A Study of Cats and Humans
Ever wonder what your cat is thinking?
Well, I truthfully cannot tell you what your cat is thinking, but I can tell you just a little about how it thinks.
Cats and humans share many similarities when it comes to the brain. Granted our brain is bigger (1,400 grams) and a cats brain is smaller (30 grams), but much of the thinking process is quite similar.
For many years researchers have been studying the thinking process of a cat and in the 1970s a study was under taken to see how cats processed visual information.
The visual cortex of the brain is more highly developed in humans, but cats with the help of their whiskers have fine sensory input, which allows them to navigate quite well, especially in the dark.
A cats nose brain (rhinencephalon) is much larger than a humans which makes them far more sensitive to smell than we are. Many cats that have naval cavity tumors or other problems with their nose will not eat due to the fact a cat eats only what smells good to them.
It is known that dogs have a great sense of smell and are used as drug sniffing dogs and for search and rescue missions. If cats were more cooperative their sense of smell would be a great asset to these programs also.
The limbic system which controls emotional behavior is a function of the brain shared both by cats and humans. Many people think cats are not emotional, but if the truth were known cats probably have the same emotions of anger, likes and dislikes that we do.
Cats also have memory and like humans and other mammals have two seahorse shaped hippocampi situated on either side of the brain. The hippocampus may be smaller in size than a humans, but trust me a cat remembers well and they do associate memories with people, places and things just like humans do.
Cats can also have addictions just as humans do. While people tend to overindulge in food, drugs or alcohol, cats can become addicted to catnip and stress related activities such as hair pulling (psychogenic alopecia.)
Cats can also suffer from some of the same diseases of the brain as humans do. The most common of tumors are meningiomas (usually benign) and lymphoma, epilepsy (usually caused by a tumor) and a form of dementia found in elderly cats or cats that have experienced a severe head injury.
It is said that cats are not very smart because they do not do tricks as dogs do or try to please their owners. As a cat parent I have to disagree, having lived with cats most of my life I find them extremely smart and truly believe we could learn a lot from them, if we only followed their examples.
Just think how much simpler your life would be if you followed your cats lifestyle.
If this article has been of benefit, please visit my web site and blog at http://www.cats-and-dogs-on-the-web.com
Cat Behavior - Cat Does Not Like Being Petted
Does your cat not like being petted? Does your cat only tolerate a few minutes of being petted? Well there are many reasons...
Cats that have Personality
Welcome to my fast cat feed for you to chew on for a moment, I hope you enjoy it.Having 2 wonderful cats for about 9 years no...
The Best Definition of a Typical Cat
How many times have you heard that the typical cat is a predator? More times than you can imagine. But when you are trying to...
Custom Cats: How Genetic Engineering is Changing the World of Pets
When people hear the phrase genetically modified organism (GMO), They picture fruits, veggies or grain thats been altered in ...
Bird Flu, your Cat, and You
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, caused by the H5N1 virus,(commonly called bird flu)has been detected in cats and other fel...
Cats and Food Variety
Cats are interesting creatures. Like humans, they very much like to have variety in what they eat. Cats also like to snack fr...
BARF Natural Diet-Is It The Healthiest Option For My Beloved Cat?
BARF diet also known as biologically appropriate raw food, bones and raw food and born again raw food is a diet program for f...
Fat Cat Facts
Obese Meaning cats that are 20% or more, heavier than their ideal weight.Overweight - Meaning cats that are between 1-19% he...
The Right Recipe for Teaching Tricks to Your Cat
Cats are very lovable animals. They make excellent pets. In fact, three out of ten households in the United States are known ...
Nutrition for an Aging Cat
All cats are created equal, right? Wrong. Senior cats have special dietary needs, different from adult cats and kittens. T...
The Truth about Catnip
We have all heard the stories about cats gone wild, strung out on catnip, while my cat could care less about the stuff. Why ...
Getting Rid of Stray Cats: 5 Foolproof Tips
Stray and Feral CatsStray and feral cats are a huge problem in the United States. Strays are simply cats that have wandered o...
Cat Foods - Dry or Moist Is The Question
Like everything, there is an increasing amount of options when it comes to what to feed your cat. However, most of these can ...
Cat Beds - Sleeping in Comfort
Humans love a comfortable bed to sleep so do animals especially cats. Cats spend most of their time curling up and sleep. If ...
The Benefits of Walking Your Cat
Aside from dogs, cats are the next best pets for the home. In fact, 34.7 million households in the United States own at least...
How to Train Cats
Training cats is like juggling three balls made of Jello or sorting wet noodles by hand; they go off in all directions at onc...
Common Cat Illnesses
Sometimes your cat can seem under the weather, but you dont know whats wrong. Cats can suffer from a number of common illnes...
A Backward Glance into the History of Cats
Have you ever wondered where todays cat came from?I have and so I began a little research on the history of cats.Apparently n...
Why Does Kitty Do What it Does?
A while ago I wrote an article discussing the similarities between a cats brain and a human brain (A Study of Cats and Humans...
Diary of a Cat
Monday: Today I decided that I was going to spend the entire day sleeping in the big humans bed. All was going well until the...