The Truth about cats and dogs
Why are cats “aloof” and dogs so darned charming and always happy to see you? I don’t know. I don’t have a degree in the psychology of either dogs or cats, but maybe these fast facts will help us understand them a little better.
Let’s start with cats. Cats are the sleepiest of all mammals—about 16 hours a day asleep. That means a seven-year-old cat has only been awake for two years of its life! And when they are awake, they spend 30% of that time grooming. Now this next fact is really going to shock you: a single pair of cats and their first litter can produce as many as 420,000 kittens in just seven years; there’s that number again… seven. But wait a minute, if they were asleep for five of those years, and 30% of their awake time was used to groom themselves, then that only leaves about 16 months of, well y’know, “time” to produce all those kittens. A cat’s heart beats twice as fast as a human’s: I think I know why. I also think I understand why cats are so aloof. And tired.
But what about dogs? Well, let’s start with their sense of smell. A dog’s sense of smell is up to 100,000 times more sensitive than a human’s. While humans have about five million scent receptors, a bloodhound has up to three hundred million. And a dogs’ wet nose helps them smell better. What?! If that’s true, why do dogs always find the worst, most disgusting things to roll in, which makes them smell horrible? Because, as our next fact explains, dogs are about as smart as a two- or three-year-old child. Hmmm. Dogs with “squashed” faces have more health problems (and dating issues). The structure of the faces of pugs, boxers, and bulldogs makes them more prone to respiratory problems, dental problems, and other health issues. Many of them end up on Dr. Phil. Dogs’ only sweat glands are between the pads of their feet. They dissipate most of their heat by panting, a method far more effective than letting moisture evaporate from the skin. Ahh, I knew they were smart—in a physiological kind of way… A dog can locate the source of a sound in 1/600 of a second and can hear sounds four times farther away than a human can. OK, now we’re talking superhero powers!
Well, it’s obvious in my own objective view that dogs come by their natural charm because they’re just built that way! And as for cats, well, all I can say is, they seem to have a lot of “lifestyle” issues. But in fairness, here are a couple of traits shared by both dogs and cats: the nose prints of both are unique—ridged like fingerprints—and both can read your moods. If you’re sad or under stress, you may notice a difference in your dog’s or cat’s behavior. We love our pets, and they love us right back.
