This Kitten's 'You Wanna Go?' Ambush Routine Never Gets Old

What's going on

One kitten has a favorite game: hide just out of sight behind a wall or door, then leap out with a big, telegraphed pounce to try to startle its owner. The reveal is always half-hearted at best, since the top of its head is usually visible the whole time, but that's never once stopped the owner from playing along with an exaggerated gasp.

Online, the little hesitation-hop the kitten does right before it commits to the jump has picked up its own nickname, and plenty of other cat owners chimed in to say their own cats do the exact same routine, down to the same hiding spots and the same smug little walk-off afterward. A few pointed out that the game isn't so different from what tiger and lion cubs do with their mothers, who play along for the same reason: it's hunting practice in disguise.

Comments

this whole trying-to-scare-me game — I got put through it like 10 times in a row

このびっくりさせようとする遊び、連続で10回ぐらいやらされてた

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insanely cute

えぐいかわいい

that fluffy baby fur is insane

パヤ毛がえぐい

the way they go “oh wow, I’m sooo scared” totally deadpan for the kitten — love it lol lol lol (the “(boo)” mark is net shorthand for a flat, sarcastic deadpan delivery)

びっくりしたあー(棒)って言ってあげてるのが良い笑笑笑

🥹 too cute

🥹可愛すぎる

waaah! you scared me!!

わああー！びっくりしたー！！

too cute, not even okay lol

可愛すぎてやばい笑

the best part is it clearly sees you the whole time but acts like it has no idea

最初見えてんのに見えてないと思ってる感じがミソ

way too cute! (so obvious what it’s doing, but that’s exactly why it’s cute)

かわいいがすぎる！（バレバレだけどそこがまたかわいい）

cute, cute, so unbelievably cute~ 😍 the little peek of just the top of its head, the pop-out with the “you wanna go?” step (riffing on a phrase people use to size someone up before a fight — here it’s just the kitten’s hesitant little bounce before it pounces), the fluffball toddling closer and then the extreme close-up — literally everything about this is cute

可愛い可愛い可愛過ぎる〜😍最初頭のてっぺんだけちょこっと見えてるとこも、やんのかステップでぴょこんて出てくるとこも、パヤパヤがとことこ近づいてきてからのドアップも、もう全てが可愛い。

it was so cute I ended up grinning like a weirdo on the train lol. good thing I had my mask on lol. and the fact that it still strikes the “you wanna go?” pose before jumping out just makes it cuter lolol

あまりの可愛さに電車の中で気持ち悪いほど満面のニンマリしてもうたw マスクしててよかったw 飛び出す時、一応やんのかStyleなのが余計にかわいいwww

love how after the “you wanna go?” step, the tail shoots straight up and it comes creeping closer

やんのかステップからしっぽが立ち上がって近づいてくるところが良い

this little fluffball trying so hard is making me tear up

ぱやぱやが一生懸命頑張ってて涙出る

at the end it kind of slides off down the stairs and vanishes, hope it’s okay lol 😹

最後階段を滑り落ちるように消えてったが大丈夫なんだろうかw😹

having this at home would add years to your life. seriously, this works better than medicine

こんなん家にいたら寿命のびる。なにこれ、薬よりか効くやろ。

so cats really do play like this. it’s adorable 😄

猫ちゃんてこんな遊びするがですね。可愛いなぁ😄

this “you wanna go?” dash thing — my cat does the exact same move, maybe it’s just a universal cat thing?

このやんのか走り？ワシのねっこも同じ動きするのほぼ全てのねっこに共通するのかな

mine does this to me too lol. once I act scared, my cat just strolls off looking satisfied lol

俺もやらされるw びっくりすると子は満足気にスタスタ歩くw

my cat Gintan does this too ( ◜௰◝ ) so cute

これぎんたんもやる( ◜௰◝ )かぁいい

that arched-back look back over the shoulder actually means “okay, your turn — come chase me now,” but most humans never pick up on it

これ、背中を丸めてこっちを見てるの本当は「次はあなたの番ね、私を追いかけて」って遊びを誘ってるんだけど大抵の人間は分からないんだよね

whenever my cat pulls this on me, I make it a rule to scare it right back — so at this point it’s decided I’m certifiably unhinged

これをやられたら作法としてやり返すようにしてるから、私は猫からマジキチ認定されてる

my cat Temari used to do this when she was little too — hide behind a wall, jump out to scare me, then get chased and run off. way too cute. these days only the chase-and-run part is left, though

うちの手毬も小さい時壁に隠れて来たら飛び出してびっくりさせ追いかけられて逃げるって遊びやってたな可愛いがすぎる今も追いかけて逃げるだけ残ってる

every single time I head to the bathroom or the sink, Sora hides behind the wall by the front door and jumps out to scare me, without fail 🙄 lol

ソラはトイレとか洗面所行ったら玄関前の壁に隠れて飛び出して驚かせようと毎度やってくるな🙄w

cats really love this game, huh. mine taps my leg from behind then runs off (pretty sure it’s hunting practice). when I go “eek!” it gets thrilled and hides again (with its ears sticking out, giving it away completely)

これ猫ちゃん好きだよねえうちの子も後ろから脚にタッチして逃げる（狩り遊びと見た）わたしが「きゃー」と言うと大喜びで、また隠れる（耳が見えてる）

so cute 😍 in our house, the move is jumping onto the rattan stool by the bed from the far side to startle me. and it’s not complete unless I go “whoa! you scared me!” and collapse onto the bed. after 3 to 5 rounds of my best over-the-top pratfall (a nod to Katsura Sanshi, a comedian famous for his exaggerated collapsing pratfalls), the cat’s finally satisfied

かわいい😍我が家はベッド横のラタンのスツールに反対側から飛び乗ることでびっくりさせようとします。わたしが「わあ！びっくりした！」ってベッドに倒れるとこまでがセット。3〜5回桂三枝ばりのズッコケを披露したら満足してくれます。

got so caught off guard by how cute this is. probably hunting practice 🥰

可愛すぎてビックリした狩の練習かな🥰

tiger and lion cubs do this too, apparently, and the mothers play along by pretending to be startled — it doubles as hunting practice

これトラとかライオンの子供もやるんだけどお母さんはわざとびっくりしてあげてて、それが狩りの練習になるらしいね

woke up to this blowing up so hard my notifications glitched out… can’t reply to everyone individually, so please accept a thank-you plus some bonus cat pics here instead 🙏🏻 he’s a Ragamuffin boy named Dari 🐱🐾 he’s 3 years old now, and I posted this after looking back at his old baby videos yesterday 🙏🏻 he’s an only cat, growing up totally free-spirited at his own pace 💭ྀི

起きたら万バズしてて通知バグってまして…1人1人にリプは出来ないのでここでお礼と追加にゃんこで勘弁してください🙏🏻ラガマフィンの男の子で名前はダリです🐱🐾今はもう3歳になってて昨日は赤ちゃんの動画振り返ってて投稿しました🙏🏻一人っ子で伸び伸び超絶マイペースに育ってます💭ྀི

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such a mischievous little cutie. and the owner playing along with it is adorable too

お茶目で可愛すぎる付き合ってあげてるとげちゃんも可愛い

he still makes me play this game now. these days he’s gotten more serious about it too, actually hiding behind walls

今もこの遊びやらされる今はもっと本格的で壁に隠れながらやってる

My take

Honestly, if this is what "mischief" looks like, sign me up for more of it.

#Heartwarming #Animals

Source & translation note

Comments loosely translated for tone. Reactions collected from Togetter and X threads.

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