On the Edge of Reason

• 2007-Oct-14 - The Greatest-kept Cat Secrets

You’ll have to bear with me on this one. Judging from the way I customized my blog, I guess people must have realized by now that I’m a cat lover. In a world dominated by dog lovers, we cat lovers stand behind our feline pets despite the many sweeping generalizations and bad press thrown their way. Thus, let me just share some snippets of information to enlighten non-cat lovers and cat lovers alike on the real deal behind the mystery of the cat. I got this trivia from http://www.i-pets.com/. Cat Anatomy: · A cat can be either right-pawed or left-pawed. · A cat cannot see directly under its nose. This is why the cat cannot seem to find tidbits on the floor. · A cat's brain is more similar to a human's brain than that of a dog. · A large majority of white cats with blue eyes are deaf. White cats with one blue eye are deaf only in the ear closest to the blue eye. · Cats can donate blood to other cats. · Cats can have freckles. They can appear anywhere on a cat's skin and even in its mouth. · Cats can see color. Studies have shown that cats can distinguish between red and green; red and blue; red and gray; green and blue; green and gray; blue and gray; yellow and blue, and yellow and gray. · Cats have about 100 different vocalization sounds. In comparison, dogs have about 10. · Cats have better memories than dogs. Tests conducted by the University of Michigan concluded that while a dogs memory lasts no more than 5 minutes, a cat's can last as long as 16 hours - exceeding even that of monkeys and orangutans. · Cats step with both left legs, then both right legs when they walk or run. The only other animals to do this are the giraffe and the camel. · Cats, just like people, are subject to asthma. Dust, smoke, and other forms of air pollution in your cat's environment can be troublesome sources of irritation. · To drink, a cat laps liquid from the underside of its tongue, rather than the top. Cat Traits: · A cat that bites you for rubbing his stomach is often biting from pleasure, not anger. · A cat will almost never meow at another cat. Cats use this sound for humans. · After being handled, cats lick themselves to smooth their fur and get rid of the "human" smell. Licking is also thought to produce a calming effect. · Cats average 16 hours of sleep a day, more than any other mammal. · Cats can learn tricks. They just sometimes choose not to. · Like birds, cats have a homing ability that uses its biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the Earth's magnetic field. A cat taken far from its home can return to it. But if a cat's owners move far from its home, the cat can't find them. · Purring is part of every cat's repertoire of social communication, apparently created by the movement of air in spasms through contractions of the diaphragm. Interestingly, purring is sometimes heard in cats that are severely ill or anxious, perhaps as a self-comforting vocalization. But, more typically, it is a sign of contentment, first heard in kittens as they suckle milk from their mother. Cat-human Relations: · Contrary to popular belief, the cat is a social animal. A pet cat will respond and answer to speech, and seems to enjoy human companionship. · Has your cat ever brought its prey to your door? Cats do that because they regard their owners as their "kittens." The cats are teaching their "kittens" how to hunt by bringing them food. Most people aren't too delighted when a pet brings in their kill. Instead of punishing your cat, praise it for its efforts, accept the prey, and then secretly throw it away. · It has been established that people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks. · The cat lover is an ailurophile, while a cat hater is an ailurophobe. Cat Facts: · A form of AIDS exists in cats. · A group of adult cats is called a clowder, while a group of kittens is called a kindle. · Cat families usually play best in even numbers. Cats and kittens should be acquired in pairs whenever possible. · Cats respond most readily to names that end in an "ee" sound. · Orange and lemon rinds are offensive to cats. A light rubbing of orange peel on furniture will discourage your cat from using it as a scratching post. Cats in History: · Ailurophobia is the fear of cats. Julius Caesar, Henry II, Charles XI, and Napoleon all suffered from this and would nearly faint in the presence of a cat. · In ancient Egypt, the entire family would shave their eyebrows off as a sign of mourning when the family cat died. · In the 9th century, King Henry I of Saxony decreed that the fine for killing a cat should be sixty bushels of corn. · According to one legend, the "M" marking on the forehead of the tabby cat was created by the prophet Mohammed as he rested his hand lightly on the brow of his favorite cat – a tabby. To further bring home the point about human beings’ fascination not just with the cat but with other pets, I would recommend the Xlibris book entitled, The Cat who Read the Mail: Sixteen Amazing Stories about Our Mysterious Bond with Animals. Written by Elinor Donahue, this book will tug at anyone’s heart and prove that the bond between human and animal can endure many hardships and tribulations. -------------------- You, too, can become an author! 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