45 Fascinating Facts about Dogs And Cats

If you clicked on this article, then most probably you are either: a fur parent who’s bored, someone who is interested in cats and dogs, or just someone who happened to come across this article out of nowhere. Whichever you are of the three, you clicked on the right link because this article has some equally interesting facts about our beloved canines and felines! So these are the 45 fascinating facts about dogs and cats

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While dogs jounce their heads as they hunt, cats, on the other hand, don’t and instead keep their heads normally leveled.

Normally, when we see three or more cats together, we only refer to them as “cats.” However, a cluster of these four-legged furballs is actually called a “clowder.”

The Egyptian Mau is one of the greatest and fastest runners among all domesticated cat breeds.

Dogs tend to bark when they are bored to get their human’s attention.

While cats let out cute meows as they try to communicate with humans, it’s not the same when they talk to their feline friends; cats yowl at their mates. Their yowls serve as their mating call and they also do this to express their irritation.

Dissimilar to humans, 38 to 39 degrees celsius is considered the normal temperature for dogs.

Initially, the eyes of a newborn kitten are blue in color, however, it gradually turns into other shades as they grow older.

Dogs have wet noses not because they are sick or they have a cold. It is because of a special mucus meant to help them in recognizing and absorbing a variety of scents. The “recognizing and absorbing” happen when they lick their noses; it is natural for them to first have a taste of a scent they encounter so they could familiarize themselves with it.

Naturally, cats like to assert their dominance; one of their ways to do so is by marking their territories by making kneading gestures around them. The “marking” is done with the help of their paw pads, which secrete a particular scent.

Same as cats, it is not only their eyes that help dogs see much better at night or in dark surroundings. The dogs’ vibrissae or whiskers are specifically designed to help them assess every place and environment they are in. What’s more, they also use their whiskers to communicate their feelings; they move them based on what they are feeling.

All dogs have a third eyelid called the nictitating membrane which serves as their “eye cleaner” and “ eye moisturizer.”

Similar to their feline friends, dogs also have nose prints that are unique to every single one of any breed.
Just as humans have patented fingerprints, all cats have unique prints on their noses.

Knowing that all dogs bark is a no-brainer. However, that is just not the case for all dog breeds. You see, Basenji dogs are considered the “ African Barkless Dogs,” but the reason is not at all related to them being silent pooches. Instead, Basenjis have their own unique way of communicating; they express their emotions by letting out soft to extremely loud whines, yodels, howls, and chortles.
Due to a defective gene, 30% of the Dalmatian dog breed are either completely deaf or deaf in one ear.

Fur discoloration in adult cats is considered alarming because it is highly possible that an underlying illness is involved.

While having five toes on each paw is considered the standard for every dog, the Norwegian Lundehund naturally can’t conform to that standard. You see, these unique pooches from Lofoten are born with 24 toes, with six on each of their paws.

When cats reach three to four months, all of their deciduous teeth will naturally start to come out and be replaced by their adult teeth.

In 2015, an adorable rescue cat from the United Kingdom named Merlin earned a spot in the Guinness World Records after having been discovered to purr at an outstanding 67.8 decibels. The handsome feline’s resounding purr was believed to be almost as loud as conversations and showers.

With proper and extensive training, dogs are able to detect if someone has cancer.

The sight of cats spewing big chunks of hair may be alarming for their fur parents, however, it is not really a cause for concern. You see, it is perfectly normal for cats to occasionally throw up hairballs because they are creatures known for grooming their bodies a lot; as they lick their bodies, they inevitably ingest some of their keratin-filed fur, which apparently, is not digestible.

While there are a good number of stories about cats around the world, there is nothing quite like the one from the Hebrews. According to this legend, during the time of the Great Flood, Noah asked for God’s help so that his food supply inside the Ark would not be attacked and devoured by the pair of rats they had with them. And God answered his prayer in his own beautiful way; through His unmatched power, a lion sneezed and two cats suddenly emerged from the big feline’s nose.

Humans’ olfaction is 100,000 to 10,000,000 times inferior to that of dogs.

Cats do not suffer from bacteria-induced tooth cavities. However, they are susceptible to tooth resorption.

Cats are prone to get stuck in trees because they can’t climb down solely by instinct. This happens because their claws are naturally pointing forward, which is only helpful in climbing up.

Male dogs mark their territory by urinating, and while they are at it, they lift their legs as high as they can in order to show other dogs how intimidating they are based on how high they left their mark.

Dogs don’t just sleep with their bodies bent inwards because they try to stay as warm as possible or they want to act cute; curling their bodies up into a ball as they doze off is their way to protect themselves, particularly their vital organs from possible attacks or threats. This interesting gesture is a result of a natural instinct that goes way back to the time of their earliest ancestors.

In May of 1964, two Siamese cats were peacefully sleeping inside the Dutch Embassy located in Moscow, Russia when all of a sudden, they got up and started to scratch the wall. Their owner, ambassador Henri Helb, was intrigued and quickly investigated the situation; upon checking, he discovered a wireless microphone inside his office wall. He realized that it was placed by Russian spies and that his cats were alerted by the sound coming from the microphone as it switched on.

Dogs only seeing the colors yellow and blue does not actually make them pitiful beings. You see, they may have a limit in the colors they see, but a large number of rods in their eyes make up for that. How? It is through these rods that they are able to see in the dark far better than humans ever could.

Unlike humans whose teeth are solely used for chewing food, each of the cat’s teeth has an individual purpose. They use their molars for chewing on their food, their incisors, along with their tongue, are in charge of grooming themselves, and their fangs are specifically utilized for hunting their prey.

While Cheetahs are considered to be the fastest mammals alive, Greyhounds could easily steal their spotlight if they are to face each other in a long-distance running competition.

Cats were so loved and highly regarded in ancient Egypt to the point that the Government forbade the illegal stealing and smuggling of their beloved felines. What’s more, receiving a death punishment was expected for literally anyone (even those from royal families) who harmed and killed cats, either by accident or by choice.

Normally, dogs have pinkish tongues, but the Chow Chow and the Shar-Pei dog breeds are two exceptions. These dogs possess tongues that are black in color and no one knows why or how this happens.

Cats’ whiskers serve as their own, personal rulers. They use it for measuring the space in front or around them; their whiskers, which length is unique to each of them, can help them identify whether their bodies will fit into any space they would want to go in.

Surprisingly, dogs have the capacity to feel earthly magnetic fields.

On the 7th day of August 1970 in the United Kingdom, a Burmese-Siamese hybrid cat owned by a certain V. Gane gave birth to a whopping 19 offspring. Guinness World Records then gave the big family, particularly the mama cat, a spot in their long list of record holders as the world’s largest domesticated kitten litter; up to this day, mama cat’s unimaginable record is yet to be broken.

In 1941, a Great Dane named Juliana unknowingly prevented their house from blowing into bits and pieces by urinating over a bomb that fell through the roof; apparently, her pee detonated the dangerous intruder just in time. Nice save, Juliana!

Somewhat similar to the smartphone cameras of the modern world, cats are blessed with eyes that have the ability to open a lot more than that of humans; this incredible pair of eyes are able to let in more light from around them, which makes it a lot easier for them to see in the dark. It is also worth noting that their eyes work hand-in-hand with their whiskers in understanding every situation and environment they are in.

The man’s best friend also has dreams and even exhibits Rapid Eye Movement when he’s in deep slumber.

If you are a Game of Thrones fan, then you are surely familiar with Jon Snow’s and the Stark children’s loyal dire wolves. In real life, they are actually Northern Inuit dogs, which are actually bred with wolves in order to keep their biggish body size.
Rotating their ears up to 180 degrees is not a problem for our feline friends. This amazing ability is made possible by the 32 powerful muscles found inside their ears.

Obviously, when humans want to communicate with each other, we talk. Adult cats, however, meow to their humans in order to communicate their needs and wants.

As odd as it may sound, dogs that are larger in size tend to age a lot faster than small ones.
In 2013, it was revealed that a cat’s brain has a 90% similarity with that of humans.

While dogs are proven to produce 15 different sounds using their voices, cats can do 85 more! Yes. Cats are experts when it comes to making 100 distinctive sounds.

And that is it for this list! I certainly hope you learned a lot from these 45 fascinating facts about dogs and cats