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Cats are good. There are people out there who absolutely are not fans of cats, and they say it’s because cats don’t show them love the same way dogs do. And to that, I say, heresy! Cats just have a stronger concept of personal space than dogs do, and they’re also very predatorial. So whenever they invade your personal space, they do so because they’re trying to leave their scent on you to protect you.
The main reason why there’s such a disparity between what people think cats are, and what cats actually are, is because they tend to communicate very differently than dogs. Their way of communication is often nonverbal and subtle because that’s just how they know themselves to be. If you don’t believe me, here are some cats who literally grew hearts on their fur to show you their love for you.
Cats spend about half the time they’re awake grooming and cleaning themselves. The people over at MentalFloss said;
Are you that clean? This behavior serves several purposes: It helps cats tone down their scent so they can avoid predators, it cools them down, it promotes blood flow, and it distributes natural oils evenly around their coat, allowing them to stay warm and dry. Grooming also serves as a sign of affection between two cats, and it’s thought that saliva contains enzymes that serve as a natural antibiotic for wounds.
They also elaborated on the effect of purring on cat bone density. Weird, I know.
Scientists don’t quite know why cats purr, but one hypothesis is that the sound frequency of purring—between 25 and 150 Hertz—”can improve bone density and promote healing,” theorizes Leslie A. Lyons, an assistant professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, in an article for Scientific American. “Because cats have adapted to conserve energy via long periods of rest and sleep, it is possible that purring is a low energy mechanism that stimulates muscles and bones without a lot of energy.”
There’s even a misconception about catnip they cleared;
More than half of the world’s felines don’t respond to catnip. Scientists still don’t know quite why some kitties go crazy for the aromatic herb and others don’t, but they have figured out that catnip sensitivity is hereditary. If a kitten has one catnip-sensitive parent, there’s a one-in-two chance that it will also grow up to crave the plant. And if both parents react to ‘nip, the odds increase to at least three in four.
There’s also a word for people who love cats.
Looking to elevate your vocabulary? Try using the word ailurophile in a casual conversation. It’s a fancy word for “cat lover,” and it’s derived from the Greek word for cat, ailouros, and the suffix -phile, meaning “lover.” Conversely, the word ailurophobe—a combination of ailouros plus phobe—describes someone who hates cats.
Ever wonder what they were doing when they were massaging you?
Experts haven’t figured out why cats like to knead, but they’ve come up with several possible explanations, one being that your kitty is trying to mark their “territory” (that’s you!) with the scent glands in their paws. And since kittens knead their mama’s belly to stimulate milk production, there’s also a chance that they carry this behavior into adulthood—a phenomenon known as a “neotenic behavior.”
What about you? Do you have a cat with a heart pattern in its fur? We’d love to see!
