Cats man's best friends, not to mention other animal species.
Jokes aside, humans and cats have lived together for thousands of years, but not as long as people and dogs. It makes sense, then, that we don't always understand cats well. This can lead to all sorts of misunderstandings.
In the interest of improving relationships between cats and people, here are some very common myths about cats that have been debunked by modern science.
Milk is bad for cats
It's an iconic image: a cat lapping a bowl of milk. This is also a terrible idea. Most cats are lactose intolerant, explained Julia Henning, a PhD candidate in feline behavior at the University of Adelaide. article in Talk.
“After weaning (about 6 to 12 weeks), kittens stop producing the enzyme lactase, which is necessary to digest the lactose in milk,” Henning writes. “For the vast majority of cats, this means they are lactose intolerant.”
Dairy products can cause a variety of problems in cats, from diarrhea to bloating and vomiting. In some cases, it can even be life-threatening. And no, your cat is probably not special.
“Cats are very good at hiding discomfort because in the wild, showing weakness would make them a target for predators,” Henning wrote. This means your milk-drinking cat could be suffering without you even realizing it. The best thing to do is simply cut down on dairy products.
Cats are not nocturnal
Many people think that cats don't sleep at night, and it's true that their sleep schedule doesn't exactly match that of humans. The average cat sleeps in the middle of the day and in some cases makes a lot of noise while its humans try to sleep.
However, this is not the same as being nocturnal, that is, sleeping at night and being awake during the day. Cats for real twilightthat is, they are most active at the beginning and end of the day. They both sleep at night And during the day. The reason for this is related to the characteristics of hunting.
“Birds and mice are very active at dawn, and cats have evolved to take advantage of this by developing the ability to see in low light conditions,” says Steven Quandt, a cat behaviorist. told PetMD. They spend most of their hunting in the dark, but not completely.
If your cat's evening antics are a problem, consider playing right before bed and feeding her a small amount of food – this can recreate her natural hunting cycle, allowing her to relax until the evening.
Purring doesn't (always) mean happiness
We all imagine that purring means a happy cat, and it makes sense: it's the most common reason for purring. However, this is not the only case: according to the American Animal Hospital Association Purring can express satisfaction, but can also mean a number of other things.
In some cases, cats purr when they are stressed, which can be a way of self-soothing. This is the same reason why cats purr when they are in pain. Cats are also known to purr to ask for food or to help themselves fall asleep.
Basically, you can't assume that a purring cat is a happy cat—you'll have to pay attention to other ways cats communicate, such as body language, to understand what's going on.
Cats love their owners
Finally, it is widely believed that cats are not as loving as dogs. And while it's true that cats don't express overt enthusiasm in the same way as dogs, that doesn't mean they don't feel a connection with their human companions.
Dr. Christine Vitalecat researcher who completed her PhD at the University of Oregon published study in 2019 This shows that cats develop attachments to their owners in much the same way as dogs. In the study, the cats were in an unfamiliar environment. The cats spent two minutes with their human caregivers, then two minutes alone, followed by a two-minute reunion. Cats with “secure attachments” to human caregivers showed reduced stress in the presence of a human caregiver.
“Our research shows that when cats live in a state of dependence on humans, their attachment behavior is flexible and most cats use humans as a source of comfort,” Vitale wrote. “In both dogs and cats, attachment to people may represent an adaptation of the bond between offspring and caregiver.”
In other words: cats are no less attached to their people than dogs. I'm writing these sentences after my cat jumped into my lap, so I guess I'm not too surprised.
