Veterinarians Debunk 13 Cat Myths

Carly Fox: "Pregnant women can't live with cats." This is a big myth. Do not get rid of your cat if you are pregnant. "When cats purr, it means they are happy." This is definitely a myth. Ann Hohenhaus: "Cats believe that their owner is their mother." Fox: Obviously your cat doesn't believe you're his mother. I'm Dr. Carly Fox. I'm an emergency and critical care veterinarian at Animal Medical Center in New York City. Hohenhaus: And I'm Dr. Ann Hohenhaus, also at the Animal Medical Center, but I'm a specialist in internal medicine and oncology. Fox: Today we are going to

debunk

some

myths

about cats. "Cats love milk." I mean, I think this is kind of an image that's been presented throughout our childhood, in storybooks and movies and television, but unfortunately, cats, as they get older, are actually lactose intolerant.

So their bodies can't even digest milk. When they are kittens, they have an enzyme called lactase, which helps them break down milk, because they are supposed to drink their mother's milk. But as they grow, that enzyme, which is usually very present, disappears. And then they can't digest milk. So if you give milk to an older cat, or really any cat after it has been weaned from its mother, it really won't be able to digest it. Although it may seem like they are having a lot of fun, it can actually cause gastrointestinal upset. Hohenhaus: But you can go to the pet store and buy cat milk.

And cat milk has two things that make it special for cats. One is that it is lactose-free, like the lactose-free milk you can buy in the supermarket. But additional taurine is also added. And cats need taurine in their diet. So it's just an extra source of that special amino acid for cats. Fox: I mean, who knew? Hohenhaus: "Cats are nocturnal." How can you be nocturnal if you sleep 23 hours a day? The typical cat sleeps 23 hours a day. They wake up long enough to kill some prey, eat it, and then go back to sleep until the next time they are hungry.

Fox: They are actually crepuscular animals. Hohenhaus: They are what? Fox: Twilight. That means they are active during dusk and dawn, which goes back to what you just said about their hunting. This is how lions hunt. They hunt at dusk or dawn, where they can best see their prey, hunt and kill, and our domestic cats evolved from that. So they are supposed to be more active in the morning and afternoon, but not necessarily in the middle of the night. Although some cats obviously are. Hohenhaus: Well, and they are more active in the morning. Ask any cat owner.

At 4 in the morning, that cat walks on your head and runs on the bed, trying to get you up, because he doesn't have to hunt for breakfast. They just have to lift you up. Fox: "Cats hate water." I can't say that all cats hate water, but in my experience, most cats definitely don't like water, as they don't like being bathed in water. You definitely won't see most cats swimming. I would say that most cats don't love water, but when cats feel neglected, maybe they do like water. Hohenhaus: "Cats believe that their owner is their mother." I think they just see you as a source of food, comfort, cleanliness, and a safe place to live.

Fox: Yeah, obviously your cat doesn't think you're his mother, but he definitely thinks you're his caregiver and he needs you, but, you know, someone else could probably take that job just as easily. Your cat, honestly, so I don't think cats think you're their mother. But some people definitely think that. "Pregnant women can't live with cats." This is a big myth. Please do not get rid of your cat if you are pregnant. Sometimes cats can become infected with a parasite called toxoplasmosis, which can be shed in your cat's feces. If contracted by a pregnant woman, this parasite can sometimes cause birth defects or miscarriages, and that is obviously something we want to avoid.

Cleaning the litter box daily will help with this. You definitely don't want to leave the litter box for more than a day because that can increase infection. If you need to clean the litter box, just wear gloves. So the best thing you can do is have someone clean the litter box for you, which is also great. Who wants to clean their litter box? It's a nine-month break. Hohenhaus: So if you're concerned about your or your cat's health during pregnancy, be sure to discuss the issue with both your veterinarian and your obstetrician. "Cats can see in complete darkness." Cats have great night vision.

They have like a mirror behind their eye. And you know this when taking pictures of your cat because you see that yellow-green reflection in the camera, and that's this mirror that's in the back of the cat's eye that helps reflect the light around it to improve its night vision. And that reflective zone is called tapetum. Fox: Cats really can't see in complete darkness. They still need a little bit of light in their eye to bounce back and forth into their eye from the mat, so they can't see in total darkness, but in a lot of darkness with a little bit of light, they can actually see.

Hohenhaus: "Human food is bad for cats." We do not recommend feeding cats a human diet, because it does not meet their nutritional needs. Cats are obligate carnivores and that means they need to eat meat. Therefore, their diet is not appropriate for cats. Fox: "Black cats are bad luck." I mean, this is obviously a big myth. Hohenhaus: I think black cats are bad luck because they don't get adopted from a shelter as easily as a pretty gray cat or a flashy tricolor cat. So the bad luck is for the cat, not for you. "Cats don't love people or babies." My mother was very worried about this when I was having a baby, because she had these cats.

And she said, "Those cats are going to climb into the crib and suffocate my grandson." Nothing of that happened. Babies are unpredictable, they smell different than people, they make different movements than people, and they have stinky diapers. So I think this might be partly true. It's not that they don't like babies. It's just that they are different from the people they are used to. Fox: "Cats always land on their feet." Well, cats have an excellent righting reflex, which means they often land on their feet, and that has to do with their anatomy and vestibular system. However, unfortunately I am an ER doctor and live in New York City.

I see many, many, many cats that don't land on their feet. Definitely don't think your cat will be okay if he unfortunately falls out of a third-story window or even from the top of your refrigerator. Hohenhaus: And when they fall, they land on their chin, and they often fracture their wrists, and then if they fall face down, instead of landing on their feet, they will also have air in their lungs or around their lungs. because his lungs suffer a small tear and begin to leak. Therefore, these injuries are serious and endanger the lives of cats. So the answer is to have screens or not to open the windows. "Dogs and cats don't get along." I have no idea where this would have come from.

There are many houses and homes in the United States where there are dogs and cats and they are perfectly fine. Just like some people don't get along, sometimes a dog and a cat don't get along, but sometimes you have two dogs and they don't get along or two cats and they don't get along. So I think this has more to do with the personality of your dog and cat than the fact that they don't get along. They won't be the next YouTube sensation, but I assume they have a working relationship. Hohenhaus: Yes, yes, that's good. A working relationship.

We have to work together to be good pets. Fox: Yes. Let's do that. "When cats purr, it means they are happy." This is definitely a myth, and I can tell you that I have been scratched by many a purring cat. You know, I think purring is often associated with pleasure in cats; However, sometimes cats may purr for other reasons, such as that they are very nervous, or that it is actually a warning, or that they are hungry, not necessarily because they are happy. "One human year is equivalent to seven cat years." This is definitely, definitely a myth.

I think this is something we associate more with dogs, but if you apply it to cats, I think it's even more of a myth. Hohenhaus: Well, if we look at it from the other side of life, a cat can have kittens when she is 6 months old. A 6 month old cat would be 3.5 years of human age and clearly no 3.5 year old will have babies of their own. Fox: I hope not. Hohenhaus: So it doesn't work on cats, no. Fox: Today we

debunk

ed some

myths

about cats. There is a bit of truth in some of these myths we talked about today, and I think it's very appropriate, since cats are very particular and special animals that are a bit mixed, just like these myths. .

Hohenhaus: My son's first words were "meow." Producer: That's crazy. Hohenhaus: He would look at the cat and say "meow." Fox: That's cute, really?