The Nine Lives Myth

And yes it is a myth.  No one knows for sure when or where it started, but there is good reason for this myth to have come about. 

Cats are very adaptable, and can live in nearly any environment and climate.  Add to that their ability to get out of harms way in a flash, and you now have a myth.  Their ability to get into the smallest places, climb trees, land on their feet, and so much more, give credence to this myth. 

Also, cats tend to be finicky eaters.  This helps protect them sometimes with poisoning.  They are able to take care of themselves if need be, and would rather run from a fight, then actually fight.  Of course running isn’t always possible, and that’s when the claws and teeth come out.  They are very capable of defending themselves.

Put all this together, and you have to say to yourself, “Wow, that cat must have 9 lives.”

The Tabby Rules

Did you know that the most common coat pattern on cats belongs to the tabby?  Tabby’s come in a variety of colors, gray, red, orange, brown, and even cream.  Tabby cats are the original cats, and you can sometime see tabby stripes on solid colored cats if you look close enough.

Just thought you’d like to know.

What’s Up With the Vertical Slit in Your Cat’s Eyes?

Have you ever looked into your cat’s eyes and noticed that his pupil’s are a vertical slit.  Why is that?

It’s natures way of allowing your cat to adjust to any type of lighting condition.  Since cats hunt at night, their eyes are very sensitive to light.  Between the vertical slit of the pupil, and the horizontal opening and closing of the eye lids, your cat can adjust to any lighting condition, and still protect his eyes. 

And that’s what that vertical slit thing is all about.  Pretty simple really.

Hemingway Cats

A Hemingway cat is a cat that has 6 or more toes.  The real name for such cat’s is polydactyl, which means many fingers.  The reason they are known as Hemingway cat’s is because the famous author, Ernest Hemingway, loved these cats, and had a bunch of them. 

The extra toes is a dominant trait, therefore, it only takes one parent to produce a litter of extra fingered cats.  They were very popular on ships because it was believed that the extra toes come in handy for extra climbing and hunting abilities.  Hemingway received his first cat from a ship captain. 

If you go to the home of the famous author in Key West Florida, you will find about 60 such cats living in and around his home.  Believe it or not, it’s turned into a very popular tourist attraction.

Who would have guessed?

Why Calico Cats Are Special

Calico cats, Like Cassie the Cat, are unique because 1 out of 3,ooo calico’s are female.

Cassie the Cat (left) is a calico, Frankie the Cat (right) is not

In order to understand why this happens, we have to think back to out biology classes.  If you remember, the X chromosome is female, and the Y chromosome is male.  The gene that determines the orange/red color is on the X chromosome.  It takes two X chromosomes to make a calico cat.  Since Females have two X chromosomes, and males have an X and a Y chromosome, the majority of calicoes are female.

But there are some males out there.  How can that be since males don’t have two X chromosomes?  Well, there are some cats who have an extra chromosome.  That’s right, the male calicoes have XXY chromosomes.  This is called Klinefelter’s syndrome, which can occur in many species of animals.  Humans too.

So next time you see a male calico, now you know how special and different he is.

Cats and Dreaming

So the question is, do cats dream?

Probably.

In humans, dreaming occurs during the REM stage of sleep. The main characteristic is rapid eye movement.  Interesting enough, cats also have the same characteristic while sleeping.  In addition, they twitch their whiskers and limbs.  Therefore, it would appear that cats do indeed dream.  How or what they dream about is unknown, but it probably has something to do with birds, fish, treats, etc.

Curiosity Killed the Cat, or Did It?

We’ve all heard the saying Curiosity killed the cat.  But how true is that.  Well, let’s think about this. 

Cat’s are very curious critters.  They dart after moving objects, after all they are predators, and like to hunt.  There are cases where in so doing, they can run into an oncomming car, fall from a great height because they are only paying attention to the chase, meet up with an unfriendly animal, or an animal that has disease.

Another thing cats tend to do is explore.  This can expose them to poisons, sharp objects, heavy objects that can fall on them, and who variety of other dangerous things.

So, yes, curiosity can kill the cat.

History of St. Augustine, Part 2

Where last we left off with the history of St. Augustine, Florida had become the 27th state of the Union.  From 1875 to 1887, the fort was used to house the Indians that were exiled from the Southwest and Great Plains.  It was during this time that the government changed it’s Federal Indian Policies to include education for the indians.

Also during this period, in the winter of 1883-84, Henry Flagler came to visit St. Augustine.  The co-founder of Standard Oil was so impressed with the city that he changed the architecture and economy of the city by building the Hotel Ponce de Leon, Hotel Alcazar, the Memorial Church and more.

This is the city you see today.  Not only are there a great deal of historical places to see and visit, but there is also 43 miles of white sand beaches.  It is estimated that over three million visitors come to saint Augustine each year.  You should come and visit too.  There’s fun for everyone.

That Glowing Eye Thing With Cats

Have you ever spotted a cat at night, and all you can see are those glowing eyes.  Kind of freaky.  So why do they glow?  A lot has to do with the reasons they can see good at night.  Although they can’t see in total darkness, they can see very good with the slightest amount of light available. 

The glow is due to the reflection off the tapetum lucidum, which are special cells behind the retina.  The tapetum lucidum’s job is to catch the light that didn’t enter the retina and reflect it back in so that your cat can see in the slightest amount of light available.  This is why a cat can see in light conditions that are over five time less bright than what we require in order to see.

In addition, your cat’s cornea is larger than ours, and his pupils can dilate three times the size of our.  Put all this together and you have one hell of a light show at night.

Ragdoll Cats – Why They Flop When You Pick Them Up

Well, not all Ragdoll cats flop when you pick them up, but most do.  There are all kinds of theories about why they do that.  Some are crazy theories that have to do with alien breeding.  But that’s not the case.  Actually, Ragdolls are very laid-back.  When you pick them up, they simply relax into your arms and it appears that they are flopping.  But they’re really just relaxing and enjoying the attention.

So all you X-File fans out there, Sorry, but not this time.