Top 5 Myths About Cats

Top 5 Myths About Cats

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Misconceptions about our feline friends… they can lead to CAT-astrophic re-PURR-cussions. Meow let’s get started. Welcome to WatchMojo’s Top 5 Myths the series that finds the biggest myths that people actually believe and dispels them one by one. In today’s instalment we’re counting down the five myths about cats that had us coughing up hairballs.

The anatomy of a cat is pretty remarkable… they don't have collarbones, their spines are incredibly flexible, and their sense of balance is uncanny to say the least. Despite these many qualities, they are not, as Charlie Kelly might have you believe, capable of defying the laws of nature. Cats do have something called the "cat righting reflex" which is an innate ability to reorient themselves during a fall. It’s a highly developed evolutionary advantage resulting from eons spent hunting in trees and other acrobatic feats. But even the most finely tuned organic system can falter, and if a cat is dropped from too low of a height, or too disoriented in a high velocity fall, even they can botch a landing.

It’s a common comparison: Dogs are man’s best friend, but cats are more like an unemployed roommate with a superiority complex. But that belief likely comes from people who have never tried to train their cat, and are simply resigned to letting their cat do as they please. First off, cats are just as intelligent as dogs. Secondly, they are just as susceptible to training as their canine counterpart - the training is just very different, which results in many would-be amateur cat trainers giving up when their initial attempts fail. While dogs typically crave human attention, cats tend to be more independent, and therefore need to be trained in short sessions, with plenty of high value treats as motivation.

The world would have you believe that cats hate water. Well it seems some little kitties clearly didn’t get that memo. According to scientists, the dislike that many cats have of water is a result of domestication. As generations of housecats have spent less time in the water, they’ve become less and less comfortable with it. In the wild however, big cats can often be seen swimming across bodies of water, while certain domestic cat breeds, such as Turkish Vans, are still known for their love of swimming.

Purring is a good sign that your cat is content... or really enjoying that cat massage, but you need to take other body language into consideration to know if your cat is truly purring for joy. Cats also purr when they’re injured, in pain or even anxious or angry. Scientists believe that purring is actually primarily used to promote comfort, which explains why a cat would purr in both good and bad situations. This also helps to shed light on why cats can often be found purring next to an injured cat or human they are familiar with. More than soothing, the frequency of the vibrations caused by purring have actually been shown to encourage bone and tissue growth or regeneration.

In popular culture, cats and a saucer of milk go together like dogs and their bones. While a dog bone promotes good dental health, cats and their supposed treat of choice don’t mesh nearly as well. Like all mammals, cats consume the milk of their mothers during their infancy. But once a kitten has weaned off their mother’s milk, dairy should have no place in their diet. As is the case with most mammals (humans included), cats have difficulty digesting milk. In fact, it’s believed that almost all cats are lactose intolerant. A saucerful of milk is actually just a stomach-ache in the making for your beloved kitty cat, no matter how much they may enjoy it. So which of these myths did you believe? For more cat-centric top 10s and feline-friendly Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.