Being a cat owner can be tough work. Forget about the daily litter box cleanings and bi-monthly toilet paper shredding sessions; felines are hard to raise because, simply put, they are mysterious creatures. While dogs tend to be predictable, even the most seasoned of cat owners can be caught off-guard by new, bizarre behaviors.

Take this one, for instance. If you have a love for these temperamental fur babies, then you may already have experience with the fact that many cats like to plant themselves smack dab in the middle of circles. Yeah, yeah, we know it’s a bit of a random observation, but folks all over the internet are raving about this strange occurrence.

At this point, science has yet to prove why kitties like to spend more times in circles than with their owners, but some animal behavior experts feel that it may have something to do with feeling protected or even craving an enclosed space, which makes these furry pals feel more safe.

One Reddit user who first posted about one of these incidents involving his own cat was sick of waiting on science to explain this, so he tried a bit of experimenting on his own. He took some tape and made various shapes on his carpet. Amazingly, his cat jumped into each and every circular shaped space that his owner had made.

After posting his pictures and full story, thousands of other Reddit users began sharing their own images, and quickly – as these viral happenings usually happen! – a community popped up on the popular website. These feline lovers call the group CatCircles, and it is a place to share pictures of cats doing just that: sitting in circles.

Now, this is where things start taking a bit of a hilarious turn. Since this is the internet after all, of course people had to put their own crazy spin on things! Members of this group pushed the trend to its limits by making circles out of literally ANYTHING to see if their cats would still respond in the same way.

One user even started a sub-group that involves cats jumping into circles of dirty socks. Not surprisingly, cats don’t seem to care much about what the area is made out of, as long as it’s a circular shape!

And, interestingly, according to users’ photos, cats seem to prefer the tiniest spaces possible. In other words, the smaller the circle, the better. Predictably, users do everything they can to test the boundaries of this theory as well.

Hey! It’s not exactly hard science, but we think it’s an adorable spectacle that should get the attention that it deserves!

To learn about even more feline circle-sitting conspiracy theories, be sure to read more from Boredom Therapy’s article here. Those cats certainly do keep us guessing!

What do you think of some of the scientific theories as to why this phenomenon occurs? Have you ever tried this experiment with your own cat? If so, what was the outcome? Tell us all about your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below!