These are myths and facts about animals. The bottom pages have all kinds of information and trivia on cats, dogs, and other pets. Plus there are freaky facts too.

Can Dogs Really Understand Words?   Yes...

When you talk to your dog, does he cock his head as if he is really listening to what you are telling him? Do dogs understand words? Pet expert Arden Moore writes that dogs understand your voice tone more than the actual words to gauge if you are delivering praise or discipline. Try this test. Stiffen your muscles, grab a telephone book, and begin to call out the names alphabetically in a stern, low tone in front of him. Watch his response. I bet he will glance your way, crouch down, and move away from you almost as if to say, “I can tell you’re angry and Im not sure why.” Now repeat the exercise, but this time, relax your muscles, sit on the floor, and call out the names in the phone book in a cheery, musical tone. Watch what he does. He will probably race over to you with a circular wag and a happy, open-mouth grin and try to give you kisses. The same words spoken in a different tone elicit different reactions from your dog. Although tone matters more, many dogs do understand specific words and phrases. That’s because we have been consistent when speaking these words followed by a particular action.

Does your pet really love you?       

Ears close to the head, tense posture, and tail straight out from the body means “don’t mess with me.” Ears perked up, wriggly body and vigorously wagging tail means “I am sooo happy to see you!”
But there is another, newly discovered, feature of dog body language that may surprise attentive pet owners and experts in canine behavior. When dogs feel fundamentally positive about something or someone, their tails wag more to the right side of their rumps. When they have negative feelings, their tail wagging is biased to the left. Every dog lover knows how a pooch expresses its feelings. Right Brain, Left Brain The muscles on either side of the tail apparently reflect emotions like fear and love registering in the brain. Ears close to the head, tense posture, and tail straight out from the body means “don’t mess with me.” Ears perked up, wriggly body and vigorously wagging tail means “I am sooo happy to see you!” But there is another, newly discovered, feature of dog body language that may surprise attentive pet owners and experts in canine behavior. When dogs feel fundamentally positive about something or someone, their tails wag more to the right side of their rumps. When they have negative feelings, their tail wagging is biased to the left.
Research has shown that in most animals, including birds, fish and frogs, the left brain specializes in behaviors involving what the scientists call approach and energy enrichment. In humans, that means the left brain is associated with positive feelings, like love, a sense of attachment, a feeling of safety and calm. It is also associated with physiological markers, like a slow heart rate.
At a fundamental level, the right brain specializes in behaviors involving withdrawal and energy expenditure. In humans, these behaviors, like fleeing, are associated with feelings like fear and depression. Physiological signals include a rapid heart rate and the shutdown of the digestive system.
Because the left brain controls the right side of the body and the right brain controls the left side of the body, such asymmetries are usually manifest in opposite sides of the body. Thus many birds seek food with their right eye (left brain/nourishment) and watch for predators with their left eye (right brain/danger). In humans, the muscles on the right side of the face tend to reflect happiness (left brain) whereas muscles on the left side of the face reflect unhappiness (right brain).

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/science/24wag.html

      Autism assistance dogs?

Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning there is a wide range of symptoms that stem from a neurological disconnect characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication and severely restricted interests and highly repetitive behavior. The range of impairments in functioning run from mild to severe, but the real test about the benefit of a service dog is whether the child and his/her family have an interest in dogs.

For the children within the spectrum who find aspects of a dog extremely rewarding, an appropriate dog can greatly benefit the child in many ways including calming (tactile stimulation--petting the soft fur of a dog), helping develop pragmatic language skills and social interactions (people are more likely to engage a child who is paired with a lovely dog), help alert to a child's possible impulse control (running away, "escaping," and causing possible risk of danger), give a child something to focus on in overly stimulating environments (trip to a store, doctor's office, etc.), as well as just being a companion who gives unconditional love and comfort in an often scary and overwhelming world. To read more: http://dogtime.com/dogs-autistic-kids-rachel-friedman-faq.html

Can fish be blind? 

If the white is inside the eye, it is probably cataracts. There really isn't anything you can do except keep him as healthy and happy as possible. They are often genetic, or sometimes are caused by infection or injury. If the white isn't inside the eye, but on the outside, it could be from toxins like ammonia and/or nitrite. They burn the skin, eyes and gills. If the tank can't balance completely they will be elevated. This can happen when a tank is kept "too clean". I know it sounds strange, but if you are removing all the water and totally cleaning it every month, it never has the chance to build a healthy beneficial bacteria balance. Changing 25% of the water every week while vacuuming the gravel is a good regimen to follow. You should never have to remove all the water unless there is a serious pollution problem or a foreign substance has gotten in the water. If you are finding a lot of crud in the gravel, it means you are overfeeding. (Very common problem, I overfeed sometimes too.) If he has a hard time finding food, it is easy to overfeed because you will want the fish to get enough. Just do the best you can. They do have a sense of smell, so he can find it when he needs to. Feed sinking pellets if you don't already.

One solution: If it were my fish and it looks like a outer eye infection, I would try cutting back on food and add aquarium salt to the tank. Use uniodized pure salt. You can buy it at local fish stores. Put in 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. When you make water changes, put back enough salt to treat the water replaced. For instance, your water changes are about 3 gallons, so you will add back 1.5 teaspoons every time. The salt helps the fish fight infection and it can also help kill the cause of infection. It is always best to avoid medicine when ever you can. Especially in chronic cases.  http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_Goldfish_be_blind

      Why Cats Play With Water

                           

 

The Average Salary Of Wildlife Photographers

Being a wildlife photographer may entail tracking lions in Africa or observing wild salmon in Alaska. You might shoot a subject in sub-zero temperatures or in desert heat. Other times, you'll work at a home base developing photographs and checking up on new assignments. Wildlife photography is not always glamorous, and is not, in most cases, a high-paying job. However, some of the benefits of being a wildlife photographer are getting to see amazing animals in their native habitats and snapping reminders for all of us of the wonders that exist in the world's remote places.
Related Searches:

    Baseline

        Most wildlife photographers are self-employed. Some, however, have consistent work for either newspaper, magazine or publishing companies. Government and advertising agencies also seek out photojournalists. The average annual salary range for a wildlife photographer is $26,000. This is the baseline for the field; a salary may either be more or less depending on reputation, education and experience. Some earn as high as $50,000 and others bring home only $15,000 or less during their first few years in the field.
    Additional Income

        Although some wildlife photographers consistently score high-paying gigs, many supplement their income by teaching part- and full-time at universities and trade schools. In addition, many wildlife photographers use their sharp photo-taking skills to make money at other commercial photography ventures, such as selling images to stock photo companies or shooting weddings and other events. Occasionally, wildlife photographers may apply for private or government grants to pursue specific projects, especially if those projects contribute to an arts scene or to the public good (for example, documenting environmental degradation or animal migrations).
    Expenses

        Although the choice photography gigs generally cover travel and other incidentals, wildlife photographers do accrue many expenses. Equipment is the biggest expense, as a variety of lenses and camera bodies is needed to successfully capture wildlife on film. The rise of digital photography has cut down on film-processing costs; however, depending on the client, some wildlife photographers may still prefer to shoot with film in which case lab rental, film and paper costs must be taken into consideration. A home lab for the digital photographer includes at minimum a fast computer with back-up hard drives and professional photo-editing software. When you first start out you may end up covering all of your travel expenses, too. This means you may lose money or only break even while you build your portfolio and make contacts in the field.
    Considerations

        Those with photography experience and a bachelor's degree in photojournalism will have a better chance of obtaining the higher-paying gigs. Some recommendations for those just starting out include visiting a newspaper or magazine office and talking with their in-house photographers or photo editors. It's best to have a portfolio which displays outstanding photos---these days the best way to do this is online with a professionally made website. Extensive knowledge of traditional, nontraditional and digital cameras is also helpful.
    Warnings

        Wildlife photographers often travel to remote locations all over the world. Hostile conditions are often the norm in the life of a photojournalist. Some will sit for hours before snapping shots worthy to be sold. If you fear hostile environments or have a low threshold for discomfort, or don't have the patience to wait for an animal to appear, this is not the field for you.

    Local Photography ClassesSchools.com/Photography

    Find Photography Training Programs in Your Area & Get Free Info!

Read more: The Average Salary Of Wildlife Photographers | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5477290_average-salary-wildlife-photographers.html#ixzz1hnAjs161
 

 6 Facts about Penguins

Here at Vetstreet think there's no better way to celebrate the many species of waddlers out there than to share some cool facts about these curious creatures, who inhabit frosty (and sometimes toasty) habitats.

Thinkstock

1. Although all penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, they can be found in South Africa, Antarctica, the coast of South America, the Galapagos, Southern Australia and New Zealand.

2. The largest species of penguin is the Emperor, with an average length of 36 to 44 inches, while the smallest penguin species is the Little Blue, which averages 10 to 12 inches in height.

3. Penguins can swim close to 15 miles per hour — far outpacing Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, whose top speed is only around 4.7 miles per hour.

4. Penguins' waterproof feathers are tightly packed to insulate them against frigid temperatures, but they can open their feathers to feel the cold.

5. Penguins mate for life. However, the yellow-eyed penguin is so reclusive that if two pairs catch sight of one another, their breeding season will not be successful.

6. The African penguin is sometimes referred to as the jackass because this species brays like a donkey.

Thinkstock

Our penguin facts were provided by the following: New England Aquarium, Penguin Facts and answers.com.

Click here for more Vetstreet penguin coverage.

Fun facts

What is a cat's vibrissae?

Answer: It's whiskers

Fun facts

How long can a snail sleep without eating? 

Answer: 3 years

Facts About Adopting Black Dogs...

Big Black Dog Syndrome

I learned about something recently that surprised me. Evidently, many people do not want big black dogs. As the owner of a black Lab, I found this to be surprising. But a newsletter from the Heartland Lab Rescue had an article about how big black dogs are the hardest dogs to adopt out for shelters. Theories abound as to why. Black dogs are difficult to see in their crates and cages at shelters. It’s hard to see their faces. They don’t photograph easily for online listings. There is a cultural bias against big black dogs because of irresponsible Rottie, Lab, Chow, Pitt and Doberman owners. People are more afraid of big black dogs because it’s hard to read their expressions when you can’t see their eyes and faces very well. Black dogs are too common or “ordinary” and prospective pet owners prefer a more unique coat color or pattern.

   The theories vary, but the statistics don’t. Consistently across the country at shelter after shelter, the wait time for big black dogs — especially males — is longer than for any other type of dog. The adoption rate is lower. The surrender rate is higher. “Our yellow and chocolate puppies rarely last more than a week before being adopted by loving families,” says Amy Serrata, Hertland Lab Rescue Co-Chair. “But the black puppies simply get passed up.” Here are some ways to keep black dogs out of shelters: If you hear of someone who’s looking for a family dog, encourage them to get a black dog. To find a big black dog waiting for adoption, go to http://www.blackpearldogs.com/ or http://www.heartlandlabrescue.com.

  Raining Cats and Dogs

Origin

This is an interesting phrase in that, although there's no definitive origin, there is a likely derivation. Before we get to that, let's get some of the fanciful proposed derivations out of the way.

The phrase isn't related to the well-known antipathy between dogs and cats, which is exemplified in the phrase 'fight like cat and dog'. Nor is the phrase in any sense literal, i.e. it doesn't record an incident where cats and dogs fell from the sky. Small creatures, of the size of frogs or fish, do occasionally get carried skywards in freak weather. Impromptu involuntary flight must also happen to dogs or cats from time to time, but there's no record of groups of them being scooped up in that way and causing this phrase to be coined. Not that we need to study English meteorological records for that - it's plainly implausible.

Can Cats Steal Babies Breath ?

                                                          

Status: False

Claim:   Cats suck the breath from babies, sometimes killing them.
The story, passed on by a pregnant woman is about cats that get jealous of newborn infants. As it was described to me, the cats, no longer afforded the attention they once got prior to the infant's birth, will actually attempt to suffocate the infant. Specifically, she described a cat, "sucking the wind out of the baby," by placing its nose in the infants mouth while the infant is asleep. This immediately seemed unreasonably far-fetched, yet she maintains it's true since she has it "on the authority" of a number of other women.
Origins:   The idea that a cat could suck the breath of an infant is simply a misguided notion — cats just don't do that. It is Cat said the smell of milk on the child's breath draws the feline in for the kill, but anyone who has been around house cats knows the average moggie doesn't much care for the liquid. (Given free choice between plain water and a bowl of milk, cats generally head for the water unless milk has been the only liquid offered to them from weaning onwards. Put more simply, unless the cat has been taught to like milk, it generally won't seek out that substance on its own.) Another theory advanced as to why a cat would want to harm a baby relates to the jealousy the pet will supposedly experience when the little bundle from heaven is brought into the household. No longer the center of attention, the neglected pet is allegedly capable of setting about to get rid of what it sees as the usurper. This theory is of far more recent coinage than the bit of lore it purports to explain, though, coming into fashion no earlier than the 20th century (while the "smother" belief dates to at least the 1700s). In 1791 a jury at a coroner's inquest in England rendered a verdict to the effect that a Plymouth child had met his death by a cat sucking out its breath. The superstition itself is older, with print sightings of it recorded from 1607 and 1708, so that 1791 verdict should be viewed with the realization that the jury was probably influenced by a snippet of "everybody knows" lore when it came time to explain a death for which there was no apparent cause. It is possible a cat might lie across the face of a sleeping child and thus upon extremely rare instances accidentally cause a death, but that is not the old wives' tale at hand wherein the cat does so with malice aforethought. Tragedy is hard enough to bear without its also being inexplicable. Better to blame the cat than to admit the cause of a child's death is unknown . . . 
The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/catsuck.asp

Tidbits of Trivia You Might Not Have Known...

Domesticated pets are complex creatures. Have you ever wondered why they do some of the things they do? Your cat seems smart, but how sharp is his memory? Why is it your dog can always outrun you? Is it your imagination, or does it seem like your bird is always eating? Here are some interesting facts bound to keep you guessing.

Fun Facts About Dogs

• Dogs only sweat from the bottoms of their feet, the only way they can discharge heat is by panting.
• Dogs have about 100 different facial expressions, most of them made with the ears.
• Dogs have about 10 vocal sounds.
• Dogs do not have an appendix.
• There are more than 200 different breeds of dogs.
• Dalmatians are born spotless: at first pure white, their spots develop as they age.
• Contrary to popular belief, dogs aren’t color blind; they can see shades of blue, yellow, green and gray. The color red registers on a grayscale in a dog’s vision.
• Most domestic dogs are capable of reaching speeds up to about nineteen miles per hour when running at full speed.
• Using their swiveling ears like radar dishes, experiments have shown that dogs can locate the source of a sound in 6/100ths of a second.
• Domesticated for more than 10,000 years, the dog was one of the first animals domesticated by humans.

  Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back paw!

Fun Feline Facts

• Cats do not have sweat glands.
• A cat can jump as much as seven times its height.
• Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back paw.
• Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
• A pack of kittens is called a kindle, while a pack of adult cats is called a clowder.
• An adult cat can run about 12 miles per hour, and can sprint at nearly thirty miles per hour.
• A cat's tongue is scratchy because it's lined with papillae—tiny elevated backwards hooks that help to hold prey in place.
• The nose pad of each cat has ridges in a unique pattern not unlike a person's fingerprints.
• Cats' bodies are extremely flexible; the cat skeleton contains more than 230 bones (a human has about 206), and the pelvis and shoulders loosely attach to the spine. This adds to their flexibility and allows them to fit through very small spaces.
• Cats have better memories than dogs. Tests conducted by the University of Michigan concluded that while a dog's memory lasts no more than 5 minutes, a cat's can last as long as 16 hours—exceeding even that of monkeys and orangutans.

Fun Facts About Avians and Exotic Bird Pets

      Iguanas are able to hold their breath for up to 30 minutes!

• To survive, every bird must eat at least half its own weight in food each day.
• A bird's heart beats 400 times per minute while they are resting.
• Americans own more than 60 million pet birds.
• Larger parrots such as the macaws and cockatoos live more than 75 years.
• Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time.
• Armadillos have four babies at a time and they are always all the same sex. They are also the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy.
• Iguanas are able to hold their breath for up to 30 minutes.
• A garter snake can give birth to 85 babies.
• Ferrets are currently the third most popular pet in the US. There are an estimated eight to ten million ferrets in the United States being kept as pets.
• A goldfish can live up to 40 years.

Why Dogs Do Strange Things.

Digging, Nesting and Rolling Common Behavior...

Part of the reason we love dogs is for their unconditional love and curious nature. Some of their most endearing qualities may also stump us from time to time: the furious digging, the inexplicable rolling in stinky, smelly stuff, and the ritualistic nesting at bedtime.
Many of these strange behaviors common to dogs are believed to be tied to the days when they ran in packs, dug shallow dwellings and gathered their own chow.

Birds Aren’t the Only Nesters Their strange habits include “digging” a bed each night before lying down to sleep.

Before dogs were domesticated some 100 years back, they dug shallow beds to keep them a bit warmer than simply snoozing on the ground’s surface.
The bedtime ritual might also be linked to a dog’s instinct to mark his or her territory. Dogs mark the area that they consider theirs by scratching the ground with the smell that comes from the sweat glands in their paws.
While Natalie’s dogs conduct harmless pawing, some dogs shred whatever they can get their paws on. If this is the case, get your dog a bed of her own with a lose fill such as cedar chips. (Dogs are more likely to adapt to a bed placed in spots they already consider their territory.)
Many of these strange behaviors common to dogs are believed to be tied to the days when they ran in packs.

Dogs Dig Digging

Dogs dig for lots of reasons: As a means to get somewhere, hide food, explore and, frankly, just for fun.
This knack for getting dirt between the paws goes back to the days when they dug dens and buried their leftovers. Watching other dogs and owners dig can also encourage the urge to make a hole of their own.
If digging causes a problem, fill favorite spots with rocks and a smell they dislike such as chili pepper or their own feces. You can nudge them into digging in a designated spot by burying a treat there and cheering them on as they make the discovery.
Your dog could be sending you a message by the holes he’s digging, according to The Secret Lives of Dogs:

• Holes near fences indicate something of interest on the other side or boredom.
• Holes adjacent to the house could mean your dog is lonely and wants to come in.
• Shallow holes could mean your dog is trying to get comfortable by warming up or cooling down.

What’s That Smell?

Many a pooch enjoys rolling in some smelly stuff from piles of autumn leaves to dirt, snow and, unfortunately, even the droppings and carcasses of other creatures.

Dogs might prefer a good roll to itch a scratch. Dogs who sometimes rub around after a bath might be attempting to remove the sweet shampoo smell.
Reeling in something smelly could be your dog’s way of saying that he found something interesting and he wants you to know. Or he could be marking his territory. He may enjoy the smell of something so much that chafing against it is his way of taking that lovely smell along with him.
Most rolling and rubbing is harmless. But if your dog picks up a totally unruly scent, freshen him up with odor neutralizers rather than shampoos, which may enhance the stench – err – scent.

  Does Your Pet Watch TV?

Did you know Chickens are smart ? The cognitive abilities of chickens above those of small human children.

Chickens comprehend cause-and-effect relationships and understand that objects still exist even after they are hidden from view. This puts the cognitive abilities of chickens above those of small human children. For instance, scientists have found that chickens clearly understand cause-and-effect relationships, an advanced comprehension skill that puts their intellect beyond that of dogs. 
Chickens can also grasp other complex mental concepts. For instance, according to Evans, chickens are able to understand that objects still exist even after they are hidden or removed from view. This level of cognition is actually beyond the capacity of small human children. Researchers also recently reported that chickens “can anticipate the future and demonstrate self-control, something previously attributed only to humans and other primates.” Scientists made this discovery after they observed that when given the option between pecking a button and receiving a small food reward instantly or holding out for 22 seconds in order to receive a larger food reward, chickens in the study demonstrated self-control by holding out for the larger reward over 90 percent of the time.

Chickens are social animals who form complex social hierarchies and interact in complex ways that are indicative of what anthropologists call “culture.” For example, researchers have shown that chickens learn from observing the success and failure of others in their community. One experiment that demonstrated this finding involved teaching one group of chickens to peck red and green buttons a certain number of times to obtain a food reward. Researchers were surprised to find that when a new group of chickens watched those who had learned how to push the buttons for food, the new chickens quickly caught on by watching the others.  There are hidden depths to chickens, definitely.”

If you'd like to read more: http://www.goveg.com/f-chickens-psection.asp

Fungus turns Amazonian ants into zombies

By Darren Osborne for ABC Science Online Posted Thu Mar 3, 2011 3:57pm AEDT

The fungus grows out of the head of the dead ant, releasing spores into the air (David Hughes ) Researchers combing the rainforests of Brazil have uncovered four new species of fungi that turn ants into zombies. Although it is not the first time the fungi has been seen affecting ants, the discovery of four distinct species in close proximity highlights the level of biodiversity in the Amazon. Their study appears online in the journal PLoS One.

The research, led by Assistant Professor David Hughes of the University of Pennsylvannia, identified and described the parasitic fungus Ophiocordyceps unliateralis living on four species of carpenter ant (Camponotini sp.) in the Zona da Mata region of Brazil. Ants become infected when they come into contact with spores released by the fungus. Within a week the ant enters a zombie-like state. This so-called zombie or brain-manipulating fungus alters the behaviours of the ant host, causing it to die in an exposed position, typically clinging onto and biting the adaxial surface of shrub leaves," the study authors write. The fungus then grows out of the head of the ant, releasing spores into the air, which rain down onto unsuspecting ants and the forest floor.

To read more on this story: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/03/3154387.htm?section=world

Amazing Gliding Ants (See clip below)
The tree-nesting tropical ant Cephalotes atratus can glide forwards and backwards in a directed flight. The ants steer themselves by changing the position of their hind legs, mid legs and gaster (the bulbous posterior segment of their bodies).  Other ants who exhibit this falling behavior live in Africa, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica and the United States. The Smithsonian blog gives a fuller account not only of how the ants perform this unusual behavior and also how scientists manage even to study the tiny insects falling in the forests, using ropes, canopy walkways, construction towers, video cameras and even wind tunnels.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/amazing-gliding-ants.html#ixzz1RcqslIZW

The Wisdom of Black Cats And Myths

                                  

Dogs Yawning Contagious ?  

          Why Cats Purr 

The phenomenon of purring has fascinated humans for ages. A lot of research has been conducted to figure out this feline mystique, but no one knows for certain why cats purr, though it is believed to be a voluntary act initiated by the central nervous system. In other words, cats purr on purpose, not just as an instinctive response. Scientists report that cats produce purring sounds by using the diaphragm to push air back and forth across vibrating nerves in the larynx. Purring occurs in a frequency range between 25 and 150 hertz. At the lower end of the range, that rumbling sound can resemble an idling diesel engine, which has a similar velocity. All domestic cats and most wild felids are are born with the ability to purr. Cats, from young kittens to senior citizens, purr when they are happy, such as when they are being petted, anticipating dinner, or snuggling on a warm, cozy bed. Mother cats purr when nursing their kittens, and kittens purr when nursing. But many cats also purr when they are afraid or in pain. That helps explain why females may purr during labor and why some cats purr when they are being examined at a veterinary clinic or when they are recovering form an injury. The purring might serve to reassure or comfort the frightened cat, and some studies suggest that the low-level vibrations of purring physically stimulate feline muscles and bones to keep them healthy and actually hasten the healing process.

             Do Dogs Feel Guilt?

Throwing Rice At Weddings Myth...

    

In Roman times, Wheat was thrown at the bride and groom as a symbol of fertility. Under Queen Elizabeth I, wheat cakes where broken up and thrown instead. Once they became costly, rice was a cheap substitute, and it "stuck". The Urban Legend that raw rice causes birds to explode has been found to be false. Because of this rumor, bird seed or bubbles are now being thrown at weddings. It is an Italian Tradition to throw Confetti at weddings. The confetti symbolize money and good fortune for the couple. A Scottish tradition is to throw flower pedals on the couple. This is also a symbol of fertility.

Other trendy"tosses" include rose petals and other blooms, sunflower seeds, fall leaves, and paper snowflakes. Bridal businesses also promote blowing bubbles or waving lit sparklers at the departing couple. Just don't ask us what those symbolize.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/birdrice.asp

More on Pigeons: http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/tags.php?tag=eating+seeds

Do Birds or Fish Fart? 

Fart is an English language vulgarism most commonly used in reference to flatulence. The word "fart" is generally considered unsuitable in a formal environment by modern English speakers, and it may be considered vulgar or offensive in some situations. Fart can be used as a noun or a verb.^[1] The immediate roots are in the Middle English words ferten, feortan or farten; which is akin to the Old High German word ferzan. Cognates are found in old Norse, Slavic and also Greek and Sanskrit. The word "fart" has been incorporated into the colloquial and technical speech of a number of occupations, including computing. Fart is sometimes used as a nonspecific derogatory epithet, often to refer to 'an irritating or foolish person', and potentially an elderly person, described as an 'old fart'. This may be taken as an insult when used in the second or third person, but can potentially be a term of endearment, or an example of self deprecatory humor when used in the first person.^[2] The phrase 'boring old fart' was popularised in the UK in the late 1970s by the New Musical Express while chronicling the rise of punk. It was used to describe hippies and establishment figures in the music industry, forces of inertia against the new music.

Birds: The short answer is an almost definite NO, birds do not fart. Farts are, by definition, noticeable eruptions of significant volumes of intestinal gas. Avian intestines are short and evacuate wastes frequently. Any gases produced in digestion leak out as fast as they're produced, so there isn't the opportunity for build-up that leads to those explosive releases we cheerfully or disgustedly call farts. 

Read more: http://lauraerickson.blogspot.com/2007/04/question-of-day-do-birds-fart.html

Fish: Biologists have linked a mysterious, underwater farting sound to bubbles coming out of a herring's anus. No fish had been known to emit sound from its anus nor to be capable of producing such a high-pitched noise. "It sounds just like a high-pitched raspberry," says Ben Wilson of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada (Listen here, .wav file). Wilson and his colleagues cannot be sure why herring make this sound, but initial research suggests that it might explain the puzzle of how shoals keep together after dark. "Surprising and interesting" is how aquatic acoustic specialist Dennis Higgs, of the University of Windsor in Ontario, describes the discovery. It is the first case of a fish potentially using high frequency for communication, he believes. Arthur Popper, an aquatic bio-acoustic specialist at the University of Maryland, US, is also intrigued. "I'd not have thought of it, but fish do very strange and diverse things," he says.

Read more: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4343-fish-farting-may-not-just-be-hot-air.html

        How Smart is a Fish?

Dogs are easy. You talk, they respond–smart! Fish, not so easy. It’s not like we get the frequent opportunity to really interact with them–and for anyone who’s seen a goldfish repetitively doing the rounds in its bowl, it’s easy to buy into the old adage that fish have only a three-second memory. (Although, do you remember Gus, Central Park Zoo’s “neurotic” polar bear? Much like a goldfish in a bowl, the poor old guy repetitively circled his habitat in the same exact manner day in and day out. But no-one accused him of having only a three-second memory–he got diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder caused by boredom, and got an animal therapist! Only in New York…)

Anyway, recent research may suggest the possibility that a fish circles its bowl because it is really stinkin’ bored, not because it doesn’t remember that it just did it, again and again and again. What does Dr. Kevin Warburton, adjunct researcher with Charles Sturt University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, have to say about the three-second memory of a fish? Rubbish!

Warburton, who has been studying fish behavior for years says, “There’s been a lot of work done over the last 15 years on learning and memory in fish and it as been found that fish are quite sophisticated. Fish can remember prey types for months; they can learn to avoid predators after being attacked once and they retain this memory for several months; and carp that have been caught by fishers avoid hooks for at least a year. That fish have only a three second memory is just rubbish.”  posted by Melissa Breyer Jan 30, 2010 7:01 am

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-smart-is-a-fish.html

• Reproductive Age: 3-4 years
• Number of Offspring: One (rarely two)
• Breeds: More than 350
  

• The height of a horse is measured with hands, where each hand is equal to four inches.
• You can know the age of a horse by counting its teeth.
• The average weight of a horse’s head is 11.84 pounds and heart is 10 pounds.
• A horse can easily drink up to 10 gallons of water in a day.
• Horses can communicate with the use of their facial expressions.
• The hoof of a horse never stops growing, like a fingernail, and has to be clipped on a regular basis.
• A horse can walk, trot, canter and gallop.
• The offspring of a horse, known as foal, is usually born at night and can stand up and walk hardly 1-2 hours after being born.
• A horse has two blind spots. One of them is located directly in its front, while the other is located directly behind.
• A young male horse, which is 4 years or older in age, is called a colt. A young female horse, of the same age, is called filly.
• Horses have monocular vision and can see two different images at once. They also have better vision at night than humans.
• A mule is a cross between a male donkey and a female horse. While, a hinny is a cross between a male horse and a female donkey.
• A marking on the head of a horse is known as a star, irrespective of the shape it has.
• Akhal-Teke, a horse breed from Russia, can go for days without food or water.
• Horses cannot vomit, but they can sleep while standing.
• Celts regarded horse as a sacred animal.
• 
  
• http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-horses-1256.html

        Do Cats Have Emotions?

Cat owners rely primarily on observations of feline behaviour to determine which emotions a cat may be feeling, but there is also physiological evidence that cats experience many of the same emotions as humans:

• Biochemical changes that occur in the brain with certain emotions such as pleasure or fear in humans also occur in cats, and cats respond to the same mood regulating neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, etc.) as people do.
• Some pharmaceuticals that are designed to address mood disorders in humans such as depression and generalized anxiety are also effective for cats.
• Damage to certain brain structures that regulate fear, rage, and other emotions has similar effects on both people and cats.
• Cats and many other animals can experience depression, which can override their basic survival instincts, such as the urge to eat, if it is severe enough.

Developing a greater understanding of feline emotions has helped animal therapists adopt more effective treatment strategies to address behavioural and mood problems.

The Range of Feline Emotions

Emotions expressed by cats include simple feelings of joy, sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, excitement, affection, frustration, pleasure, and contentment. Many people assert that cats display even more complex social emotions, such as compassion, contempt, embarrassment, jealously, and love.

Notably, Charles Darwin believed that differences between humans and animals are quantitative but not qualitative. In other words, the experiences of humans and animals fall along different points of a continuum of consciousness, but they are on the same continuum.

Claims that Animals are Incapable of Experiencing Emotions

There are those who continue to argue that animals do not experience emotions, despite mounting evidence against this view. Many of these individuals have only observed animals in laboratory settings, where their behaviour is unnatural due to stress, pain, and lack of social interaction.

What's that Smell? The Cat's Nose Knows

1.   Cats are said to have a sense of smell that is 30 times better than humans.

2.      Cats enjoy the smell, and the effects, of catnip, but only if they've inherited the gene for it. For other cats, the smell may be intriguing,but catnip will have no effect.

3.      Cats are born with their sense of smell functioning, and it is highly developed by about three weeks of age.

4.   Their sense of smell means that felines are extremely sensitive to tainted food, and perhaps this has contributed to their finicky reputation.Cats are hunters, and in the wild, would rarely eat stale meat. Carrion is for scavengers.

I See You! Cat Eye Facts

1. The night vision of the feline is legendary. In order to see, they need only one-sixth as much light as a human. They cannot, however, see in total darkness. When enough light is not available, they use their whiskers to feel their way around.
2. Your kitty's eyes offer her almost 285 degrees of sight in three dimensions. Ideal peripheral vision for hunting.
3. Cats do see in color, and can distinguish yellow, blue, and green hues.Their eyes are best, however, at detecting movement, and shades of gray.
4. The feline eye has a third eyelid. Called the nictating membrane, or haw,it is designed to remove dust and dirt, and lubricate the eye. If there is illness or injury, the haw will show. Ironically, content and sleepy cats have been known to show haws as well.

          Definition of a Polecat

Polecat, carnivorous mammal of the weasel family. The name refers especially to the common Old World polecat, Mustela putorius, found in wooded areas of N Eurasia and N Africa. Similar to weasels, but larger and with longer fur, polecats grow to nearly 2 ft (60 cm) long, including the 6-in. (15-cm) tail. The fur, sold under the name fitch and much used in the early 19th cent., is dark brown above, with yellow patches on the ears and face. The belly, feet, and tail are nearly black. Like other members of its family, polecats have a scent gland under the tail which emits a fetid secretion used for territorial marking; the gland is most active when the animals are alarmed. Solitary, nocturnal animals, they spend the day in dens. They feed on small animals and eggs and are quite destructive to poultry and small game. Farmers have exterminated polecats in many areas, but they still survive in wilder places over most of their former range. Domesticated strains of polecat have been developed for hunting; these are called ferret, a name also applied to a wild polecat species of North America. The marbled polecat and striped polecat are related animals of Africa and W Asia. The skunk, a New World member of the weasel family, is called polecat in some regions.

 Why Cats Leave “Gifts”

                                                                                    

                Fun Farm Animal Facts

Do you know which where the term chicken pox came from? How about which farm animal is the closest living relative to the Tyrannosaurus Rex or what mental disease causes a man to think he is an ox? You can find the answer below as well as some other amazing facts that you might not have known about pigs, horses, cattle, chickens, turkeys, and sheep.
1. The tongue of a pig has six thousand more taste buds than a human's. Humans have 15,000 while pigs only have 9,000.
2. Pigs and light-colored horses are the only two mammals besides humans that can get sunburned.
3. Pigs have been rated as the fourth most intelligent animal in the world, and are believed to be as smart if not smarter than dogs.
4. In truth, "to sweat like a pig" would mean that you do not sweat at all. Pigs have no sweat glands.
5. If a pig was able to fly, other pigs would be unable to see him. Pigs are incapable of looking up.
6. The average horse eats seven times its own weight in food each year.
7. Horses live about thirty years. However, an English barge horse named "Old Billy" was sixty-two years old when he died and is the oldest recorded horse.
8. If a female horse and a male donkey mate, the offspring is known as a mule. If a male horse and a female donkey mate, the offspring is known as a hinny. Both mules and hinnies are usually sterile.
9. The number of hooves raised on a horse statue does not indicate how the rider died. The common belief was that two legs raised indicated the person died in battle, one leg raised indicated the person died from wounds they received in battle, and no legs raised indicated the person died from natural causes. However, this belief can be applied to most of the statues located at Gettysburg National Park.
10. In Columbia, a cow once committed murder after it stepped on a loaded rifle and shot another cow in the head.
11. Cows are color blind. Bulls charge a matador's cape because it is moving, not because it is red.
12. There are more cows in the United States than people. New Zealand has more sheep than people. They have 70 million sheep but only 40 million people.
13. Cows produce about thirty percent of the methane in the atmosphere.
14. Twelve or more cows are known as a fink.
15. A cow's glands are located in its nose.
16. Boanthropy is a rare mental disorder that causes a person to think he is an ox. One of the first recorded cases is in the book of Daniel (4:33), which tells about Nebuchadnezzar, a Babylonian king who would eat grass.
17. Because of the way a cow's legs bend, they are incapable of walking downstairs. However, they can walk upstairs.
18. During her lifetime, a cow will produce about 200,000 glasses of milk. Cows will produce more milk when they are listening to music.
19. A donkey's eyes are placed so that it is able to see all four of its feet no matter which way it looks.
20. More people are killed annually by donkeys, on average, then die in plane crashes.
21. Russian breeders once claimed that they had produced a sheep with blue wool.
22. Chickens are not very good at flying. The longest recorded flight of a chicken is only thirteen seconds. The longest recorded distance flown by a chicken is 301.5 feet.
23. Scientists believe that the closest living relative to the Tyrannosaurs Rex is the chicken.
24. There is approximately the same amount of chickens as there are people with the most of each species living in China, which has about three billion chickens. The U.S. has only about 450 million chickens.
25. An egg's shell is determined by the breed of chicken. Not all chicken eggs are white or brown; some chickens, such as the Ameraucana and the Araucana, produce blue and green eggs. The color of the yolk, however, can be affected by the chicken's diet. Feeding certain dyes to chickens can cause them to lay eggs with varicolored yolks.
26. The term "chicken pox" comes from the Old English term "gican pox," which referred to an inching pox, not because people believed the illness was caused by chickens.
27. Chickens and turkeys are capable of crossbreeding. When they do, they produce offspring that are known as turkins.
28. Although the turkey originated in North and Central America around 10 million years ago, it was mistakenly named after what was believed to be its country of origin.
29. Most domestic turkeys are incapable of flying. Wild turkeys can, however, and are capable of reaching speeds of fifty-five miles per hour for short distances. They can also run up to twenty-five miles per hour.
30. Equinophobia is the fear of horses; alektorophobia is the fear of chickens; and taurophobia is the fear of bulls. There is no official term for the fear of cows or pigs.

Darcy Logan

http://www.rusticgirls.com/fun/neat-facts-about-farm-animals.html

                  Yes, Dogs Can Get Breast Cancer

                                                         Fun Feline Facts

• Cats do not have sweat glands.
• A cat can jump as much as seven times its height.
• Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back paw.
• Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
• A pack of kittens is called a kindle, while a pack of adult cats is called a clowder.
• An adult cat can run about 12 miles per hour, and can sprint at nearly thirty miles per hour.
• A cat's tongue is scratchy because it's lined with papillae—tiny elevated backwards hooks that help to hold prey in place.
• The nose pad of each cat has ridges in a unique pattern not unlike a person's fingerprints.
• Cats' bodies are extremely flexible; the cat skeleton contains more than 230 bones (a human has about 206), and the pelvis and shoulders loosely attach to the spine. This adds to their flexibility and allows them to fit through very small spaces.
• Cats have better memories than dogs. Tests conducted by the University of Michigan concluded that while a dog's memory lasts no more than 5 minutes, a cat's can last as long as 16 hours—exceeding even that of monkeys and orangutans.

             Fun Facts About Avians ( Birds ) and Pets

           

      Iguanas are able to hold their breath for up to 30 minutes!

• To survive, every bird must eat at least half its own weight in food each day.
• A bird's heart beats 400 times per minute while they are resting.
• Americans own more than 60 million pet birds.
• Larger parrots such as the macaws and cockatoos live more than 75 years.
• Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time.
• Armadillos have four babies at a time and they are always all the same sex. They are also the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy.
• Iguanas are able to hold their breath for up to 30 minutes.
• A garter snake can give birth to 85 babies.
• Ferrets are currently the third most popular pet in the US. There are an estimated eight to ten million ferrets in the United States being kept as pets.
• A goldfish can live up to 40 years.

  Dogs Linked To Breast Cancer?                             

Make you own decission...

Can dogs give you breast cancer?

Bizarre medical theories that experts claim may actually be true By ROGER DOBSON
Last updated at 08:17 30 October 2008 DOGS GIVE WOMEN BREAST CANCER: Could it really be true that keeping a dog increases the risk of the disease? Both dogs and humans carry the same virus that can induce cancer Analysis of breast cancer cases by researchers at the University of Munich showed that patients with this type of cancer were significantly more likely to have kept a dog than a cat. In fact, 79.7 per cent of all patients had intensive contact with dogs before they were diagnosed.Only 4.4 per cent of the patients did not have pets at any time compared to 57.3 per cent of a healthy control group ? so there was a 29-fold increased risk for pet owners. Another study in Norway reported a very high level ? 53.3 per cent ? of breast cancers in 14,401 dogs. In looking for a reason, scientists found a virus common in both dogs and humans.The one they homed in on is the mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV),which triggers breast cancer in mice and which has been investigated for possible links to human breast cancer. The theory is that dogs, and possibly other pets, harbour and transmit MMTV or MMTVlike viruses that can induce human breast cancer. There searchers say the theory may help to explain why women from Eastern countries are at increased risk of breast cancer when they move to Western nations ? Asian or Oriental women seldom keep dogs as pets. Migration to Western countries may cause them to alter their lifestyle, including keeping pet dogs.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-490581/Can-dogs-breast-cancer-Bizarre-medical-theories-experts-claim-actually-true.html

Do animals have souls?

This is another person's take on " If animals have souls" as far as in Scriptures. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKKvdhTjInI

 10 Species Near Extinction

Many of the planet's most endangered animals are also its remarkable. Here are a few of nature's superstars from Asia, the Americas, the Pacific and elsewhere that may soon be no more.  Below is a Javan Rhinoceros Indonesia and Vietnam Number remaining: fewer than 60

To see the rest:

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1888702_1863780,00.html#ixzz1Rd76If6B

         Some Bird Facts

The Bird Classification Terms Nidifugous and Nidicolous

These specialist terms have very simple meanings: nidicolous (nest-attached) birds are those birds who keep their helpless, often featherless, chicks in the nest for several weeks and bring them food. Nidifugous birds are those whose chicks are born fully-feathered and alert. The chicks leave the nest as soon as they are dry after emerging from the egg.

Some Birds Carry their Young

Some nidifugous birds will lead their young away from the nest to better feeding grounds. This can mean dealing with obstacles such as walls and hedges. In such cases, Woodcocks and Redshanks are known to fly over the obstacle, carrying one chick at a time, clutched tightly between their legs. Another water bird, the Great Crested Grebe, on the other hand, becomes a floating nest, by carrying its chicks on its back for up to 3 weeks.

Bird That Fly Underwater

The Auk family of birds, which includes guillemots, murres and puffins, are flying seabirds that have short wings which must be moved rapidly for flight. However, when chasing prey in the water, this group of birds actually flap their wings to propel them through the water, whereas most sea-feeding birds either plunge from a height or use their webbed feet to dive.

The Woodpecker’s Long Tongue

The Woodpecker has a tongue that is five times the length of its beak, which means it can probe into holes for food as far as five inches. Where does it keep its tongue? The tongue is a portion of a flexible system of bones and tissues known as the hyoid. It starts at the top of the beak, and is anchored near its right nostril. From there it curls across the top of the woodpecker’s skull and down the back of the head, exiting as the tongue through the beak.

The Shape of Birds’ Eggs

It sounds odd to say that some eggs aren’t egg-shaped – that is, blunt at one end and slightly pointier at the other. In fact, eggs come in all shapes and sizes. The eggs of Swifts and Swallows are long with blunt ends while the eggs of owls and many other birds of prey are quite round. Some eggs are pear-shaped and, here, there seems to be a reason. The eggs of the Guillemot are laid on narrow rocky ledges with no nesting material to contain them. If set in motion, their pear-shaped eggs rotate around the narrow end, rather than roll straight over the edge.

Some Birds are Pirates

Traditionally, pirates plunder what others are carrying home. There are certain birds that do just that. Great Skuas lurk in the sky till they see an unfortunate gannet carrying a fish home, and several of them mob and hustle it until it regurgitates its fine treasure. Black-headed Gulls steal earthworms from Lapwings and Blackbirds steal worms from Song Thrushes. It is estimated that, in some seasons, the Thrushes lose 10% of their hard-earned food.

A home is not complete without a dog.  Including the White House.  Dogs have graced presidential homes starting with the first president, George Washington.  They ran and played on the White House grounds, ran through the hallways, terrorized staff, held press conferences, photo ops, and molded National policy.  Here are a few stories on some of the “First Friends”.

George Washington and his Super Dogs

George Washington bred hunting dogs.  His goal was to breed “a superior dog, one that had speed, sense and brains.”  He crossed the French Hound breed “Grand Bleu de Gascogne” (gifts from Marquis de Lafayette) with his own black and tan hounds and created the American Foxhound. One of these hounds named “Vulcan” was a especially formidable dog.  He was as big as a small pony, had powerful jaws, an insatiable appetite, and a taste for Virginia hams. It’s reported that Vulcan snuck into the Washington’s Mount Vernon kitchen, snatched a ham, and bolted.  Being the big and powerful dog he was, it was in everybody’s best interest to let Vulcan enjoy his meal. George Washington also recognized the importance of a dog being family.  He once ordered a cease fire during the Battle of Germantown to return a lost dog.  Engage in trying to contain British General Howe’s troops, a little terrier was seen wandering the the battlefield area.  It turns out that this little dog belonged to General Howe.  He was identified from its collar, and brought to George Washington. Instead of keeping the dog or turning him back loose to suffer through gun fire, he took the dog into his tent, fed him and had him brushed and cleaned. Then, to everyone’s surprise, Washington ordered a cease fire. The shooting stopped while soldiers on both sides waited and watched as one of Washington’s aides formally returned a little dog to the British commander under a flag of truce.

Abraham Lincoln and Fido. If Abraham Lincoln was alive today, he would be the strongest supporter of Dogs Deserve Better and Unchainyourdog.org considering how he felt about the family dog.  Read all about his dog Fido.

Theodore Roosevelt and HOW the Teddy Bear was invented.

Blame it on the dog.  In 1902, while hunting in Mississippi, one of Roosevelt’s dogs cornered a small bear cub and Roosevelt refused to shoot it. This act of mercy was published in the newspaper in cartoon form. A political cartoonist by the name of Clifford Berryman heard the story and drew a cartoon about it. After this famous cartoon appeared in the papers, a shopkeeper named Morris Michtom got a brilliant idea.  He sewed and stuffed two toy bears and asked for permission from President Theodore Roosevelt to call the toy bears “Teddy’s bears”.  The phrase caught on and Americans started ordering these stuffed bears.  Mr. Michtom’s store eventually became the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. An American hunting dog called the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier was named in honor of the President, however Roosevelt never owned one nor was he instrumental in developing the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier. Theodore Roosevelt owned Pete a pit-bull terrier (his favorite), Sailor Boy the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Jack a terrier type dog, Manchu the spaniel, and Skip the mongrel.

Herbert Hoover and King Tut

Blame it on the dog again.  Herbert Hoover’s favorite dog helped get Hoover elected.  King Tut was a massive German Shepherd police dog and frequently accompanied Hoover during his campaign.  The photos of a man and his dog made Hoover appear warm and friendly and autographed pictures of the two were sent to thousands of voters. Once in the White House, King Tut remained in the public eye, every night patrolling the White House grounds or strutting back and forth between the residence and the executive offices. He was also a very friendly dog that spent time with the staff.  Once day Hoover observed King Tut hanging out with one of the White House guards.  Hoover whistled but King Tut ignored him, preferring to remain with the guard.  That annoyed Hoover so much he issued orders that very afternoon that none of the White House staff was permitted to play with any White House pets.  It’s rumored that these orders were one of the events that led to The Great Depression.

President Herbert Hoover’s dogs also included Buckeye, a Belgian police dog, and Englehurst Gillette, a Gordon setter.

Harry S. Truman and Feller

Truman’s quote “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog” is one of the most famous and most quoted of all the dog quotes.  But Truman was not so receptive to a new friend when given a dog as an unsolicited gift as we found with Poor Little Feller, Washington’s most Unwanted Dog.

John F. Kennedy and Pushinka

Pushinka was a gift from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to President John F. Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline.  Pushinka was a descendant of Strelka, one of the first dogs sent to space that returned safely to earth. Since this exchange happened during the Cold War, Pushinka was checked for spying devices and hidden microphones when she arrived at the White House.

She…erhem…bonded with White House pup Charlie, a Welsh terrier. Together Pushinka and Charlie had four puppies, or “pupniks” as President Kennedy called them.  They were called Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie and Streaker, and given as gifts to family friends. The other dogs of “Camelot” included Clipper the German Shepherd, Shannon the Irish Cocker Spaniel, and Wolf the Irish Wolfhound.

Barack Obama and Bo

Our current “First Friend”.  During Obama’s campaign, he promised his daughters a dog if he got elected as President.  He kept that promise and added Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog into the family.  He came to the White House as a six-month-old puppy, a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.

Although Obama stated his preference would be to get a shelter dog, his daughter Malia is allergic so a hypoallergenic breed was ultimately decided on.   This decision was a disappointment to animal advocates after Obama’s previous commitment to rescue a dog.  He was criticized by PETA, The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, and scores of other bloggers and animal rescuers. However, in a way, Bo was rescued.  He was originally purchased by a person unknown to the public, but things did not work out between Bo and his owners and Bo was eventually returned to the breeder.  He was introduced to the Obamas, the girls fell in love, the rest is history.

One thing is certain, Bo is a loved family member.  He behaves for the press, he races across the White House lawns, loves tomatoes, he gave Oprah a “high-five”, and even barked at Santa Claus.  He’s walked in the morning by First Lady Michelle, and at night by the President himself.  And that includes picking up the poop themselves.  There is no doggie waste team assigned to the White House bringing up the rear with pooper scoopers. I can’t write about all the Presidential Pups in one post, there are so many of them.  I’ll save some for next year.  For a complete list of Presidential Pets, visit Presidential Pet Museum.

For all the dogs of the White House, the Oval Office door has always been, and always will be, open.

Maybe not so fun facts. Chaining Your Dog creates an unsocial, unstable, and lonely dog.

This is food for thought. Very interesting take on Humans and Animals... What we can Learn from them...
By Ross Robertson, Enlighten Next magazine

Many of the stories that surround the life of St. Francis deal with his love for animals, Nature and the environment.

Many of the stories that surround the life of St. Francis deal with his love for animals. Perhaps the most famous incident that illustrates the Saint's humility towards nature is recounted in the "Fioretti" ("Little Flowers"), a collection of legends and folklore that sprang up after the Saint's death. It is said that, one day, while Francis was traveling with some companions, they happened upon a place in the road where birds filled the trees on either side. Francis told his companions to "wait for me while I go to preach to my sisters the birds". The birds surrounded him, drawn by the power of his voice, and not one of them flew away. Francis spoke to them: My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and in everyplace give praise to Him; for He has given you freedom to wing through the sky and He has clothed you... you neither sow nor reap, and God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains for your thirst, and mountains and valleys for shelter, and tall trees for your nests. And although you neither know how to spin or weave, God dresses you and your children, for the Creator loves you greatly and He blesses you abundantly. Therefore... always seek to praise God.

Soon, fear of the animal had caused all his companions to flee, though the saint pressed on. When he found the wolf, he made the sign of the cross and commanded the wolf to come to him and hurt no one. Miraculously the wolf closed his jaws and lay down at the feet of St. Francis. "Brother Wolf, you do much harm in these parts and you have done great evil...", said Francis. "All these people accuse you and curse you... But brother wolf, I would like to make peace between you and the people". Then Francis led the wolf into the town, and surrounded by startled citizens made a pact between them and the wolf. Because the wolf had “done evil out of hunger”, the townsfolk were to feed the wolf regularly, and in return, the wolf would no longer prey upon them or their flocks. In this manner Gubbio was freed from the menace of the predator. Francis, ever the lover of animals, even made a pact on behalf of the town dogs, that they would not bother the wolf again. It is also said that Francis, to show the townspeople that they would not be harmed, blessed the wolf.

These legends exemplify the Franciscan mode of charity and poverty as well as the saint's love of the natural world. Part of his appreciation of the environment is expressed in his Canticle of the Sun, a poem written in Umbrian Italian in perhaps 1224 which expresses a love and appreciation of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Earth, Brother Fire, etc. and all of God's creations personified in their fundamental forms. In "Canticle of the Creatures," he wrote: "All praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures. Francis's attitude towards the natural world, while poetically expressed, was conventionally Christian. He believed that the world was created good and beautiful by God but suffers a need for redemption because of the primordial sin of man. He preached to man and beast the universal ability and duty of all creatures to praise God (a common theme in the Psalms) and the duty of men to protect and enjoy nature as both the stewards of God's creation and as creatures ourselves.

Legend has it that St. Francis on his deathbed thanked his donkey for carrying and helping him throughout his life, and his donkey wept.

    All Facts About Dogs

TRIVIA ABOUT DOGS:

A dog's whiskers are touch-sensitive hairs called vibrissae. They are found on the muzzle, above the eyes and below the jaws, and can actually sense tiny changes in airflow.
According to a recent survey, the most popular name for a dog is Max. Other popular names include Molly, Sam, Zach, and Maggie.
According to ancient Greek literature, when Odysseus arrived home after an absence of 20 years, disguised as a beggar, the only one to recognize him was his aged dog Argos, who wagged his tail at his master, and then died.
An American Animal Hospital Association poll showed that 33 percent of dog owners admit that they talk to their dogs on the phone or leave messages on an answering machine while away.
An estimated 1 million dogs in the United States have been named the primary beneficiary in their owner's will.
At the end of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", an ultrasonic whistle, audible only to dogs, was recorded by Paul McCartney for his Shetland sheepdog.
Barbara Bush's book about her English Springer Spaniel, Millie's book, was on the bestseller list for 29 weeks. Millie was the most popular "First Dog" in history.
Before the enactment of the 1978 law that made it mandatory for dog owners in New York City to clean up after their pets, approximately 40 million pounds of dog excrement were deposited on the streets every year.
Cats have better memories than dogs. Tests conducted by the University of Michigan concluded that while a dogs memory lasts no more than 5 minutes, a cat's can last as long as 16 hours - exceeding even that of monkeys and orangutans.
Cats have more than one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
Cats, not dogs, are the most common pets in America. There are approximately 66 million cats to 58 million dogs, with Parakeets a distant third at 14 million.
Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not sweat by salivating. They sweat through the pads of their feet.
Dachshunds are the smallest breed of dog used for hunting. They are low to the ground, which allows them to enter and maneuver through tunnels easily.
Developed in Egypt about 5,000 years ago, the greyhound breed was known before the ninth century in England, where it was bred by aristocrats to hunt such small game as hares.
Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible.
Dogs can hear sounds that are too faint for us to hear, and also can hear noises at a much higher frequency than we can. Their hearing is so good that they probably rely more on sound than on sight to navigate their world.
Dogs' eyes have large pupils and a wide field of vision, making them really good at following moving objects. Dogs also see well in fairly low light.
Dogs have far fewer taste buds than people -- probably fewer than 2,000. It is the smell that initially attracts them to a particular food.
Dogs in monuments: The dog is placed at the feet of women in monuments to symbolise affection and fidelity, as a lion is placed at the feet of men to signify courage and magnanimity. Many of the Crusaders are represented with their feet on a dog, to show that they followed the standard of the Lord as faithfully as a dog follows the footsteps of his master.
Dogs may not have as many taste buds as we do (they have about 1,700 on their tongues, while we humans have about 9,000), but that doesn't mean they're not discriminating eaters. They have over 200 million scent receptors in their noses (we have only 5 million) so it's important that their food smells good and tastes good.
Each day in the US, animal shelters are forced to destroy 30,000 dogs and cats.
Every known dog except the chow has a pink tongue - the chow's tongue is jet black.
Every year, $1.5 billion is spent on pet food. This is four times the amount spent on baby food.
For Stephen King's "Cujo" (1983), five St. Bernards were used, one mechanical head, and an actor in a dog costume to play the title character.
French poodles did not originate in France. Poodles were originally used as hunting dogs in Europe. The dogs' thick coats were a hindrance in water and thick brush, so hunters sheared the hindquarters, with cuffs left around the ankles and hips to protect against rheumatism. Each hunter marked his dogs' heads with a ribbon of his own color, allowing groups of hunters to tell their dogs apart.
Inbreeding causes 3 out of every 10 Dalmatian dogs to suffer from hearing disability.
It has been established that people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks.
Korea's poshintang - dog meat soup - is a popular item on summertime menus, despite outcry from other nations. The soup is believed to cure summer heat ailments, improve male virility, and improve women's complexions.
Lassie was played by several male dogs, despite the female name, because male collies were thought to look better on camera. The main "actor" was named Pal.
Lassie, the TV collie, first appeared in a 1930s short novel titled Lassie Come-Home written by Eric Mowbray Knight. The dog in the novel was based on Knight's real life collie, Toots.
Marie Antoinette's dog was a spaniel named Thisbe.
Most pet owners (94 percent) say their pet makes them smile more than once a day.
Pekingese dogs were sacred to the emperors of China for more than 2,000 years. They are one of the oldest breeds of dogs in the world.
Prairie dogs are not dogs. A prairie dog is a kind of rodent.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's most famous canine companion was his Scottish Terrier, Fala, who is part of the Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. But during Roosevelt's 12 years and one month as president, 11 dogs lived in the White House. They included a Bullmastiff, two red setters, a retriever, a Bulldog, a Llewellin Setter, a Scotch Terrier, a Great Dane, a Sheepdog, and a German Shepherd who tried to rip the pants off the British Prime Minister.
Researchers studying what dogs like to eat have found that the appetite of pet dogs is affected by the taste, texture and smell of the food, and also by the owners' food preferences, their perception of their pet, and the physical environment in which the dog is eating.
Scientists have discovered that dogs can smell the presence of autism in children.
'Seizure Alert' dogs can alert their owners up to an hour before the onset of an epileptic seizure.
Seventy percent of people sign their pet's name on greeting cards and 58 percent include their pets in family and holiday portraits, according to a survey done by the American Animal Hospital Association.
Small dogs are rapidly gaining popularity, according to American Kennel Club registration statistics. Three toys breeds are among the top 10 in popularity on the most recent list: the Yorkshire Terrier, Chihuahua, and Shih Tzu rank sixth, ninth, and 10th, respectively. A decade ago, no toy breeds were in the top 10.
Some 39 percent of pet owners say they have more photos of their pet than of their spouse or significant other. Only 21 percent say they have more photos of their spouse or significant other than of their pet.
The calories burned daily by the sled dogs running in Alaska's annual Iditarod race average 10,000. The 1,149-mile race commemorates the 1925 "Race for Life" when 20 volunteer mushers relayed medicine from Anchorage to Nome to battle a children's diphtheria epidemic.
The Canary Islands were not named for a bird called a canary. They were named after a breed of large dogs. The Latin name was Canariae insulae - "Island of Dogs."
The common belief that dogs are color blind is false. Dogs can see color, but it is not as vivid a color scheme as we see. They distinguish between blue, yellow, and gray, but probably do not see red and green. This is much like our vision at twilight.
The dachshund is one of the oldest dog breeds in history (dating back to ancient Egypt.) The name comes from one of its earliest uses - hunting badgers. In German, Dachs means "badger," Hund is "hound."
The English Romantic poet Lord Byron was so devastated upon the death of his beloved Newfoundland, whose name was Boatswain, that he had inscribed upon the dog's gravestone the following: "Beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of man without his vices."
The expression "three dog night" originated with the Eskimos and means a very cold night - so cold that you have to bed down with three dogs to keep warm.
The first dog to star in an American movie was Jean the Vitagraph Dog, a Border Collie mix, who made his first film in 1910.
The first dogs to hunt in packs and the first small companion breeds were probably bred in ancient China. Written records more than 4,000 years old from China show that dog trainers were held in high esteem and that kennel masters raised and looked after large numbers of dog.
The first seeing-eye dog was presented to a blind person on April 25, 1938.
The largest and the smallest dogs to live in the White House where both there during the tenure of president James Buchanan. The president had a Newfoundland named Lara. And his niece, Harriet Lane (who served as White House hostess because the president was unmarried), had a tiny toy terrier named Punch.
The last member of the famous Bonaparte family, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, died in 1945, of injuries sustained from tripping over his dog's leash.
The name of the dog from "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" is Max.
The name of the dog on the Cracker Jack box is Bingo.
The only dog to ever appear in a Shakespearean play was Crab in The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The phrase "raining cats and dogs" originated in 17th Century England. During heavy downpours of rain, many of these poor animals unfortunately drowned and their bodies would be seen floating in the rain torrents that raced through the streets. The situation gave the appearance that it had literally rained "cats and dogs" and led to the current expression.
The smallest breed of dog recognized by the American Kennel Club is the Chihuahua, which stands six to nine inches at the top of the shoulders and weighs two to six pounds. The largest is the Irish Wolfhound, which stands 30 to 35 inches at the top of the shoulders and weighs 105 to 125 pounds.
The smallest of the recognized dog breeds, the Chihuahua, is also the one that usually lives the longest. Named for the region of Mexico where they were first discovered in the mid-19th century, the Chihuahua can live anywhere between 11-18 years.
The term "dog days" has nothing to do with dogs. It dates back to Roman times, when it was believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, added its heat to that of the sun from July3 to August 11, creating exceptionally high temperatures. The Romans called the period dies caniculares, or "days of the dog."
The theobromine in chocolate that stimulates the cardiac and nervous systems is too much for dogs, especially smaller pups. A chocolate bar is poisonous to dogs and can even be lethal.
There are 701 types of pure breed dogs.
There are more than 100 million dogs and cats in the United States. Americans spend more than 5.4 billion dollars on their pets each year.
Though human noses have an impressive 5 million olfactory cells with which to smell, sheepdogs have 220 million, enabling them to smell 44 times better than man.
Using their swiveling ears like radar dishes, experiments have shown that dogs can locate the source of a sound in 6/100ths of a second.
Walt Disney's family dog was named Lady. She was a poodle.
While small dogs are gaining in popularity, the top dogs are still the big ones. The Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, and German Shepherd Dog are first, second, and third on list of the American Kennel Club's most popular breeds.
Who first thought of using dogs to guide blind people? At the end of World War I, the German government trained the first guide dogs to assist blind war veterans.

  All Facts About Cats

ANIMAL TRIVIA - FELINE FACTS

FUN STUFF FOR PET LOVERS

95% of cat owners admit they talk to their cats.
A cat can be either right-pawed or left-pawed.
A cat can jump as much as seven times its height.
A cat can spend five or more hours a day grooming himself.
A cat can sprint at about thirty-one miles per hour.
A cat cannot see directly under its nose. This is why the cat cannot seem to find tidbits on the floor.
A cat has 230 bones in its body. A human only has 206 bones.
A cat has four rows of whiskers.
A cat in a hurry can sprint at about thirty-one miles per hour.
A cat is pregnant for about 58-65 days.
A cat sees about six times better than a human at night because of the tapetum lucidum , a layer of extra reflecting cells which absorb light.
A cat that bites you for rubbing his stomach is often biting from pleasure, not anger.
A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through. The whiskers act as feelers or antennae, helping the animal to judge the precise width of any passage.
A cat will almost never meow at another cat. Cats use this sound for humans.
A cat will clean itself with paw and tongue after a dangerous experience or when it has fought with another cat. This is believed to be an attempt by the animal to soothe its nerves by doing something natural and instinctive.
A cat will never break a sweat because it has no sweat glands.
A cat will spend nearly 30% of its life grooming itself.
A cat will tremble or shiver when it is extreme pain.
A cat's arching back is part of a complex body language system, usually associated with feeling threatened. The arch is able to get so high because the cat's spine contains nearly 60 vertebrae which fit loosely together. Humans have only 34 vertebrae.
A cat's brain is more similar to a human's brain than that of a dog.
A cat's brain is more similar to a man's brain than that of a dog.
A cat's ear pivots 180 degrees.
A cat’s field of vision is about 185 degrees.
A cat's hearing rates as one of the top in the animal kingdom. Cats can hear sounds as high-pitched as 65 kHz; a human's hearing stops at just 20 kHz.
A cat's heart beats at 110 to 140 beats per minute, twice as fast as a human heart.
A cat's jaws cannot move sideways.
A cat's normal body temperature is 101.5 degrees F (38.6 C).
A cat's sense of taste is keener than a dog's sense of taste.
A cat's tail held high means happiness. A twitching tail is a warning sign, and a tail tucked in close to the body is a sure sign of insecurity.
A cat's tail plays a vital part in the cat's balance and in the "righting reflex" that allows it to land on its feet after falling from a height.
A cat's tongue is scratchy because it's lined with papillae—tiny elevated backwards hooks that help to hold prey in place.
A cat's whiskers, called vibrissae, grow on the cat's face and on the back of its forelegs. The whiskers are thought to be a kind of sensor to help a cat gauge the space it wants to go through.
A female cat can begin mating when she is between 5 and 9 months old.
A fifteen year old cat has probably spent ten years of its life sleeping.
A form of AIDS exists in cats.
A frightened cat can run at speeds of up to 31 mph, slightly faster than a human sprinter.
A group of adult cats is called a clowder.
A group of kittens is called a kindle.
A happy cat holds her tail high and steady.
A large majority of white cats with blue eyes are deaf. White cats with only one blue eye are deaf only in the ear closest to the blue eye.
A male cat can begin mating when he is between 7 and 10 months old.
A polecat is not a cat. It is a nocturnal European weasel.
A quarter of cat owners blow dry their cats after bathing them.
A queen (female cat) can begin mating when she is between 5 and 9 months old.
A steady diet of dog food may cause blindness in your cat - it lacks taurine.
A tomcat (male cat) can begin mating when he is between 7 and 10 months old.
A tortoiseshell is black with red or orange markings and a calico is white with patches of red, orange and black.
Abraham Lincoln loved cats. He had four of them while he lived in the White House. Abraham Lincoln's cat, Tabby, was the first of several White House cats.
According to one legend, the "M" marking on the forehead of the Tabby Cat was created by the prophet Mohammed as he rested his hand lightly on the brow of his favorite cat, a Tabby.
Adult cats with no health problems are in deep sleep 15 percent of their lives. They are in light sleep 50 percent of the time.
After being handled, cats lick themselves to smooth their fur and get rid of the "human" smell. Licking is also thought to produce a calming effect.
Ailurophobia is the fear of cats. Julius Caesar, Henry II, Charles XI, and Napoleon all suffered from this and would nearly faint in the presence of a cat.
All cats are born with blue eyes.
All cats are members of the family Felidea. Interestingly enough, the cat family split from the other mammals at least 40,000,000 years ago, making them one of the oldest mammalian families.
All cats have three sets of long hairs that are sensitive to pressure - whiskers, eyebrows,and the hairs between their paw pads.
Almost 10% of a cat's bones are in its tail, and the tail is used to maintain balance.
Americans spend more on cat food than on baby food.
Americans spend more than 5.4 billion dollars on their pets each year.
An adult cat has thirty teeth and around twelve whiskers.
Ancient Egyptians believed that "Bast" was the mother of all cats on Earth. They also believed that cats were sacred animals.
At night a cat can gather into the extra-large corneas and lenses of its eyes more than six times the amount of light than humans can. Seeing far better than humans do at night time and tending to focus best at a distance of eight to twenty feet makes cats excellent night time hunters.
Besides smelling with their nose, cats can smell with an additional organ called the Jacobson's organ, located in the upper surface of the mouth.
Black cat superstitions originated in America. In Asia and England, a black cat is considered lucky.
Both humans and cats have identical regions in the brain responsible for emotion.
Calico cats are nearly always female.
Cardinal Richelieu was so fond of cats that he shared his home with 14 of them. Specially appointed attendants cared for them, and upon his death, the Cardinal left all his worldly wealth to his feline companions.
Cat families usually play best in even numbers. Cats and kittens should be acquired in pairs whenever possible.
Cat scratch disease, a benign but sometimes painful disease of short duration, is caused by a bacillus. Despite its name, the disease can be transmitted by many kinds of scratches besides those of cats.
Cat urine glows under a black light.
Catnip can affect lions and tigers as well as house cats. It excites them because it contains a chemical that resembles an excretion of the dominant female's urine.
Cats are attracted to automobile antifreeze because of its sweet taste.
Cats are sometimes born with extra toes. This is called polydactyl.
Cats are subject to gum disease and to dental caries. They should have their teeth cleaned by the vet or the cat dentist once a year.
Cats are the only domestic animals that walk directly on their claws, not on their paws. This method of walking is called "digitigrade." When cats scratch furniture, it isn't an act of malice. They are actually tearing off the ragged edges of the sheaths of their talons to expose the new sharp ones beneath
Cats average 16 hours of sleep a day, more than any other mammal.
Cats bury their feces to cover their trails from predators.
Cats can be taught to walk on a leash, but a lot of time and patience is required to teach them. The younger the cat is, the easier it will be for them to learn.
Cats can donate blood to other cats.
Cats can get "age spots". These are black spots on the skin that are often seen around the lips, eyes, and nose; and usually start when the cat is three to five years of age.
Cats can get bored. They show their boredom by excessive licking, chewing, or biting.
Cats can get tapeworms from eating fleas. These worms live inside the cat forever, or until they are removed with medication. They reproduce by shedding a link from the end of their long bodies. This link crawls out the cat's anus, and sheds hundreds of eggs. These eggs are injested by flea larvae, and the cycles continues. Humans may get these tapeworms too, but only if they eat infected fleas. Cats with tapeworms should be dewormed by a veterinarian
Cats can get tapeworms from eating mice. If your cat catches a mouse it is best to take the prize away from it.
Cats can have freckles. They can appear anywhere on a cat's skin and even in its mouth.
Cats can learn tricks. They just sometimes choose not to.
Cats can predict earthquakes. We humans are not 100% sure how they do it. There are several different theories.
Cats can see color. Studies have shown that cats can distinguish between red and green; red and blue; red and gray; green and blue; green and gray; blue and gray; yellow and blue, and yellow and gray.
Cats can see up to 120 feet away. Their peripheral vision is about 285 degrees.
Cats can't taste sweets.
Cats have 13 ribs
Cats have 30 teeth (12 incisors, 10 premolars, 4 canines, and 4 molars), while dogs have 42. Kittens have baby teeth, which are replaced by permanent teeth around the age of 7 months.
Cats have 30 vertebrae--5 more than humans have.
Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear (compared to human's 6 muscles each). A cat can rotate its ears independently 180 degrees, and can turn in the direction of sound 10 times faster than those of the best watchdog.
Cats have a full inner-eyelid, or nictitating membrane. This inner-eyelid serves to help protect the eyes from dryness and damage. When the cat is ill, the inner-eyelid will frequently close partially, making it visible to the observer
Cats have a homing ability that uses its biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the Earth's magnetic field.
Cats have a third eyelid, called a haw, that is rarely visible. If it can be seen, it could be an indication of ill healt
Cats have AB blood groups just like people.
Cats have about 100 different vocalization sounds. In comparison, dogs have about 10.
Cats have amazing hearing ability. A cat's ear has 30 muscles that control the outer ear (by comparison, human ears only have six muscles). These muscles rotate 180 degrees, so the cat can hear in all directions without moving its head.
Cats have an average of 24 whiskers, arranged in four horizontal rows on each side
Cats have been domesticated for half as long as dogs have been.
Cats have better memories than dogs. Tests conducted by the University of Michigan concluded that while a dogs memory lasts no more than 5 minutes, a cat's can last as long as 16 hours - exceeding even that of monkeys and orangutans.
Cats have carpal pads on their front paws that help to prevent them from sliding on a slippery surface when jumping.
Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back paw
Cats have individual preferences for scratching surfaces and angles. Some are horizontal scratchers while others exercise their claws vertically.
Cats have true fur, in that they have both an undercoat and an outer coat.
Cats have true fur, meaning that they have both an undercoat and an outer coat
Cats' hearing stops at 65 khz (kilohertz); humans' hearing stops at 20 khz.
Cats lack a true collarbone and can generally squeeze their bodies through any space they can get their heads through
Cats love to hear the sound of their own name and your voice, so talk to them often.
Cats must have fat in their diet, because they can't produce it on their own. Never feed your cat dog food, because cats need five times more protein than dogs do.
Cats only need a sixth the amount of light that humans do to see. However, their daytime vision is only fair compared to that of humans.
Cats purr at about 26 cycles per second, the same frequency as an idling diesel engine.
Cats respond better to women than to men, probably due to the fact that women's voices have a higher pitc
Cats respond most readily to names that end in an "ee" sound.
Cats scratch to shed the sheaths of their old claws.
Cats sleep 16 to 18 hours per day. When cats are asleep, they are still alert to incoming stimuli. If you poke the tail of a sleeping cat, it will respond accordingly.
Cats step with both left legs, then both right legs when they walk or run. The only other animals to do this are the giraffe and the camel.
Cats take between 20-40 breaths per minute.
Cats that live together sometimes rub each others heads to show that they have no intention of fighting. Young cats do this more often, especially when they are excited.
Cats use more than 500 muscles to leap, jump, and sprint.
Cats with long, lean bodies are more likely to be outgoing, and more protective and vocal than those with a stocky build
Cats with white fur and skin on their ears are very prone to sunburn.
Cats, especially older cats, do get cancer. Many times this disease can be treated successfully.
Cats, just like people, are subject to asthma. Dust, smoke, and other forms of air pullution in your cat's environment can be troublesome sources of irritation.
Cats, not dogs, are the most common pets in America. There are approximately 66 million cats to 58 million dogs, with Parakeets a distant third at 14 million.
Contrary to popular belief, the cat is a social animal. A pet cat will respond and answer to speech , and seems to enjoy human companionship.
Declawing a cat is the same as cutting a human's fingers off at the knuckle. There are several alternatives to a complete declawing, including trimming or a less radical (though more involved) surgery to remove the claws. Preferably, try to train your cat to use a scratching post.
Despite its reputation for being finicky, the average cat consumes about 127,750 calories a year, nearly 28 times its own weight in food and the same amount again in liquids. In case you were wondering, cats cannot survive on a vegetarian diet.
Each day in the US, animal shelters are forced to destroy 30,000 dogs and cats.
Ear furnishings are the hairs that grow inside a cat's ears.
Ernest Hemingway once had some 30 cats at his home in Havana.
Felix the Cat is the first cartoon character to ever have been made into a balloon for a parade.
Florence Nightingale owned more than 60 cats in her lifetime.
Has your cat ever brought its prey to your door? Cats do that because they regard their owners as their "kittens." The cats are teaching their "kittens" how to hunt by bringing them food. Most people aren't too delighted when a pet brings in their kill. Instead of punishing your cat, praise it for its efforts, accept the prey, and then secretly throw it away.
Human painkillers such acetaminophen (Tylenol) are toxic to cats. Chocolate is also poisonous to cats.
If a male cat is both orange and black it is ( besides being extremely rare ) sterile. To have both the orange and the black coat colors, the male cat must have all or part of both female X chromosomes. This unusual sex chromosome combination will render the male cat sterile.
If left to her own devices, a female cat may have three to seven kittens every four months. This is why population control using spaying and neutering is so important.
If your cat is in the habit of rolling over and exposing his stomach, you can be sure he feels perfectly safe with you. It's also a way of demonstrating his pleasure in your company.
If your cat snores, or rolls over on his back to expose his belly, it means he trusts you.
In 1888, an estimated 300,000 mummified cats were found at Beni Hassan, Egypt. They were sold at $18.43 per ton, and shipped to England to be ground up and used for fertilizer.
In addition to using their noses, cats can smell with the Jacobson's organ which is located in the upper surface of the mouth.
In ancient Egypt, the entire family would shave their eyebrows off as a sign of mourning when the family cat died.
In cats, the calico and tortoiseshell coats are sex-linked traits. All cats displaying these coats are female... or occasionally sterile males
In general, cats live longer than most dogs. An average life span might be 12 to 14 years. Some cats are reaching 20 or more. A cat's longevity depends on feeding, genetics, environment, veterinary care and some other factors. It is also important whether or not the cat lives indoors or is allowed outdoors (outdoor cats live an average of eight years). The general consensus is that at about age seven the cat can be considered as "middle-aged", and at age 10 and beyond - old.
In relation to their body size, cats have the largest eyes of any mammal.
In relation to their body size, cats have the largest eyes of any mammal.
In the 9th century, King Henry I of Saxony decreed that the fine for killing a cat should be sixty bushels of corn.
In the Middle Ages, during the Festival of Saint John, cats were burned alive in town squares.
In the midst of building the Grand Coulee Dam in the state of Washington, engineers were stymied by the problem of threading a cable through a pipeline until an anonymous cat saved the day. Harnessed to the cable, this unknown hero crawled through the pipeline maze to successfully finish the job.
It has been established that people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks.
It has been scientifically proven that stroking a cat can lower one's blood pressure.
It is a common belief that cats are color blind; but recent studies have shown that cats can see blue, green, and red.
It is estimated that cats can make over 60 different sounds.
Jaguars are the only big cats that don't roar.
Julius Caesar, Henri II, Charles XI, and Napoleon had aelurophobia, the fear of cats.
Kittens can clock an amazing 31 mile per hour at full speed, and can cover about three times their body length per leap.
Kittens remain with their mother till the age of 9 weeks.
Like birds, cats have a homing ability that uses its biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the Earth's magnetic field. A cat taken far from its home can return to it. But if a cat's owners move far from its home, the cat can't find them.
Lucy Webb Hayes, wife of Rutherford Hayes, is the first person recorded to own a Siamese in the U.S.
Many cats are unable to properly digest cow's milk. Milk and milk products give them diarrhea.
Many of a cat's bones are found in its tail.
Many people fear catching a protozoan disease, Toxoplasmosis, from cats. This disease can cause illness in the human, but more seriously, can cause birth defects in the unborn. Toxoplasmosis is a common disease, sometimes spread through the feces of cats. It is caused most often from eating raw or rare beef. Pregnant women and people with a depressed immune system should not touch the cat litter box. Other than that, there is no reason that these people have to avoid cats.
More than 30 percent of American households have a cat as part of the family
Morris, the 9-Lives cat, was discovered at an animal shelter in New England.
Most cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back paw.
Most cats have no eyelashes.
Mother cats teach their kittens to use the litter box.
Neutering a cat extends its life span by two or three years.
Never pick a kitten up by the neck. Only a mother cat may do this safely.
Newborn kittens have closed ear canals that don't begin to open for nine days.
Normal body temperature for a cat is 102 degrees F.
Nostradamus, the French Astrologer, 1503-1566, had a cat named Grimalkin.
Not every cat gets "high" from catnip. Whether or not a cat responds to it depends upon a recessive gene: no gene, no joy.
Of all the species of cats, the domestic cat is the only species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. All species of wild cats hold their talk horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking.
One litter box per cat, plus an extra box, is the best formula for a multi-cat household.
Orange and lemon rinds are offensive to cats. A light rubbing of orange peel on furniture will discourage your cat from using it as a scratching post.
People who are allergic to cats are actually allergic to cat saliva or cat dander. If the cat is bathed regularly, allergic people have better tolerance to it.
Perhaps the oldest known female cat was Ma, from Devon, who was 34 when she died in 1957.
Purring is part of every cat's repertoire of social communication, apparently created by the movement of air in spasms through contractions of the diaphragm. Interestingly, purring is sometimes heard in cats who are severely ill or anxious, perhaps as a self-comforting vocalization. But, more typically, it is a sign of contentment, first heard in kittens as they suckle milk from their mother.
Retractable claws are a physical phenomenon that sets cats apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. I n the cat family, only cheetahs cannot retract their claws.
Siamese cats originated in Siam—modern day Thailand. Legend has it that they were the companions of kings and priests and that they guarded temples. Some trace Siamese origins to Egypt and Burma, but many dispute this idea. Siamese were first brought to England in the late 1800s.
Siamese kittens are born white because of the heat inside the mother's uterus before birth. This heat keeps the kittens' hair from darkening on the points.
Sir Isaac Newton, who first described the principle of gravity, also invented the swinging cat door for the convenience of his many cats.
Some common houseplants poisonous to cats include: English Ivy, iris, mistletoe, philodendron, and yew.
Tests done by the Behavioral Department of the Musuem of Natural History conclude that while a dog's memory lasts about 5 minutes, a cat's recall can last as long as 16 hours.
The ancestor of all domestic cats is the African Wild Cat, which still exists today.
The Ancient Egyptian word for cat was mau, which means "to see".
The average canned or dry cat meal is the nutritional equivalent of eating five mice.
The cat family split from the other mammals at least 40 million years ago, making them one of the oldest mammalian families.
The cat has 500 skeletal muscles (humans have 650).
The cat is the only animal that walks on its claws, not the pads of its feet.
The cat lover is an ailurophile, while a cat hater is an ailurophobe.
The cat was domesticated over 4,000 years ago. Today's house cats are descended from wildcats in Africa and Europe.
The catgut formerly used as strings in tennis rackets and musical instruments does not come from cats. Catgut actually comes from sheep, hogs, and horses.
The catnip plant contains an oil called hepetalactone which does for cats what marijuana does to some people. Not all cats react to it those that do appear to enter a trancelike state. A positive reaction takes the form of the cat sniffing the catnip, then licking, biting, chewing it, rub & rolling on it repeatedly, purring, meowing & even leaping in the air.
The cat's footpads absorb the shocks of the landing when the cat jumps.
The cheetah is the only cat in the world that can't retract its claws.
The color of the points in Siamese cats is heat related. Cool areas are darker. In fact, Siamese kittens are born white because of the heat inside the mother's uterus before birth. This heat keeps the kittens hair from darkening on the points.
The declawing of a pet cat involves surgery called an onychectomy, in which the entire claw and end bone of each toe of the animal are amputated.
The different types of tabby patterns that are seen in domestic cats also occur in wild cats.
The domestic cat is the only cat species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. All wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking. A tail held high means happiness; a twitching tail is a warning sign; and a tucked tail is a sign of insecurity.
The first cat show was in 1871 at the Crystal Palace in London.
The giraffe, camel, and cat are the only animals that walk by both their left feet, then both their right feet when walking.
The heaviest cat ever recorded weighed 46 lbs.
The Maine Coon is 4 to 5 times larger than the Singapura, the smallest breed of cat.
The Maine Coon is the only native American long haired breed.
The more cats are spoken to, the more they will speak back. The normal temperature of a cat is 101.5 degrees.
The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.
The penalty for killing a cat, 4,000 years ago in Egypt, was death.
The Persian cat has the longest and thickest fur of all domestic cats. The topcoat may be up to 5 inches long.
The phenomenon of cats finding their owners in a place where they have never been before is scientifically known as Psi-trailing. Many well-documented stories tell of cats that have walked hundreds, even thousands of miles to find their owners.
The phrase "raining cats and dogs" originated in 17th Century England. During heavy downpours of rain, many of these poor animals unfortunately drowned and their bodies would be seen floating in the rain torrents that raced through the streets. The situation gave the appearance that it had literally rained "cats and dogs" and led to the current expression.
The red tabby cat is a Sarman.
The silver tabby cat is a Teku.
The Turkish Van, a very old rare breed that originated in Turkey, is quite different from other breeds because of its unusual love of water. Known as "the swimming cat," the Van is strong, quick and agile. He makes a devoted and loyal companion--on land or at sea.
There are more than 100 million dogs and cats in the United States.
There are more than 500 million domestic cats, with either 35 different breeds (according to The Cat Fanciers Association, the world's largest cat registry), or 38 breeds (as recognized by The International Cat Association, the second largest registry).
There is a species of cat smaller than the average housecat. It is native to Africa and it is the Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes). Its top weight is 5.5 pounds.
Those dark lines connecting to a cat's eyes are called mascara lines.
Though rare, cats can contract canine heart worms.
To drink, a cat laps liquid from the underside of its tongue, rather than the top.
When you find your cat glued to the window intently watching a bird, making a strange chattering noise and clicking his or her jaws oddly, your cat is merely acting on instinct. What your cat is doing is directly related to the killing bite that all cats (both domestic and wild cats) use to dispatch their prey.
When your cats rubs up against you, she is actually marking you as "hers" with her scent. If your cat pushes his face against your head, it is a sign of acceptance and affection.
Winston Churchill, adored cats. Churchill used to refer to his cat, "Jock", as his special assistant. "Jock" was reported to be on the bed with his master on the day the great British statesman died.
You can tell a cat's mood by looking into its eyes. A frightened or excited cat will have large, round pupils. An angry cat will have narrow pupils. The pupil size is related as much to the cat's emotions as to the degree of light.
You check your cats pulse on the inside of the back thigh, where the leg joins to the body. Normal for cats: 110-170 beats per minute.
Young cats can distinguish between two identical sounds that are just 18 inches apart at a distance of up to 60 feet.

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