Contrary to expectations, there was no significant difference insitting in the square versus the Kanizsa control. We justify that, althoughthis study is the first to formally investigate cats’ attraction to 2D shapes,further experimental validity is needed to directly compare the stimuli.Furthermore, the Kanizsa control was likely an unsuitable comparisonfor contour treatment to the square. If performed again, a second con-trol/fourth stimulus could be developed to better compare behaviortowards the Kanizsa versus the square. Furthermore, to better under-stand cats elusive attraction to enclosures, future controls could intro-duce three-dimensional sides to the Kanizsa, square, and control

2.4.2. Experimental trial surveysUpon completion of the preliminary survey, owners received Trial 1stimuli, a link to the first trial’s respective survey to report that day’sresults (see Appendix C for general daily survey), and an instructionsdocument (see Appendix D). Each experimental period lasted approxi-mately 30 min consisting of stimuli preparation, a 5-minute daily trial,and electronic submission. Upon completion of every trial, owners fol-lowed a simple routine of clicking the link in that day’s stimuli Bookletto report their name, their cat’s name, that day’s trial number, Bookletassignment, that day’s trial results, and instructions to upload a video ofthe trial. Each trial survey completion triggered an e-mail with the nexttrial’s stimuli until the sixth and final trial, in which they received acertificate of participation. Owners received no monetary or giftcompensation for their participation.

The present study supplements the results of Bravo et al.’s (1988)experiment with the addition of an increased sample size and a moreinclusive sex and age range, in pet, rather than laboratory, cats. More-over, rather than using standard operant conditioning procedures, thecurrent study utilizes a more ecologically valid, real-world setting inwhich to evaluate spontaneous behavior. As cats transferred to novelenvironments can exhibit stress-related behaviors and thus not behavenaturally (Amat et al., 2015), this study also offers an at-home envi-ronment to explore domestic cats’ susceptibility to Kanizsa squarecontours in a natural setting. Specifically, we evaluate whether cats willsit or stand within the contours of an illusory Kanizsa square more oftenthan a control stimulus in a spontaneous choice task. Importantly, todate, cats’ attraction to enclosed spaces has been limited to 3D spaces(Carlstead et al., 1993; Gourkow and Fraser, 2006; Hawkins, 2005; Kryand Casey, 2007; Vinke et al., 2014), and thus this study also aims toformally examine the extension of this behavior to 2D shapes (such asthat which was seen in the #CatSquare challenge). This study wasconducted entirely remotely through citizen science engagement duringthe COVID-19 pandemic, and to the best of our knowledge, is the firstpublished citizen science experiment to examine cat cognition

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