Is Your Dog Really Color Blind, Do Cats Have Nine Lives?
BY AMANDA HERAUF
A plethora of “facts” have been floating around about our animal friends that we’ve accepted as true for one reason or another. Some of them were held as truths simply because we had not yet the technology or knowledge to discover otherwise. Slowly, we are finding the realities behind these beliefs and why they are false or what might make them true, at least in part.
One widely held belief is that cats and dogs only see in shades of gray. Research has found though that this is not true. If you harken back to your high school bio-logy class, you may recall that there are two kinds of receptors in the eye, rods and cones. Rods are stimulated by light and cones by the specific wavelengths that determine color. Dogs and cats have two types of cones and so can see blues and yellows. They cannot, however, distinguish between red and green, which do look gray to them. They also have a special membrane in their eyes (that humans do not), called the tapetum lucidum, that reflects light back onto the receptor cells, thus allowing them to see fairly well in much lower light levels than humans, giving credence to the notion that they can see in the dark. That membrane, by the way, is what makes their eyes glow with flash photography.
They say You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. This has been disproven by many a folk who have acquired older dogs and successfully taught them new commands. There may be a valid reason for the saying, however. Older animals, like older humans, lose the acuity of their senses. Maybe Fido Sr. doesn’t sit on command because he can’t hear you from across the room or maybe Fifi won’t perform for treats because she can’t smell how yummy they are.
Tales have also floated around detailing how weather can be predicted based on animal behaviors, especially those of the cat. Most do not have credible scientific studies to back them up (it’s hard to create a controlled environment to determine that if, in fact, a cat sleeping with her back to the fire is predicting a mid-winter thaw). Some are completely off the mark: For example, it is said that if a cat sneezes, it’s going to rain. While the occasional sneeze isn’t usually cause for concern, continual sneezing (especially with other symptoms like a runny nose or eyes) may be an indicator of an upper respiratory infection and that it’s time to call the vet rather than a sign of impending precipi-tation.
One weather adage appears to have some truth to it—birds fly lower when a storm is approaching. This is because they have a special organ in their ears that is extremely sensitive to changes in atmospheric pressure, so they try to fly below that change in order to avoid discomfort.
Myths and fears surrounding cats and babies are plentiful. Perhaps, though, there is a valid reason why they began. Before preventative veterinary medicine, pets often carried parasites and diseases that could spread to humans. Infants, whose immune systems were undeveloped, were especially susceptible to these mala-dies and, due to the more primitive nature of human medicine, suffered greatly. Cats can easily jump into cribs to investigate and cuddle with the newest family member, which led to them being named as the culprit of many tragedies. Nowadays, however, a healthy cat who has been given the proper preventative care is of little threat to babies, save when they get upset at having their whiskers pulled or tail “taste tested” by the little human. Parental supervision can mitigate many potential boo-boos.
One of the oldest, and perhaps most quoted adages, is that cats have nine lives. There are several theories about the origin of this notion, dating all the way back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Greece where nine was an important number in theology and, at least in the case of the former, cats were revered. Another theory is that it arose from an old book wherein it was stated that a witch could take the form of a cat nine times. Perhaps the most commonly touted theory is that the notion arose from cats’ uncanny ability to gracefully maneuver through treacherous situations, leap onto and down from great heights without injury, and reportedly survive falls that would undoubtedly kill a human, even from a building of several stories.
The next time you run across an old tale, do a little research. You might be surprised at what you learn about its reality and origin.
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