Why do cats steal your seat the moment you get up?

The answer

Cats prefer a warmer temperature than people do. A vet journal describes a cat's preferred ambient temperature zone as 30 to 38 degrees Celsius, which is well above most room temperatures, so a cat looks for warmth wherever it can find it. A seat that someone has just left is still warm, which makes it very attractive. In this made-up case from Matter of Record Files, Inspector Fig lost his favourite armchair to a small, furry suspect again and again. Fig set a trap with a soft new cushion, but the cat walked straight past it and curled up on the exact spot where he had been sitting. The cat did not want the chair. It wanted the warmth.