Like the old adage of “Man’s Best Friend,” there are many
phrases, expressions and myths that pet owners hear constantly. Statements like
“Cats have nine lives” and “Dogs are colorblind” are heard so often they have
become somewhat cliché in the pet world. Although we say and hear them all the
time, is there any truth behind these myths? Research throughout the pet
industry has been done to investigate where these ideas came from, and whether
any are rooted in fact after all.
Myth: Cats have nine
lives.
Although your cat, like all other animals, does only have
one life to live, this myth may be rooted in the fact that cats are incredibly
self-sufficient and are known to make their way out of otherwise deadly
situations. A PetWave.com article called “
Muzzle the Myths About Dogs
and Cats” tells us that many reports of cats surviving very harsh
conditions without food or water may contribute to this expression, as does the
fact that the number nine is considered by many cultures to be a lucky number.
Myth: A “dog year” is
equal to seven human years.
Despite its popularity, the belief that you can multiple you
dog’s age by 7 is not an exact formula for getting their “human” age. According
to
DogYears.com, the actual ratio is
dependent on breed and size of the dog and decreases as the dog ages. Your
one-year-old dog is actually closer to 15 in human years, and hits the 7 year
mark somewhere between six and eight months of age.
Myth: Cats always
land on their feet.
Cats are very agile and athletic, traits that contribute to
the widespread belief that cats always land on their feet. Although this is
often true, it is not an absolute and should definitely never be put to the
test! A far fall will cause injury to a cat regardless of how they land, and
even a short fall for a cat who is caught off guard or injured in any way may
not allow time to twist around to feet-first.
Myth: Dogs are color
blind.
Dogs, like most other mammals, have protanopia (
color-blindness resulting from
insensitivity to red light), which prevents them from seeing reds and
greens in the color spectrum. They can, however, see shades of blue and yellow.
Dogster.com
demonstrates this in a recent article on how colors look to dogs, and
introduces a mobile app called
Chromatic Vision Stimulator
that will allow you to see the world as your pet sees the world.
Myth: A dog’s mouth
is cleaner than a human’s mouth.
A dog’s mouth contains different types of germs and bacteria
than a human’s mouth, mostly due to the differences in our diets. As Pet Age
reports, dog saliva was once believed to be a healing antiseptic, which may be
the basis for this myth. Before you let your dog shower your face in kisses,
remember that just as with humans, a dog’s saliva contains plenty of germs.
After all, there’s a reason behind all that “dog breath!”
What other myths have you heard about your cat or dog?
