Here's the direct answer: we will never tell you who signed you up for cat facts, so the only way to find out is to watch your friends and see who cracks first. The texts come from the Cat Facts number, not the prankster's phone, and we never reveal who paid. But people are bad at keeping secrets about jokes they're proud of, and that's your opening.
Wait, what did I just get?
A text with a cat fact in it. Maybe something about cats having 32 muscles in each ear, maybe something about their whiskers. Somebody who knows your phone number paid a few dollars to have those facts show up on your phone every day. Plans start at $2.99 a month for one fact a day, and the truly committed can send you up to 15 a day.
It's a real thing, and an old one. The joke started with a 2012 Reddit thread and has been circulating ever since. If you're still not sure the message is legit: it is, and it's harmless.
How do people actually figure out who did it?
Not through us. Through detective work. Here's what usually gives the prankster away:
The friend who asks "get anything weird today?" Nobody asks that question by accident. If someone checks in on your day with unusual enthusiasm, look closely at them.
The one who laughs too hard. You mention the texts in passing and one person in the room loses it. Cat facts are funny, but they are not that funny. That person knows something.
The group chat that goes quiet. You drop a screenshot into the chat and the usual loudmouth suddenly has nothing to say. Silence is a confession with better manners.
The timing. Did the first fact land on your birthday? The morning after you beat someone at trivia? The day you moved into a new apartment? The prankster picked that date for a reason, and the reason usually has a name.
The cat person. Somebody in your life owns three cats and has strong opinions about them. Start there.
Most people know within a day. The ones who don't usually get a confession within a week, because the prankster wants credit.
Does this cost me anything?
No. You pay nothing beyond whatever your carrier already charges for a text, which for almost everyone is nothing. The person who signed you up paid for the whole thing. You are the audience, not the customer.
How do I make it stop?
Reply STOP to any message and the texts end instantly. Every message tells you this, and it works on the first try, no questions asked. Full details are on our stop page if you want them.
That escape hatch is the whole reason this prank works. You're never trapped. You're just getting cat facts until you decide you're done.
But what if I kind of like them?
Then keep them. Plenty of people who start out annoyed end up looking forward to the daily text. Cats are strange animals, and learning that they can rotate their ears 180 degrees or that the average one sleeps 12 to 14 hours a day is a pleasant little interruption in an otherwise ordinary day. Nobody will judge you for staying subscribed. Your prankster will be delighted.
How do I get even?
Here's the classic ending: sign them up right back. Revenge is a dish best served daily.
Once you've figured out who did it (see the detective work above), go to the signup form, enter their number, and pick how many facts a day they deserve. One a day is a polite reply. Fifteen a day says you noticed. The first fact lands on their phone within seconds, from the Cat Facts number, and they'll go through the same "who did this" spiral you just finished.
If you'd rather test the waters first, there's a free three-text option on the homepage that sends three facts and stops. It's enough to make them nervous. And of course, they hold the same exit you did: replying STOP ends it for them instantly, so the whole thing stays a joke and never becomes a problem.
The short version
You won't get the name from us. You'll get it from the friend who can't stop grinning. Reply STOP whenever you like, it costs you nothing, and if you want the last laugh, the form is right here.