Interesting Facts About Cats And Cats: What Taste They Don't Feel, Do They Sweat, Do They Understand Human Speech And Answers To Other Questions

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Interesting and unknown facts about cats

Cats were domesticated over 10 thousand years ago. Since then, they have become human's favorite companion animals, helpers and friends. According to statistics, 58% of people have had a cat at least once in their life. However, most do not know their pets at all and do not know how they hear, see, feel, what signs are given by their eyes and tail.

Content

• 1 Reasons for the popularity of cats

• 2 Interesting facts about cats and cats

  • 2.1 Perception of taste
  • 2.2 Do cats sweat
  • 2.3 Do cats understand human speech?
  • 2.4 Features of cat memory
  • 2.5 How the senses work in cats
  • 2.6 Game behavior

  • 2.7 Cats and water

    2.7.1 Video: the cat bathes in the bath

  • 2.8 Purr
  • 2.9 Tail flapping
• 3 Signs associated with cats
• 4 Reviews of cat owners

Reasons for the popularity of cats

A century ago, cats were bred mainly to hunt mice and rats. Now, for this purpose, they take a cat into the house only in 10% of cases. The main reason people now decide to adopt a kitten is the ability to interact with the animal.

According to statistics, the main cat lovers are pensioners over 60 years old (43%) and single women (36%).

Most retirees keep cats at home

Interestingly, only 25% of cat owners preferred purebred and rare animals - in this case, when choosing an animal, cat owners are guided not only by the desire to find a friend, but also to confirm their status or start a business selling kittens.

Interesting facts about cats and cats

Pet owners tend to humanize their pets, and this is their big mistake. Domestic cats, despite the long history of living side by side with people, have not lost their special animal habits. They do everything differently, and even hear, see and feel tastes differently from you and me.

The difference between how a person and a cat sees the world around them is obvious

Perception of taste

People have 9 thousand receptors on their tongues, while cats have only 473. Our meowing friends distinguish tastes, but their palette will not be as bright as ours, without the ability to highlight taste "semitones" (for an animal, several variations of spicy or sour will united). The only taste that the cat does not feel at all is sweet. Any sugary dessert for a cat will be tasteless.

The cat can taste sweet, but not because of the taste, but out of curiosity or an interesting smell for them.

They hardly distinguish the salty taste, therefore they will easily eat a very salty dish, and this is unsafe. But cats emit bitterness better than us - this is a protective mechanism that protects the animal from possible poisoning.

Do cats sweat

Cats have 10 times fewer sebaceous glands than humans, so they sweat very little. This is due to the fact that cats rarely run for a long time (in nature, they lie in wait for their victims, and do not catch up), besides, the abundant secretion of odorous sweat would prevent them from hunting. If cats need to lower their temperature, they try to lie down on a cold surface, use the change in the frequency and depth of breathing, moisten their fur with saliva, which will increase heat transfer.

When overheated, cats can, like dogs, open their mouths and breathe quickly

Sphynxes are the only cats to sweat

Do cats understand human speech?

The cat clearly reacts to certain phrases: it responds to a nickname, knows when its name is there or is going to scold. Some animals even understand commands ("place" or "fetch"). The most quick-witted cats are able to memorize the meaning of several dozen words (moreover, memorization occurs after 5–6 repetitions, while dogs need 12–15 repetitions). But the peculiarity of cats is that they need clear motivation: that is, a cat can understand you, but not react to words, since it is not profitable for her, she does not need communication with a person just for the sake of play or interest (unlike dogs).

Cats can memorize the meaning of some words, commands, but they still react more to intonation, voice volume, gestures

Features of feline memory

Cats' memory is based on conditioned reflexes, not feelings. It will be easy for the pet to memorize what, as a result of which it received the necessary conditions (delicious food, solitude, encouragement, etc.). But associative connections in the memory of cats must be built quickly: if more than 3-7 minutes have passed between the cause and the effect, then memorization will not occur.

If a cat is separated from brothers, sisters, mother and her own kittens for a couple of months, then when she meets, she will not recognize them - all because in nature, family ties are not important for a cat and any other animals become competitors for resources and territory

How cats sense organs work

Cats see well at a distance of 70 cm to 5.5 m. And such hyperopia is justified: a normal mouse will not climb into its mouth, it must be seen from afar. What is important, a cat is able to concentrate on a specific object, her eyes cannot “bring clarity” to a picture of a large diameter.

As for hearing, it is 4 times sharper than that of humans. This is helped by the shape of the auricle and its arrangement like an antenna - even muffled sounds are well caught in such a pointed funnel.

Many white blue-eyed cats are born hearing impaired or deaf due to a genetic defect

Play behavior

Games for cats - training of hunting instincts. Favorite entertainment - to hunt down, catch up, catch and overcome.

Kittens play prepares for adulthood

The penchant for playfulness is largely determined by the breed. For example, Persian, Burmese and ragdolls are considered the most calm and non-playful. Siamese, Abyssinians and Oriental are very mobile in childhood and will drive the owners crazy with their frantic races and the desire to catch and pat everything around. But by the age of two, most representatives of these breeds practically cease to be naughty. Outbred, Russian blue, Abyssinian and Somali cats retain their love for outdoor games the longest (although you have to be careful with the latter two breeds - their games are considered aggressive).

Cats and water

Very few cats are calm about water and even more so voluntarily agree to plunge into the bath.

It is believed that of all breeds, the Bengal shorthaired cat is the best for aquatic procedures.

The cat refuses to swim due to the fact that the water pushes the air gap between the fur and the skin. This layer warms the animal, while wet wool, on the contrary, promotes rapid heat transfer. In addition, she is heavy, the cat becomes slower, which means that in case of danger it will be more difficult for her to escape from the enemy.

Video: the cat bathes in the bath

Purr

The purr of a cat does not always mean that it is good; in some cases, the animal may purr with discomfort or fear. Many owners have noticed that their pet begins to "sing" loudly while being reprimanded for leprosy. Perhaps this is how the cat wants to appease the person, make him calm down and stop bothering him with his loud cry or gestures.

Not only domestic cats can purr - puma and lynx also purr, but lions, tigers, leopards cannot "sing"

Tail wagging

Even in reserved, weakly expressing their emotions by screaming or the expression on the muzzle of cats, the tail is a real indicator of mood. The cat cannot control the twitching of the tail, therefore, by the direction and amplitude of movement of this part of the body, you can easily determine what the animal feels:

• tail hair sticking out in different directions - excitement or threat;
• the tail vibrates - excitement and joy from the meeting;
• tail raised up and twisted at the end - happiness
• the tail sticks out straight up - aggression, occurs during self-defense;
• tail straight, but at a low level - slight aggression, fright;

• the tail twitches - excitement or anxiety.

  

  Follow the movements of the cat's tail and you will understand what is on your cat's mind

Signs associated with cats

According to popular observation, cats intuitively sense change. They say that by observing the behavior of your pet, you can predict the weather, the arrival of guests, an impending illness, a change for the better or unhappiness:

• the cat sleeps with its belly up - to the heat;
• the cat is curled up in a tight ball - it will soon get colder;

• the cat washes its muzzle all day - wait for the guests;

  

  A cat washing means an imminent arrival of guests

• the cat reaches for a person - for a new thing;
• a cat rubs against a person's ear - to a monetary increase;
• the cat sneezed three times - someone in the house will get sick.

By the way, it is believed that if a cat lies down on a sick person, then you cannot drive it away, since the animal takes the ailments onto itself.

It is believed that a ginger cat in the house attracts money, a black cat drives away evil spirits, a white one protects the health of its owners, and a tricolor cat is responsible for peace in the family.

Cat owners reviews

There are features that are common to all representatives of the feline world. And you need to know these features of behavior and attitude of pets, then you can try to understand your cat and become true friends.