​Podcast #21 Shownotes - Samet and our favorite guest host, Laurie, share 10 cat facts you might not know!

• ​Disneyland FAQ website about cats

Disneyland has taken advantage of the natural hunter in cats. They are well-cared for and kept safely. They are neutered and vaccinated and otherwise kept in good health. Because they are feral, however, it isn’t a good idea to try to touch them!
​http://disneylandcats.com/faq/

• The mystery of the purr

Purring is a magical frequency of sound that seems to have healing properties both for them and for us. The vibrations seems to accelerate healing, laying down new bone and muscle. For us, research has shown that a pouring cat is good for humans, some would say good for the soul.
https://consciouscat.net/2019/01/07/the-cats-purr-a-biomechanical-healing-

• Cats can’t taste sweet

Because cats are carnivores, they have no need to taste sweet, but they can distinguish between fresh meat and the “sweetness” of contaminated tissue.
Some cats, especially those whose mothers’ were fed things like fruit or other sweets while pregnant, may develop a “taste” for very unusual food for a carnivore like cantaloupe or bananas. 
https://www.petful.com/food/why-cant-cats-taste-sweet-things/

• Adult Cats do not meow at each other

Cats talk to humans because we aren’t in tune with the way they communicate with each other. They use other senses, especially smell and sight, to make their presence known, to pass on information or make their desires apparent. They talk to us because they learned we just don’t get it!
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/common-cat-behavior-issues/meowing-and-yowling

• Cat’s vision of world

Cat vision is adapted to low light because hunting takes place generally in the “crepuscular” time of dawn and dusk. This adaptation makes it possible for them to see very well at those times when we would see poorly. The sacrifice of being “red-green” colorblind is a small price to pay. Cats need to see greater distances as well so they have adapted to being a bit myopic (blurry close in vision) by using their whiskers and other senses to detect what is closest to them.
https://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-of-how-cats-see-the-world-2013-10

• The Fluttering Blink​

When a cat greets another cat or a person with slow, languid blinks, it's communicating affection.Why? Because in the feline world, closing one’s eyes in the presence of another is the ultimate sign of trust. By blinking slowly at your cat, you are communicating that you are aware of its presence and pose no threat. So the next time your cat blinks at you, try returning the gesture.
https://pets.webmd.com/cats/features/cat-body-language#1

• Cats blamed for 33 species extinction

While some investigators blame cats for species extinction, most hold humans more significantly to blame because we have destroyed so much habitat and made migration corridors unusable. More than any other species, humans bear to most responsibility for the destruction of the natural world.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21236690

• Do cats dream?

Cats dream and experience REM sleep just like humans. You can see their eyes moving rapidly, just like our do, during REM sleep. We can’t be sure what they dream about but they likely dream about the things they experience during waking hours just as we do.
https://www.sleepadvisor.org/do-cats-dream/

• Cats hunting with humans in Egyptian times

In Egypt, 4000 years ago, cats were the companions of aristocrats, the royal and the rich. For the poor and working classes, cats were important to keeping the population of dangerous and disease carrying rats and a particularly dangerous species of snake.
https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/cat/

• Right pawed and left pawed cats

Like us, cats are more adept with one aside of the body than the other though they hunt using both forelimbs, use all 4 for jumping and running and have special sensory nerve endings in the forepaws for tearing prey apart,
​https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-asymmetric-brain/201902/is-your-cat-left-handed
​
​