Ten Cat Myths Debunked

In This Chapter

• Got cats? Need milk?
• Getting the lowdown on purring
• Uncovering the truth about black cats
• Living with a cat while you’re expecting
• Introducing the calico cat

The cat was worshipped as a god in ancient Egypt, was vilified as a demon in medieval Europe, and is treasured as a companion around the world today. Despite the changes in our attitudes over the centuries, the cat herself is not much altered in form or temperament. She is much the same creature she was when first she chose to associate herself with our kind.

We now know more than ever before about our cats, but a surprising amount of information that’s just plain wrong still hangs about in our culture. Worse, incorrect and oftentimes harmful old information keeps popping up in strange new places — such as on the Internet, or in movies.

Researching old ideas about cats is an interesting way to discover how our feline companions have been viewed throughout the ages, but in no way should these myths and legends take the place of modern knowledge in caring for your cat.

The Cat’s Meow

From the earliest mousers through the mysterious origins of the Manx and Maine Coon to the legends developing about cats today, Virginia C. Holmgren investigates them all in her fascinating book Cats in Fact and Folklore (IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.). Did the medieval church’s hatred for cats — who were tortured and killed by the thousands — bring about the Great Plague after mouse and rat populations swelled without cats to keep them in check? Did cats live in the New World before the Europeans arrived? Holmgren answers “yes” to these questions and argues a myriad of other points in a most entertaining way.

Enjoy the old stories — they make fine reading with your cat on your lap on some wintry evening. But remember always to keep fact and fiction separate for the good of your cat.

Cats Have Nine Lives

Cats are survivors, no doubt of that. More so than any other domesticated animal, they keep their wildness about them, often approaching the line that separates the feral from the tame. On city streets and in country barns alike, cats live as they did thousands of years ago, dispatching rodents with efficiency, breeding prodigiously, and accepting whatever handouts come their way without giving up one ounce of their independence.

Cat Tracks

Many people work to make the lives of feral cats easier — and to bring those that can be tamed back into the loving companionship we humans can offer. Check out our information on feral cats — including how to tame and maintain them — in Chapter Ferals: Special Cats, Special Considerations.

The efforts of humankind have changed cats’ bodies hardly at all, except in the cases of the more extreme breeds of purebreds, such as the heavy-coated Persian and near-naked Sphynx, which are poorly equipped for a rough-and-tumble life. (Even these breeds show minor meddling compared to the changes we’ve put in place with purebred dogs!) The cat known commonly as an ordinary “alley cat” in the U.S. or “moggie” in the United Kingdom — and more formally as the domestic shorthair or domestic longhair — is seemingly well equipped to handle the challenges of outdoor life. Finely tuned to the slightest hint of danger, the not-so-ordinary “ordinary” cat can run fast, climb faster, and, if cornered by an adversary, defend himself with a formidable array of claws and teeth. The slender, lithe bodies of cats — celebrated in word and art throughout the centuries — can fit through the tiniest hole or balance on the most slender plank. And if his high-wire act isn’t quite up to snuff, the cat can miraculously right himself on the way earthward, often landing unhurt and on his feet from a surprising height.

With so much going for them, is it any wonder people came to believe that cats had not one chance at life but nine?

The truth of the matter is that cats are more fragile than we think. Cats as a species have proven resilient, but as individuals, they are every bit as mortal as we ourselves are — and they are very vulnerable in the world. Although a well-cared-for indoor cat can live into his late teens, a cat exposed to the outdoor life is lucky to live a fraction as long. The dangers of modern life — cars, predators, ill-intentioned neighbors, communicable diseases — are just too many, and they claim the lives of even the more-street-smart cats by the thousands.

Cats have but one life, and they need our love and protection to make that life a long, healthy, and happy one.

Cat Tracks

For more on the controversy over indoor versus outdoor cats, see Chapter A New Appreciation of the Cat. For tips on how to make your home happier for your indoor cat, see Chapter Ten Ways to Make Your Indoor Cat Happier, and for information on the best cat gear around, see Chapter All the Right Stuff. Some household hazards to avoid appear in Chapter Ten Common Household Dangers to Your Cat.

Cats Need to Drink Milk

Gina’s mother has a soft spot in her heart for a wandering cat, offering the wild ones who come up from the creek near her home a safe place to eat and drink and to watch the birds and squirrels that she also feeds. Her yard is a spa for wayward kitties, and one item on the menu is always milk. “Cats love milk,” she says. “It must be good for them.”

Cats do love milk, as anyone knows who’s ever been around an old-fashioned cow barn at milking time — or seen one on TV, in the case of us city-folk. Cats young and old line up for a squirt of the real thing: warm, tasty, and oh-so-fresh. Mmmmm!

But is cow’s milk the perfect food for cats? Not at all! Milk can prove a very messy proposition for you and your pet, producing an uncomfortable gastric disturbance and even diarrhea. Although that possibility may not bother Gina’s mom, with her collection of half-wild wayfarers for whom the great outdoors is a litter box, it may bother you plenty if your kitty is an indoor cat and you must clean out the litter box (or a toilet location of which you don’t approve).

Which is not to say milk is an absolute no-no for all cats. Mother’s milk — from their own cat mama — is the perfect food for kittens, and while they’re little, they get everything they need from it, including important antibodies. After the age of 12 weeks or so, however, some cats (like some people) lose the ability to digest the lactose in the milk; for those cats, milk isn’t recommended. (If your cat’s one of these, you’ll most likely see signs in the litter box.) For cats who aren’t lactose intolerant, though, milk can be a source of protein, minerals, and vitamins — although they’ll also find those nutrients in a well-balanced commercial diet.

In the wild, kittens never drink milk after they’re weaned, and yours have no reason to either. If your cat likes and can tolerate milk, however, feel free to offer it as an occasional treat — but remember that it’s never a substitute for a proper diet or for fresh water. If you never, ever set a saucer of milk down for your pet, you may rest assured that he does just fine without.

Liquid nutrition is very important to orphaned kittens; in fact, getting handfed through a bottle is their only chance at survival! For more on what and how to feed a kitten in need, see Chapter Littering: Should Your Cat Become a Parent?.

Cats Purr Whenever They’re Happy

Purring is one of the most special elements of a cat, as far as most humans are concerned. Caressing a purring pet has proven to relax the one doing the stroking and lower the blood pressure, too. A purring cat or kitten is sure to bring a smile to the face of any human, young or old, and cats have made a real difference in the lives of those in nursing homes or other institutional settings, just by the simple act of being a cat.

But careful observers of the cat know that purring isn’t just a sound of contentment. Cats also purr if they’re injured, while giving birth — even when dying. British zoologist Desmond Morris has observed that purring is “a sign of friendship — either when [the cat] is contented with a friend or when it is in need of friendship — as with a cat in trouble.”

Our friend Dr. Margie Scherk, a board-certified specialist in feline health, likens a purr to the human smile. You smile when you’re happy, to be sure, but you can also smile when nervous, or even when faced with a threat. In the latter two situations, it’s kind of a “Hi, I’m a nice person, don’t hurt me” sign. And the same is true with purring.

Kittens start purring even before they open their eyes, rumbling while nursing in what must be a reassuring sound to their mother — who’s likely purring herself.

Cool Cat Facts

Our cats have one thing to lord over the “King of Beasts” and other more formidable felines. A cat can purr, but the lion can’t, nor can any of the other big felines. The tiger can rumble a friendly greeting but only on the exhale. No big cat can get his motor running the way our household kitties can, purring constantly as effortlessly as breathing, both in and out. To even things out, however, big cats possess the ability to roar. On the whole, the little cat got the better part of that deal, at least where humans are concerned.

Technical Stuff

Although the experts are pretty clear on why cats purr, they’re not yet certain as to how . The most common explanation has the sweet sound originating in the voicebox, with what are called the vestibular folds, or false vocal cords. The passing of air across these structures is thought to produce the purr all cat lovers adore.

Cats Eat Plants if They’re Sick

Cats are so fond of chewing on greenery that many cat owners have widely assumed plants to be an important part of the feline diet. And the idea makes sense, too, if you look at all the undigested plant matter in the “gift” your cat leaves on your carpet (why never on the tile or hardwoods?) after a kitty barf-fest. You probably figure that your cat eats plants to help bring up whatever’s upsetting her tummy.

Although the experts debate how much plant matter is necessary in a cat’s diet, one thing is obvious to anyone who’s ever tried to maintain both houseplants and a house cat — kitties nibble on greens simply because they love to. For a cat, “just because” is usually reason enough.

Cat Tracks

For a discussion of what your cat needs to eat and why, check out Chapter Feeding Your Cat. We also tell you which plants are cat-friendly in Chapter Feeding Your Cat and what you need to know about catnip in Chapter All the Right Stuff. Plants can be deadly, too; to avoid any cat-astrophes in your home, check out the list of toxic plants in Chapter Common Cat Health Problems.

Cats Are Dangerous around Babies

So many cats find themselves looking for new homes when a baby is expected that you could say babies are dangerous to cats!

You don’t need to find a new home for your pet if you become pregnant, no matter what well-meaning relatives and friends may say to the contrary. Cats do not maliciously smother or suck the breath out of babies, as the myths hold. Still, to best protect your baby, you do need to be aware of the facts and exercise a little caution.

Cats don’t suck the breath of infants, but the myth that they do probably came from their natural curiosity to investigate a new addition to the family, coupled with the tragedy of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. We can easily understand how, hundreds of years ago, people may have seen a cat in the crib — perhaps sniffing at a baby’s milk-scented breath — and later found a dead child and then tried to find an explanation for the loss by linking the two events.

Caution

Common sense dictates that no animal be left unattended with a small child. This advice is for your baby’s protection and for your cat’s. The Humane Society of the United States, which keeps statistics on injuries inflicted by animals on people, knows of no documented case of a cat smothering an infant by resting on the child’s face. Other experts, however, point out that such a scenario, although unlikely, is not impossible and suggest taking precautions — which makes perfect sense: You don’t want your baby to be the first to be harmed in such a way.

After your child is older, you still want to remain on the lookout for problems. Toddlers don’t understand that pets need gentle handling, and although most cats catch on very quickly to the notion that small children are best avoided, a possibility always exists that your pet, if cornered, could scratch or bite your child or even be hurt himself.

Remember

Cats are wonderful family pets, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. A cat is the perfect pet for many families — a little more flexible and self-sufficient than a dog but still an affectionate and nonjudgmental companion. Just be aware that small children and cats have the potential to hurt each other; keep an eye on them while they’re together.

Pregnancy and your cat One reason that pregnant women are often advised to find a new home for their cats has to do with the transmission of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which causes the disease called toxoplasmosis. The disease presents little danger to healthy human adults, but if a fetus contracts it through the placenta from a newly infected mother, he or she faces a risk of death or spontaneous abortion, as well as birth defects in those fetuses that survive. That’s serious stuff, to be sure. Cats are a cause for concern because they’re an important part of the life cycle of this microscopic entity, shedding the creature in their feces at its infectious stage. Cats aren’t the only way you may come in contact with the disease, however: Raw or poorly cooked meat is another. About half the human population of the United States is already carrying the parasite. In any event, transmission of the parasites is oral — you become infected by eating the creatures by accident. If you’re already a carrier — your doctor can test you to see — you can’t pass the parasite on to the child you’re carrying. The danger is in becoming infected for the first time while you’re pregnant. The risk is great enough that pregnant women must take precautions to protect the child they carry. Ideally, someone else should take over the maintenance of the litter box for the duration of the pregnancy, and even before the pregnancy in the case of couples who are attempting to conceive. If no one except you can maintain the litter box, wear gloves and a mask, dispose of the contents in sealed plastic, and then wash your hands thoroughly. Experts also recommend wearing gloves while gardening (to avoid cat feces in soil), keeping children’s sandboxes covered when not in use, and keeping cats out of sandboxes. These same precautions apply to people who have impaired immune systems, such as those who are HIV-positive or are receiving cancer treatments. Although healthy adults usually have no problems should they become infected, those with immune-system problems can be at grave risk. In some urban areas, well-organized volunteers take over the tasks of pet care, so the important social benefits of keeping a cat aren’t overshadowed by the potentially dangerous physical ones. If you have questions about your cat and toxoplasmosis, consult your physician, veterinarian, or local public health officials.

Cats Can Be Kept from Using Their Claws

Oh, don’t you wish! Despite all efforts to keep cats from clawing up the furniture — and you can read about all of them in Chapter Solving Behavior Problems — the best you can do for your cat and your possessions is redirect your pet’s scratching effort, because he needs to scratch.

Scratching is an important part of feline behavior, as much a part of being a cat as purring. Scratching stretches your cat’s muscles in ways that are both important and satisfying to him. Cats live in a world of smells, and marking things — including you — for their own is also very natural, important behavior. Digging claws into the corner of your sofa is one way your pet makes himself feel at home, leaving his own reassuring scent behind from scent glands in his feet.

Some have said that to live with a cat is to caress a tiger, and scratching is one trait your pet shares with all his wild kin. It’s healthy and it’s natural, and you can deal with it in a way that satisfies you both, likely without declawing, which is also discussed in Chapter Solving Behavior Problems, by the way.

A Well-Fed Cat Doesn’t Hunt

The ability to hunt is hard-wired into all cats, but the level of desire varies by an individual’s genetics and early experiences, not by the rumbling in his belly. The play of kittens is really hunting behavior. Pouncing and leaping on any little thing that moves, from your finger to a leaf, is an early sign of the prowess that has kept the welcome mat out for cats throughout human existence.

Cool Cat Facts

Although the desire to hunt may be undeniable, whether your cat kills may have more to do with hunger than anything else, argues zoologist Desmond Morris. He says that the cat’s much-observed tendency to play with its prey is really a matter of the animal’s not being hungry enough to eat it but still being instinctively driven to hunt. And so the cat pounces again and again. In mother cats, the desire to keep prey half-alive is based on her duties to her babies: She uses the little creature to teach them hunting skills.

And here’s something really interesting: Morris argues that your cat is seeing you as a kitten if she brings freshly killed prey back to you. She recognizes that you’re a hopeless hunter, and she’s trying to help you out. What a sweetie!

The fact that you find such love offerings appalling are rather beside the point, and no amount of yelling can change your cat’s behavior. (Punishment never works with cats, anyway, so don’t bother.) Just do your very best to accept the gift as civilly and graciously as you can. Then dispose of the poor creature with all proper precautions — use a newspaper to pick it up, and wash your hands thoroughly afterward.

Hunting behavior in cats is very controversial, especially if the prey is songbirds or endangered rodent species. Fitting your cat’s collar with a small bell or other noise-making device has little effect on his ability to hunt — cats learn to stalk without jostling the bell! Turning your cat into an indoor dweller is the only way to protect wildlife from him — and you from his thoughtful “gifts.” An indoor cat is also protected from the harm that wildlife can do to him — transmit parasites and injure him with bites.

Cool Cat Facts

In Lancaster, England, a male tabby is touted as one of history’s greatest mousers, catching more than 22,000 mice in 23 years. Another claim is made on behalf of a female tabby, also in England. She was said to have killed more than 12,000 rats in six years, or five or six rats a day. Both are amazing accomplishments, certainly, but we’d like to know one thing: Who on earth counted all those dead rodents?

Cat Fur Causes Allergies

If people are allergic to animals, their bodies are reacting not to fur but to proteins in skin secretions and saliva, commonly known as dander . These particles are applied generously to a cat’s fur by the act of grooming and are liberally applied to every surface she rubs against. Every shake puts the particles airborne, where they’re easily inhaled into the sensitive tissues of the lungs or sinuses.

More people are allergic to cats than to dogs, and the allergies to cats are often more severe. Some allergy experts have even gone so far as to theorize that the popularity of cats is one reason that asthma has become more prevalent — and dangerous — in recent years.

Cool Cat Facts

Myths persist about “hypoallergenic” breeds of cats, such as the nearly naked Sphynx or the lightly coated Devon or Cornish Rex. Many of these breeds are actively promoted by their fanciers as being good for allergy sufferers, but allergists argue otherwise. All warm-blooded pets have saliva and skin secretions; all warm-blooded pets, therefore, are potential problems for allergy sufferers. Believe us, we wish we could say otherwise. We’d love to get more cats into the homes of people who’ll love them!

One the other side of the issue is this fascinating little tidbit: A study by Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., suggests that darker cats are worse for allergy sufferers than their lighter-colored relatives. Don’t take it too seriously yet, though: The study was with a small group of people, and the researchers themselves said more work was needed to show more definitively the connection between feline coat color and allergies.

Cat Tracks

Although it’s probably not a great idea for people with the worst allergies, many cat lovers juggle allergies and cats pretty well. For some medical and housekeeping strategies that may make cat owning possible if you have allergies, see Chapter A New Appreciation of the Cat.

Black Cats Are Bad Luck

Black may be an unlucky color all right — for a cat. Black cats have been associated with the forces of evil for hundreds of years, and humane societies warn that this myth has cost many of them their lives. Black cats are often the targets of those who want to practice Satanic-like rituals that include the torture and killing of animals. Such horrors are especially clustered around Halloween, humane groups say, adding that the perpetrators aren’t especially picky; if a black cat isn’t available, any cat may serve their purposes in a pinch. So even if your cat usually chooses whether he’s in or out, keep him inside until this particular holiday has passed.

Black may be an unfortunate color for another reason: visibility. Thousands of cats are killed by cars every year, and the difference between a hit or a near miss may be the driver’s ability to see the cat darting across the road before him. At night, patches of light-colored fur are a distinct advantage to a kitty.

Cool Cat Facts

If a black cat crosses your path, are you likely to see this event as a sign of good or bad luck? Depends on where you live. In the United States, a black cat is typically thought to bring bad luck, but in England, the opposite is true. Although Americans tend to think that a black cat is a bad omen, the Brits believe that seeing “the devil” in person is a sign they’ve been spared any bad luck.

Either way, the claims that black cats have special powers for good or evil are nothing more than superstitions.

Figure 19-1: How can anyone feel unlucky to have such a wonderful pet?

All Calicoes Are Female

Almost all calico (and tortoiseshell — often called torties) cats are female, but not quite all. According to a study by the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri, about 1 in 3,000 so-marked cats are male . . . well, sort of.

Technical Stuff

The gene that governs how the red/orange color in cats displays is on the X, or female, chromosome. Any cat, male or female, can be orange, but in males, that color is usually expressed in one way: the tabby pattern, often called a “ginger tom” or marmalade tabby. Females, however, can be red tabbies, torties, or calicoes. (The last two are genetically similar, except that the calico has patches of color and white spotting, while the colors of the tortie are swirled together.)

Because red females are divided among calicoes, torties, and tabbies, people often think that most red tabbies are males, and statistically, males do make up the majority of red tabbies. But for females to be red tabbies is a lot more common than for males to be either calicoes or torties.

That’s because, for a cat to be a calico or tortoiseshell, it must have two X chromosomes, which means that, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the animal is female. If the calico or tortoiseshell pattern exists in males, the reason is that the cat actually has an extra chromosome — two X and one Tip — a genetic rarity that occasionally pops up in cats (and in people, too). These so-called Klinefelter males are usually — but not always — sterile.

by Gina Spadafori and Paul D. Pion