We love to relate feline lore all the way back to the ancient Egyptians, who revered and even worshipped cats. A common creation myth says that the sun god Ra, who took the shape of the “Great Tomcat” or Mau during his visits to the underworld, engendered eight other gods—thus representing nine lives in one.
Why do we say cats have nine lives? A cat is one of the most agile, quick-witted and independent pets out there. In particular, cats can withstand falls that would easily kill a human – which perhaps explains where the idea that a cat has nine lives came from.
Obviously, the saying that cats have nine lives is a myth. Cats, like all other animals, have only one life. It's possible that this myth may have persisted due to the fact that cats seem to be able to escape death and accidents easily, coming away unharmed and unshaken.
Do cats really have 9 lives? The short answer is no, but there's something so beguiling about a cat's demeanor that makes it seem almost possible that they could have extra lives.
In Western countries, cats are believed to have 7 lives. Number 7 is not accidental but it symbolises completeness and perfection. In the Middle Ages cats were even attributed supernatural gifts and magical powers, so much that they were considered allies of evil presences and witches.
A mammal heart consists of two adjacent halves, seperated by a partition and surrounded by a pericardium. The heart has a left and a right ventricle and a left and a right cardiac atrium.
Cutting whiskers is not only painful, but can decrease a cat's spatial awareness. This can cause them to knock into things, become disorientated, less able to protect themselves from danger and less agile. So, put the scissors away and let your cat's whiskers grow wild!
Though this data might seem to suggest that dogs are twice as intelligent as cats, a direct correlation between larger brain size and increased intelligence has not been conclusively proven. Regardless, dogs' higher neuron count is often viewed as a gauge of their superior intelligence.
Cats have a wide range of basic emotions – they feel happy, sad, afraid, relieved and even frustrated, just like us humans! The key to a good relationship with your cat is learning how to recognise these emotions, and respond where needed.
Cats do indeed eat mice, as well as rats, other small mammals, and birds. The act of cats 'playing' with their food is so that they can hone their hunting skills.
Cats are fastidious animals that spend a great deal of their day grooming themselves. Wet fur is extremely uncomfortable for a cat and often takes a long time to dry. Wet fur is also heavier than dry and thus makes a cat less nimble and easier for predators to catch. There is also the shock factor.
With few exceptions, mammals like cats, dogs and humans have belly buttons located on their abdomen, but birds do not. On cats and dogs, it's near the base of their rib cage, not low on their abdomen as you might expect.
Yes, cats can see colours! Although they can't appreciate the full spectrum and the vast variety of shades that we humans can, their world isn't solely black and white like many previously believed.
They can twist in midair so their feet are under them when they land. This reflex keeps them from grinding into the ground face first or back first. Plus, cats have no working clavicles, flexible backbones, powerful back legs, and low body weight. These things work together to minimize the impact of a fall.
Cats possess excellent long-term memories. They can recall their animal companions and the people who feed them as well as those who irritate them. Memory is what allows a cat to leap into the arms of a family member returning after a semester away at college.
Do cats have night vision? Not exactly. They can see very well in low light, however — a skill that gave domestic cats' ancestors an advantage over their prey. As American Veterinarian explains, cats' large corneas and pupils, which are about 50% larger than humans', allow more light into their eyes.
If a cat is mad or annoyed with you, they might leave the area you're in or sit and stare at you from across the room, just observing your movements. Sometimes it's best to just give your cat some space to calm down, especially if there is something that is stressing them out.
Famously independent, sometimes falsely assumed to be immune to feelings, cats are in truth super-sensitive to emotions, sound, and stress. Perhaps because felines lack the eager-to-please openness of their canine colleagues, humans overlook the big and small ways they can break a cat's spirit.
Behaviors that look like signs of embarrassment may come from your pet's fear of upsetting you or anticipating getting into trouble. Pets can pick up on our moods and body language, and they can tell when we're not happy with them.
Within the encephalization quotient proposed by Jerison in 1973, values above one are classified big-brained, while values lower than one are small-brained. The domestic cat is attributed a value of between 1–1.71; relative to human value, that is 7.44–7.8.
C ats are just as loyal as dogs and children, according to new research. Although feline pets are seen as distant and aloof, researchers claim this is an unfair myth.
Unlike dogs, cats are not known for coming when called. But if your cat doesn't move a whisker when you call its name, it doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't know its name. According to a study1 published in 2019 in the journal Scientific Reports, cats do, in fact, recognize their own names.
Turns out, it depends on the cat. Some cats are socialized as kittens to be held and kissed, while others haven't had that exposure and might be put off by a kiss as an expression of love. So, some cats like it and some cats don't—but there are ways of detecting the category into which your feline friend falls.
The bathroom is full of the smells of you: your cat's favorite human! You spend time there doing important things, or at least it may seem that way to your cat. Your cat may be intrigued by watching you do all the little things humans do in there.