There are a lot of urban myths and misconceptions about cats. Today, I’m going to talk about ten of the most common ones, and why they aren’t true.
1. Cats always land on their feet
Cats have a righting reflex, and in many cases, they will land on their feet. If a cat can fall far enough, he can usually right himself by twisting in midair. Shorter falls may not give a cat time to perform the necessary acrobatics to land paws-first, and older, arthritic cats who are less supple are less likely to be able to make the necessary moves in time. Additionally, kittens do not have a fully-developed righting reflex until between three and seven weeks of age.
2. All tortoiseshell cats are female
99.96% of tortoiseshell cats are female. The extremely rare tortoiseshell male cat, considered a genetic mutation, is usually sterile, and finding one is often a newsworthy event, such as a kitten who ended up in a shelter last year.
3. If you’re pregnant, you need to get rid of your cat
Cats are a host for the parasitic disease toxoplasmosis, which can be dangerous for an unborn baby if a woman who has never been exposed becomes infected during pregnancy. Avoiding direct contact with feces in the litter box either by getting someone else to clean the box or by wearing gloves and then washing hands thoroughly afterwards are recommended. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists more likely sources of toxplasmosis as undercooked meats and gardening, so be sure to clean all kitchen prep surfaces thoroughly and wear goves while gardening, as well.
4. All cats hate water
Most cats do hate water, but some like it and even seek it out. The Turkish Van breed is nicknamed the “swimming cat” for their love of water.’
5. If a cat scratches your furniture, just get her declawed
Declawing is a painful surgery in which the last bone in each toe is amputated. Cats can have permanent nerve damage, leaving a cat unable to walk on uneven surfaces without pain. This leads to declawed cats refusing to use litterboxes, which is usually even more undesirable than the original furniture scratching. Instead, offer convenient and appropriate alaternative scratching surfaces for your cat and trim her nails if necessary.
6. Cats should have a dish of milk every day
Most cats are lactose intolerant, and cow’s milk contains more lactose and casein than most cats can digest. Feeding milk often results in an upset stomach.
Newton laughs and says, “If feed me milk, I’ll make you sorry for it!”
7. A cat eat a diet of fish
Occasional fish may be all right, but fish isn’t a safe primary food source for cats. Some fish contain thaminase, an enzyme that destroys thiamine (vitamin B1), necessary for healthy neurological function in cats. Additionally, a fish-based diet can cause vitamin K deficiency. Many commercially-processed fish-based foods contain a syhtnetic form of vitamin K, menadione, which is banned by the FDA for use in human supplements.
8. Cats are nocturnal
Cats may knock over things in the middle of the night, but so do you when you’re wandering around in the dark! Cats internal clocks tell them to hunt at dusk and just after dawn, the times when they are most likely to find prey.
9. Cats will kill your baby
This urban myth usually takes the form of a jealous cat smothering the baby or sucking the baby’s breath. Cats love to snuggle in warm, cozy places, and people like to put their babies in cozy cribs. Is there any wonder cats try to join the baby in the best napping spot in the house? The myths about cats killing babies have been around for hundreds of years, long before Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)Â was a recognized cause of death for babies, usually occurring to babies in their cribs. Cats were probably blamed for some of those deaths.
10. Cats are so close to their wild ancestors they can survive in the wild
After being raised in a household and never being taught to hunt for her own meals, your cat can’t provide for herself. Cats left to fend for themselves when their family moves on are at high risk of starvation or being killed by predators. Your cat is part of your family, so include her in your moving plans!
My human is often amazed that there are other humans out there who still believe some of these!
I’m searching for stupid websites that spread myths about cats so that I can laugh at them…
specifically the myth of how cats take 2 stories to land on their feet (pft, my cat turns upside down even from 15cm off the ground and no, I do not torture my cat, I just tried to prove a point). I ended up only finding these… where are those stupid websites when you need them…
We can’t believe some humans would believe these…like the baby one. Sheesh.
Those are some great facts. Some of our cats here do love water. You all have a great day.
YES we do and I am constantly reminding mom of that fact.
Her favorite expression is Madi don’t do that you will fall and bust your chin wide open!!
And I reply I don’t plan to land on my chin!!
hugs madi your bfff
Mom says she’s heard all of these and still can’t believe anyone would really think they were true.
The Florida Furkids
Those myths definitely need to be busted; great info!
Though we admit we don’t like water, even running tap water!
Poor cats get a bad reputation and even harmed because of these. It is sad some still believe this.
Great information here! Would you believe that when my mother was pregnant with me, my father’s mother warned her about #9? Needless to say my mother and my grandmother never got along that well LOL
mom says no one here would survive in the wild 🙂
Our friend Miss Patty from Broken Teepee has a male tortie too….
Milk is not good for cats and we don’t like fish but we will eat chicken or most chicken flavoured foods.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
This is a great list of myths and misconceptions! I had a friend who had a cat who would get in the shower with her everyday!
Great post about these silly myths!
#3 and #5 make us sick ! Great post, those myths really need to be busted ! Purrs
Myths take a long time to develop and be de-bunked. I hope by the next generation these are other myths surrounding cats will vanish.
Excellent post! It is amazing how many myths about cats are still out there even today. I am always amazed that there are still people who think that cats kill babies. That’s not something I will ever quite understand.
Great list, sort of like the Idiot’s Guide to Cats.
my big one right now is if you have one declawed cat you have to have another declawed cat because if you get a cat that still has it’s claws the declawed cat will be harmed. Which is so NOT true. if your cats are to the point where they are wanting to use their defensive weapons, the cat with the claws is going to be hurt because the cat without them is going to bite, and that is much more dangerous than a claw swipe.
Great post! mes LOVED it!
Kisses
Nellie
Great information, as usual!
TW always says I wouldn’t survive 10 minutes if I got out of the condo. BTW, Faith was declawed—something TW and Gramma are not proud of—and she never had problems walking, jumping, using the litterbox, etc. She was a perfectly normal cat.
#9 is craaaazy!
Excellent post. Sad to know that some people still think these things about us.
I can’t believe people still believe some of these silly things. Great post!
Maxwell: uh huh, we’re CREPUSCULAR! Sorta.
Faraday: yah just HADTA use the big words didn’t ya, Maxie. *eyeroll*
Allie: I agree with Aunt Connie. Maxie’s declawed but the Brat and I aren’t!
Enjoyed reading and learning more. The tortie info was very interesting. We thought they were ALWAYS female. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo