Anyone who has ever turned on a bird video for their cat knows television isn’t necessarily just for humans. But one calico kitten named Fig has discovered a Netflix show that appears to have been made for her viewing pleasure.
Fig, who appears on the Instagram account @fossilandfig, was introduced to the animated Netflix series Sealook. Almost immediately, the kitten was glued to the screen. A video shared by her family shows Fig sitting in front of the television and watching the colorful seals with remarkable concentration. Soon, watching from a distance isn’t enough, and she moves closer to the screen and reaches toward the animated characters with her paws.
The video suggests there’s another reason Sealook might be particularly interesting to cats: its color palette includes colors feline eyes can see. While there’s no indication Netflix intentionally created the show around cat vision, the idea isn’t as strange as it might initially sound. Cats really do see the world differently than we do. And when you combine those visual differences with a cartoon full of moving animals, Fig’s new television obsession starts to make a little more sense.
Fig Has a New Favorite Netflix Show
Sealook follows a group of playful seals living together in a wildlife sanctuary. Netflix describes the animated series as a goofy kids’ cartoon filled with seals whose different personalities lead to plenty of mischievous antics. Apparently, nobody told Fig it was intended for children.
In the video, the calico kitten sits directly in front of the television with her attention locked on the animated action. Her interest only grows as the clip continues, and eventually she gets close enough to reach toward the screen as though she’d like to get personally involved in whatever the seals are doing. Her family summed up Fig’s reaction simply: “She’s obsessed.”
Judging by the kitten’s focus, that doesn’t appear to be much of an exaggeration. Fig watches the characters move across the television with the kind of concentration many cat parents would love to see when they’re trying to get their cats interested in an expensive new toy.
Can Cats Actually See the Colors in ‘Sealook’?
Text accompanying Fig’s video claims Sealook uses colors cats can see, which has helped fuel interest in the show among cat owners. Cats absolutely can see color, but their visual world isn’t identical to ours.
Veterinary experts explain that cats perceive a narrower range of colors than humans do. Blues are among the colors cats can distinguish well, while research and expert interpretations vary somewhat on exactly how they perceive greens and yellows. Reds and similar shades are much more difficult for feline eyes to distinguish.
Cats also don’t experience colors with the same richness and intensity humans do. With far fewer color-sensitive cone cells in their eyes, the world can appear less saturated to them, even though it certainly isn’t entirely black and white.
That means saying Sealook is “only in colors cats can see” oversimplifies feline vision. Netflix itself describes the series as a Korean children’s cartoon about playful seals and doesn’t indicate that it was deliberately designed around the visual abilities of cats.
Still, the show’s appearance could be part of what caught Fig’s attention. Its animation features plenty of shades that fall within a cat’s visible range, but color probably isn’t the only thing making this particular kitten reach for the remote.
Movement May Be Even More Interesting Than Color
Cats are exceptionally good at detecting movement, an ability connected to their evolution as hunters. Their eyes contain many rod cells, which help with both low-light vision and detecting motion.
That could make an animated show filled with small creatures moving around particularly compelling. To Fig, the seals swimming, bouncing, sliding, and moving across the screen may be far more interesting than a program dominated by people sitting around talking.
Veterinary ophthalmologist Dr. Paul Miller explained to PetMD that color is generally less important to cats than movement when it comes to grabbing their attention. Cats also tend to perceive blues and yellows particularly well, while reds and greens are more difficult for them to distinguish.
So Fig’s fascination could be the result of several things happening at once. The movement may trigger her attention, while the animation’s high contrast and cat-visible colors make it easier to follow what’s happening on the screen. Whatever she’s seeing, it’s clearly working.
Fig Isn’t the Only Cat Watching ‘Sealook’
Perhaps the funniest part of Fig’s discovery is that she apparently hasn’t stumbled onto an obscure feline preference all by herself. Other cat parents have been reporting similar reactions after showing Sealook to their own felines.
Comments on Fig’s video included people confirming that their cats were equally captivated. One viewer even revealed that Sealook had become part of their cat’s daily Netflix routine, while others immediately announced plans to test the show on their own feline family members.
The fascination has spread beyond Fig’s account as well. Other cat owners have recently shared their own recommendations for Sealook online, reporting that their pets become particularly interested in the animated action.
Of course, cats remain cats, so there are no guarantees. At least one commenter on Fig’s post reported that their cats still preferred watching the cursor move around a computer screen.
Cat TV Might Look Different Through Feline Eyes
Fig’s reaction is a fun reminder that cats aren’t necessarily seeing the same television program we are. Their eyes prioritize different visual information, and something relatively ordinary to a person can apparently become riveting entertainment when viewed through feline eyes.
Cats see better in dim light than humans and are particularly skilled at detecting small movements. Their color vision is more limited, with blues and some yellow tones among the colors they are believed to distinguish more easily.
That doesn’t mean Sealook was secretly created as Netflix programming for cats. The streaming service lists it as a children’s animated comedy about playful seals living in a wildlife sanctuary, with no claim that its palette was designed for feline viewers.
Fig doesn’t seem particularly concerned about who the intended audience is. As far as she’s concerned, Netflix has seals moving around the television in colors worth watching, and that’s apparently enough to earn Sealook a place on her must-watch list. The humans can find something else to watch later. Fig is using the TV right now.
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This content was created with AI assistance and edited by the iHeartCats team.