Why do indoor cats still show seasonal behaviors like increased activity or shedding in spring?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Sunlight through windows still shifts their daily light exposure
Sunlight through windows still shifts their daily light exposure ✓ — Correct! Indoor life reduces some seasonal signals, but it does not erase them. Sunlight still enters through windows, people change lighting and routines, and artificial light can extend perceived day length. That is why an indoor cat can still show seasonal patterns, just less predictably.
Indoor cats copy the seasonal behaviors of outdoor birds — Wrong. Birds can absolutely make a window more exciting, but imitation is not the mechanism. Outdoor birds are a stimulus; daylight and environmental change are the broader seasonal inputs.
Walls release spring hormones that cats can smell — Wrong. Walls do not leak spring hormones—very convenient for horror movies, not biology. The real point is that the cat's eyes and brain still receive light information, even inside an apartment.
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