Cats conspire to keep us at arm's length.

Perkins’s line wryly anthropomorphizes cats, casting their famous independence as a kind of coordinated strategy. “Conspire” suggests intention and collective purpose, turning everyday feline aloofness—selective affection, sudden withdrawal, refusal to be commanded—into a playful “plot” against human expectations of intimacy and control. The phrase “at arm’s length” frames the human–cat relationship as one defined by boundaries: cats may invite closeness, but on their own terms, and they often resist being possessed emotionally or physically. The humor lies in recognizing a familiar dynamic while also hinting at a broader truth about relationships: some beings maintain autonomy by regulating access, and that distance can be part of their appeal.