Cat Myth or Fact?

I saw something online about cat mthys and was like that's absoultely ridiculous. I'm going to dive into some myths about cats. Ones that even the most hardcore cat enthusiast will refer to. Even I joke about some of the cat myths, that I know are just that a myth. So here goes - cat myths, truths and facts.

Cats can see in the dark, their vision is better.

How nice would that be - seeing in the total darkness of the night. They cannot see in the absolute dark, but their eyes are more adaptaive to low light. Cats eye let in more light than a human eye does. So go ahead and leave nightlight on for them. Complete darkness is not their friend.

Cats are nocturnal.

They are something - but its actually called crepuscular. Before writing about the myths of cats - I had no idea that word existed. Let's start with a definition:

Crepuscular: - of, relating to, or resembling twilight : dim

Broken down in a cat's world - they are most active during dawn and dusk. Typically they will sleep or rest thru the daylight hours. (my cats may need to be reminded of this...) You'll also find they sleep during the deepest hours of the night. Somehow, my cats must have completely missed this memo. Their best play time happens in the deepest hours of our nights. Bottom line, cats eyes function best in low-light versus a dark or brightly lit room.

A purring cat is happy cat.

Purring the feline world is not all happy. It can be a multitude of other things. It's a way they let us know how they are feeling. Purring can mean stress, pain, frightened or it can be them self-soothing. Truly understanding a cats purr is hard, but yet one of their biggest ways to let us know what is going on. To truly know what that purr means, you'll have to look at the larger picture of what is going on.

Black Cats = bad luck.

This is a big one in the USA. So big in fact that many rescues will not adopt out black cats close to halloween. For good reason most of the time, but yet sad that we have to be so careful. This is actually an old superstition that started in Medieval Europe, as they were associated with witches and perceived as the embodiement of demons. Today a black cat crossing your path is thought to be bad luck. If you live in Japan, Scotland, England or Ireland black cats could mean: good fortune, love, prosperity or impending wealth. Truth be told - I'd take any of those over the bad luck.

You can't train a cat.

There's definately a mixed feeling on this one. I prefer saying - cats have a mind of their own and are strong willed. If it doesn't suit them, absolutely they may seem un-trainable. Truth be told - training a cat requires lots of patience and positive reinforcement. Cats can be taught good manners, tricks and more. It's moreso a matter of the time and effort. I equate cats to kids. We train them, but every so often they still do what they know they aren't allowed to. We have a cat that does get grounded - to the sunporch. When he's being the most out of line he gets a time out to cool down.

Cats always land on their feet.

This is absolutely false. Granted 99% of the time they may land on their feet. But there's some things that help determine if they truly will land on their feet. Cats having something called a righting reflex - a physiological response that keeps the body balanced and upright. It's an automatic reflex (yep humans have it to). How is it possible in cats? They have flexible spines and sensitive inner ears to start, but they do need adequate space to complete the manuever to land on their feet. A fall from to low of a space - means they don't have enough room to complete the twist to right them selves, a fall from to high allows them to complet the twist but pick up lives. velocity and relax before landing. This can still end in injury. Moment's before landing from a fall, cats arch their back to absorbe the shock then flattens out their body to slow the fall and lastly extends all four legs for landing. Not as easy as they make it look!

Cats can drink milk.

A tough one...here's the scoop with cats and milk poducts. Cats are in fact lactose intolerant. Cats have an enzyme "lactase" that breaks down the sugar in milk - BUT as cats age that enzyme goes away. Kittens need their mom's milk to get a healthy start (or a kitten formula), but definately NOT milk that humans drink. When they drink regular milk it leads to upset stomach, vomiting and diarhea. None of which is pleasant for the cat or it's owners. We see it all the time - cats begging for the milk from your cereal bowl or glass of milk. Sure they love it, but it is in fact one of the worst things for them. Sometimes, if a cat has been given milk routinely from early on, they may not be lactose intolerant, although it's best if you don't let that become a habit. Giving them milk is a calorie overload on their system with absolutely no nutrition (much like junk food for humans). A small saucer of milk is the equivilant to a human eating a 12 inch pizza.

Cats have 9 lives.

This is sadly a myth - they only have 1 life. It's a centuries old provberb stemming from folklore. It most likely originates from ancient Egyptian culture. Cats were revered as gods and symbols of resurrection as well as the mystical significance of the number 9. Cat's have a few things on their side that make them live a little longer - quick instincts, fast reflexes, flexible skeletins, and agility to name a few. I'm sure all cat owners have or had a cat who seemed to use of some of the mytical 9 lives. For us that was Jasper who certaintly used all 9 and smokey who used one of hers and a dozen of mine that I surely don't have!

Drop in the comments a myth you've heard or what you thoughts are on these myths!

Till our tails cross again,

Mel

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