.
There is a whole horror short story in those 2 faces if you are a creature that is smaller than them.
"yawn, that little creature is so boring an unimpressive....I should go break its leg and bite it to see if that makes it do anything interesting."
It's not "kill mode", it's attentive.
Way back I gave one of my cats one of those toys that's basically a torus with a ball that rolls around the inside with openings on top to allow the cat to hit the ball around. The openings were just a hint too small for the ball to come out without any force. Anyway, I gave my girl this toy and I swear she spent over half an hour just knocking that ball around. I walked up and pulled the ball out and showed it to her and in an instant her eyes went from slits to fully dilated. She didn't attack me though, she just yelled at me instead.
Don't worry she probably not thought about killing you, but was just happy you signalized to play "kill this thing" with her.
In the first photo it looks like it just smoked a joint.
In the second photo it looks like it just snorted five lines and is ready to go scarface.
So yeah, it tracks.
Learned that in elementary school
The cat will open its pupils when gunting, since closed eyes hinder its sight
"gunting" made me feel a certain way
It sounds like a place where you put things or the sound you make when you put things in the gunt.
My cat can be a complete gunt at times. I've not noticed if her pupils differ at these times
Offense or defense, both come with claws.