"A cat is an animal".
"Is a cat an animal?"
I have a theory that the word order here is important. One must first put the image of a "cat" in your brain BEFORE recognising if it is an "animal".
For example, "Is an example of an animal, a cat?" is much more unnatural. Or perhaps "Are there animals called cats?" But these are not the usual way of asking this question.
Are there any languages in which these common phrases are reversed? Which would disprove my theory?