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After spending years with your cat, you may think you know everything there is to know about her. But here are 10 things that your favorite feline may not have gotten around to sharing with you.
1. A domestic cat can run about 31 mph. Running fast is something usually attributed to wild cats, gazelles and greyhounds, but your house kitty is pretty speedy.
2. It is possible for every kitten in a litter to have a different father. Hopefully, she is spayed so there's no risk of an unexpected pregnancy.
3. Cats walk on their toes, which probably accounts for their graceful movements. In ballet there is a step called pas de chat -- the cat step. It's a little jump to the side, but in truth nearly every move your cat makes is lovely.
4. A cat's collarbone isn't connected to his other bones; it's buried in the muscles, which is how kitty can fit through small places. He's not boneless -- even though it looks that way sometimes -- but he is adaptable. A cat actually has more bones than a human.
5. Your cat will respond only to catnip (an herb in the mint family) if she has the catnip gene. Not every cat is born with this gene, and it doesn't show up right away, so don't expect a young kitty to respond to catnip the way an older one will.
6. Thirty-two muscles control a cat's outer ear, and he can rotate it 10 times faster than a dog. In fact, kitty can rotate each ear 180 degrees.
7. Cats have scent glands in their cheeks, so if your cat rubs against you she is "marking" you as hers. She really does love you. She'll also mark furniture and clothing this way. Everything she likes is hers. It's also her way of leaving her "mark" to say that she was there.
8. Cats can move their jaws only up and down; they can't move them side to side like a dog or human.
9. Cats whiskers are extremely sensitive. They not only help the cat locate where she is in the dark, but how the cat moves them is an indicator of the cat's feelings at any given time. The top two rows of whiskers can move independently of the bottom two rows.
10. Cats are obligate carnivores. This means they must eat meat. So even if you're a vegetarian, you need to come to grips with the fact that your cat can't be. He will get very sick and die without meat in his diet.
As you probably already know, spending time learning more about your cat is time well spent. In fact, these cat facts are just the tip of the iceberg. Your cat has much more to tell you if you pay attention, watch and learn. As the late Ernest Hemingway said, "A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not."
Find out about Arden's other pet care books on Red Room, where you can read her blog.
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This article is very wrong...it makes me wonder about the whole book. Back when every cat food contained ash, my vet instructed me to feed my cats nothing but mixed veggies and cottage cheese to prevent UTI's - a common problem in male cats. My cats all lived long and happy lives wth no meat whatsoever.
Hmmm that sounds very strange as most vets will tell you they need meat and its iron and protien. they may suggest non processed meats or low fat but cats need meat. The only 2 things written that are not common knowledge might be 5 and 6. Never saw a cat not react to cat nip and didnt know so much about ear control.
I'm not questioning that your vet told you to feed your cat cottage cheese, but I am apalled that he would. Your cat's could get their needed protein from the cottage cheese (its really animal protein they need, not "meat" per se). However, cats are lactose intolerant. They can't digest dairy products at all. At the very least, it would cause them gas and diarhea. At worst, it could kill them. If a vet ever told me that, i would get a different vet and report him to his licensing board.
The reason cats are pron to UTI is because thier urine is (as you should know) very potent. That's because they don't drink enough water, that's due to their diet, their normal diet are rats, mice and other rodents, which contain water. Cats get water through the rodents they eat, by eating those types of animals, cat's get plenty of water for they diet and therefore is less likely to get UTI. Water in a cat's diet lessens the potency of a cat's urine. I don't know who your vet is, but I'd seek and replace your cat's vet, he/she doesn't know what they're talking about. So, since most indoor cat's can't get to those rodents, it's best to give your cat canned moist food, not only do most cats love canned food but it also contains water. But cats are meat eaters.
YOU MUST INCLUDE MEAT IN YOUR CAT'S DIET!!!
One other thing about cats: As a teacher, I have seen over the years that the children with the most health problems come from homes that have a cat or several cats. Cat hair, dander and glandular secretions that they leave on furniture cause ear infections, high frequency of colds and sinus problems in children and adults. I have even seen a 7th grade girl who was losing her hearing due to all the cats at her house, but the family was not willing to get rid of the cats. If you are frequently sick, chances are it's due to the cat(s). Also, pregnant women should NOT handle cat feces. So, someone else would need to clean the litter box!! Do a google search about that and you'll find out why. Beware of cats!!
In response to your posting, i have 4 cats and can tell you i have not been sick once from them. People cause illnesses with their filthy habits. Can't begin to count how many people i have observed not washing their hands after using the bathroom then go around touching everything, sneezing into their hands and then handling produce at the grocery store. People make people sick not cats.
Well, geez...aren't *you* little Miss Mary Sunshine today? Don't just single out cats -- dogs have many of the same attributes when it comes to allergies. From the not-so-subtle undertones, it would seem that you're just not a lover of cats.
Oh please, get out of the Dark ages! Cant imagine what you teach besides prejudice and ignorance. Its cig smoke and allergies that cause those problems a million tiomes more than cats, who make you sneeze, and make your eyes water, or make you cough, like any allergan.The 'glandular secretions' you'd be hard put to ever point to and show, let alone prove it causes any problem.
TALK to a doctor, a eyes ears & throat for facts, not holdover superstition and they'll tell you the real truth. Preg women should wear gloves and use common sense while cleaning a litter box, something you show little of esp for a teacher. Way to keep spreading the hate about an animal that you simply dont like. Beware of silly people!
Just try to tell that to a cat lover, it's impossible. I have never had sinus problems until the time my wife brought home a Manx kitten. And because she is a cat lover, the cat stayed. There wasn't much I could say, so I "learned to live with the cat." Now I live with constant nasal problems. According to my wife, it can't be the cat. The doctors are being nice, they tell my wife it must be the pollen. Sure. The cat is still here and I still have the nasal problems. I've learned to live with it.
Did you actually went and talked to the parents about getting rid of the cat? Did you know that it will affect the little girl to lose her cat as it will make her feel lonely or need attention or affection as maybe the parents aren't home very often so she goes to her cat for attention or need a hug after bad day at school ?
If you did talked to the parents then you got the nerves to get into their business. My grandkids all have their own cats and none of them have problems with their own health and also I'm hearing-impaired and my other three brothers have the same thing and we were born with it as the doctors said it has to do with genes between my dad and my mom. so don't go around and say BEWARE OF CATS as I have four cats myself and I'm a cat lover. Thank you for listening.
Wayne, how do you know that it *isn't* the pollen? Some people *develop* allergies later in life, things that they weren't previously allergic to. Have you had allergy tests done? My husband has -- we thought that maybe he had animal allergies, but they came back negative. It turns out that he was allergic to mold, and ragweed turns him into a mess. He's also sensitive to the liquid that they put down to melt the roadway ice in winter. Don't automatically blame the animal in question without having some tests first. You may be right, but then again, it could be something else totally unrelated. My sister can't eat celery any more because it makes her lips/tongue swell........but she ate it with no consequences previously. Allergies can be a funny thing and even harder to pinpoint, sometimes.
I am an RN and can tell you that you can pick up germs anywhere. Hand washing is the key to health, so tell your students to wash their hands, with soap, before rubbing their eyes, using hands to put food into mouth or before picking their noses as these are the biggest entry area's for germs to enter the body. Also a resent study showed DOG's carry multiple germs that infect humans such as strep and meningitis. Again, hand washing and not sleeping with the animal will help the most. I wonder if the students you seeing sick are not predisposed to illness because they are Allergic! Again, this is not the animals fault. I am the proud owner of 3 cats and one dog. Hygiene!
I find your post most humorous considering you are a teacher and the biggest spreaders of germs are children. I have 4 grandchildren that are constantly bringing some sort of illness home from school and infecting eveyone in the house. If you are allergic now that's a different story. My cat sleeps on my pillow and I've never had any problems.
I have 5 cats, and have had them all for over 10 years. And I have never once gotten sick from any of them. The key is cleanliness and responsible pet ownership - regardless of the type of pet you own, For example, even though I have BOTH seasonal AND pet allergies, I am able to keep my furry friends because I have installed hardwood floors in leiu of carpeting. Yep, you won't find a single carpet or rug in my house with the exception of one in the mud room for shoes only. I also have a UV Filter on my furnace, which takes care of about every germ known to man, and I change my paper filters monthly and get my vents cleaned yearly. I also encase all of my mattresses and pillows in dust (and dust mite) proof anti-allergen covers. Want to get grossed out and/or sick? Google "dust mites." THEY are the true enemy, not our pets! All of my bed covers are machine washable, and get washed every two weeks (becasue, after all, pets DO like to sleep with their owners). I also regularly brush and groom my cats, I do NOT let them out of doors for any reason, and yes, I have even resorted to giving them baths a few times a year (much to their chagrin). I wash my hands after playing with them and petting them, as well as after every bathroom break, and before preparing any food. Common sense, people! Even if you don't have much money, being clean and sanitary costs next to nothing. Just some "elbow grease" as my mom used to say. Bust out the vaccum cleaner, open some windows, run that washing machine and give everything a good scrubbing (including your furry friends). You will find that everyone in the household starts to feel better and their allergy/sick symptoms decrease, while the enjoyment of life and the family pets increases. Blessings to ALL pet owners! Keep providing and nurturing these gifts of God. They need us as much as we need them!
Hey CAT HATER I HAVE 7 CATS I HAVE ALWAYS HAD CATS FOR 40 YEARS. UNLESS THIS PERSON HAS ALLERGIES THEN CATS ARE NOT HER PROBLEM. SOMEONE COULD BE SMOKING AROUND HER OR THERE COULD BE A UNDERLYING PROBLEM YES CATS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO HEALTH PROBLEMS BUT IT IS RARE THAT IT IS CAUSED BY A CAT. IN THESE RARE CASES ITS BECAUSE PEOPLE DO NOT CLEAN UP AFTER THE ANIMAL. stop blaming the CATS. Start investigating to find the real problem. My own son had lots of ear infections. he had a blockage in the ear canal once tubes were put in the ear infections stopped. We also stopped letting him be around family/friends that smoke. Everytime his grandmother had him for a few hours at her home he had a ear infection within 24 hours after. we started document everything. It was medically proven that he had a blockage and after he was around a smoker all documented an proven. CATS ARE NOT THE CAUSE.
One should not generalize in this situation. More likely, there are other environmental issues there as well.
Having raised children with both dog(s) and cat(s), guinea pigs, hamsters, lizards and etc, I have found that the 'dirtiest' was the dog because of all the outdoor contaminents she brought in with her. However, neither of my children were ever sick with anything that could be directly attributed to any animal.
Wow, you're an idiot. "google search" does not validate anything. I can google just about anything and find several websites to back it up. It's the internet with billions of web pages. Yes, there are people allergic to cat dander but your comment that ALL children have problems due to cats is ridiculous. Children are most likely to catch diseases from other children so perhaps you should do a better job of making sure your students wash their hands.
I've had mulitple cats in my home for years...my kids are all grown now, but they were not sick from the cats. My kids were pretty healthy. Even NOW I have several cats in my house, and we are not sick from them. I believe you get sick from not cleaning up after them and living in filth...
so what about the article on aol about how a dog can kill you just by sleeping in your bed?
Yes, Wayne.. Have you ever been tested for that allergy.. Plenty of persons get allergies late in life and complain about them I have a friend in his 70's and he just got Gluten allergies that make him very sick. and regular allergies come in all phases of life. Even my dad didnt get allergies till way late in life.
I have eight cats and I have never been sick from them or any other pet. Like the one woman said.. Maybe you better get your house checked out. And remember.. Kids spread germs, not animals.. I never get around kids for that reason.. They bring the crap home from school and their friends houses. Yuk.