Tricky Challenge: Is the cat walking up or down the stairs?

Now that it is dark and cold outside, it’s the perfect time to crawl into the sofa with a blanket and warm yourself up with a cup of coffee. However, we still need some stimulation. Otherwise, the mind quickly gets bored and restless.

If you want to give your brain a workout, you can always rely on a few brainteasers. Online, there are millions of puzzles waiting to be solved, beyond the usual crosswords or sudoku.

Like the challenge we brought you today, for example.

Visual illusions, or optical puzzles, have piqued humanity’s curiosity since time immemorial.

The artists behind these illusions can draw or paint in a way that tricks the human eye into seeing something completely different than what’s actually there. The whole thing is considered a science and is actually quite amazing.

There is no correct answer

An optical illusion tricks your eyes into getting caught up in certain details of an image. But if you look away for a few seconds and then back at the picture again, you might suddenly see something completely different.

This does not mean that the image changes as time goes on, but that it was created in a way that allows different things to exist within the same picture. Sometimes, there might not be a “right answer,” but the image’s meaning can still be debated endlessly. Everything is in the eye of the beholder.

The cat on the stairs

Today’s challenge is a classic optical illusion that has divided the web.

Is the cat going up or down the stairs?

Can going up or down the stairs?

Up or down?

At first glance, you might think that this kitten is coming down the stairs. But if you look away for a moment and then back at the picture again, you might also perceive that it is coming up instead.

Those thinking that the cat is going down the stairs use the edges of the steps and the well-lit background to back up their choice. The fact is, however, that there is no right answer, as the creators have not presented any explanation.

What do you think, is the cat going up or down the stairs?

Anyway, how exciting are these visual illusions?! Now press that SHARE button below and see what your friends think about this one!