Idk why they are scared of cucumbers

Two theories have been proposed:

1. Cats are deadly afraid of snakes and cucumbers look like snakes (reference: https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/scaredy-cats-absolutely-terrified-cucumbers/story?id=35953032)
2. Cats are startled by something suddenly appearing out of nowhere (reference: https://hellogiggles.com/news/cats-and-cucumbers/)

I would tend to believe reason number two. The reasoning makes more sense to make that cats are deadly afraid of snakes.

https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/animals/cats-vs-cucumbers-why-are-cats-scared-of-cucumbers.html

In particular: To be fair, there aren’t any videos of cats seeing a cucumber from a distance and then walking up to interrogate it, so perhaps it’s the unexpected sight of a cucumber behind them that’s frightening, not the cucumber itself: An unexpected pineapple would likely be just as jarring. As it turns out, Dr. Roger Mugford, a specialist in animal behavior, told the Telegraph: “I think that the reaction is due to the novelty and unexpectedness of finding an unusual object secretly placed whilst their heads were down in the food bowl.”

And who is Dr. Mugford?

https://www.companyofanimals.co.uk/about-coa/roger-mugford

Actually, here is the best reference of all: https://www.rd.com/advice/pets/why-cats-afraid-of-cucumbers/

It does point out that startle response is the most like answer because: Reports and videos of other fruits and vegetables scaring cats—including apples and bananas—reinforce the likelihood of this theory. Here are more things your cat would love to tell you.