As fun as the Ig Nobels are, the narrative of “absurd scientific research” has become a dangerous part of the ongoing political war on science. For anyone who doesn’t appreciate how much this can be an issue for serious, committed scientists, I recommend the following excellent podcast:
Well that doesn’t say anything about their phase; ice is 100% water, and there are gels that are almost all water but don’t flow, even at high temperatures.
Strictly speaking I suppose cats are neither solid nor liquid but rather a type of colloid. But studying their flow characteristics sounds like an interesting and not necessarily fruitless exercise. I mean, cats obviously are more fluid than dogs, so we should be able to quantify that.