Cat Chat- Femina - Indiatimes

They are slimy, ‘catty’ and cunning... or, are they? Maneka Gandhi tells you what cats really are.

Considered revered in the United States and Europe, cats and cat owners are found in plenty. There are millions of feral cats as well; cats that live in the streets and take care of the rodents, killing as many as three a day. Colette says about cats: “The cat is the animal to whom the Creator gave the biggest eye, the softest fur, the most supremely delicate nostrils, a mobile ear, an unrivalled paw, a curved claw borrowed from a rose tree. I am indebted to the cat for learning greater control over myself, aversion to brutal sounds and for the need to keep silent for long periods.”

The scene in India, however, is quite different. Cat owners are few and far between. People don’t think twice before throwing a cat out, before stoning and hurting cats in a shamefully cruel manner. In South India, cats are caught and eaten by the Narikauravas who now infest every city. In many ‘dhabas’, cat meat is passed off as chicken.

A large number of so-called educated people believe in absurd myths like cats bringing bad luck when they cross your path or when they enter your house and howl.

All the same, there are several little-known facts about cats that are interesting and attribute well for these animals. Before I proceed to explain them, let me answer some questions about cats:

Some Fascinating Facts:

Cats are highly ‘intuitive’, so to speak. They can predict earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and electrical storms. In areas that are about to experience a quake, they become intensely agitated, escape from the houses and flee in panic, often carrying their kittens to safety. A few hours later, the quake strikes.
Cat owners are healthier than other people. Stroking and fondling cats and being fondled by them reduces stress and makes the body calmer. Doctors recommend it as therapy and it has been known to work extremely well even in cases of mental instability and heart trouble.
The cat could be extremely useful in India. Leave a few cats in the granaries and you will see the mice disappear. The Romans brought the cat to Britain to get rid of the rats that plagued the island. Anyone caught killing a cat, then, was in fact, severely punished.

Why Does A Cat Lick Itself Half The Day?
To keep clean, of course, and also to make the licked smooth fur act as a more efficient insulating layer against cold. In summer, the saliva deposited on the fur evaporates and keeps the cat cool. Cats also lick as stress behaviour, to ease the strain of a tense social encounter. If a cat has been in contact with a human, it licks its fur to taste the scent of the human.

How Can You Understand A Cat’s Body Language?
Here are some quick pointers:
•A quick flick of the tongue over the lips is a sign of agitation, as well as fascination of something.
•When a cat is afraid, its round pupils become longer and its ears perk backwards.
•A defensive cat has full flattened ears. These are pressed tightly against the head to avoid them being torn off during fights.
•Ears twitching means nervousness.
•Ears up and eyes, half closed, show that the cat is relaxed.
•Alert cats have fully erect ears that rotate so that the aperture points forward.
•An aggressive cat rotates the ears so that the backs of the ears are visible from the front. This is the most dangerous signal from the cat.
•A straight up tail means friendly and alert.
Beating its tail on the floor means it is impatient or just thinking.
•When a cat wags its tail, it means it is in two minds — to go out or to stay in, to crouch or to jump. As soon as the conflict sorts itself out, the tail stops wagging.

How Do You Know When A Cat Is Sick?
It becomes withdrawn. Its appetite changes and it urinates either less or more. If a cat has fever, it lacks appetite. Some cats shiver, others pant and seek cool places. When it is in pain, a cat has a stiff neck, tense abdominal muscles and a reluctance to either get up or lie down.

How Does A Cat Use Its Whiskers?
An average cat has 24 whiskers, 12 on each side of the nose and enlarged and thickened hair that move forward and backward. Each hair is a mass of nerves, which transmit information about any contact they make or if the air pressure changes.

Why air pressure?
Because when the cat moves in the dark, hunting at night, it needs to move past objects without touching them so that silence is maintained. Every solid object causes slight changes in the air and the whiskers can feel these changes and act as a guidance system. A cat cannot hunt at night without whiskers.

Why Do Cats Rub Against People?
A cat rubs against you in greeting to exchange scents. It has scent glands on its temple and at the root of the tail. It marks you with its scents and then licks its fur to taste yours.

Cat Owners v/s Dog Owners
The cat owner is completely different from the dog owner, if such a word can be used.
Psychologists say that cat owners are much more independent in thought and action.
The concept of group loyalty is absent in both cats and their owners.
Artists like cats, soldiers like dogs.
Cat owners are solitary people, self sufficient and content.
Dog owners like company.
Cat people are less status conscious. No one here or abroad worries about pedigree in cats the way they do in dogs.
But of course, there are people who like both and have both traits in their personalities. Soldiers who paint, writers who like parties, I like both myself!

Go out and get yourselves a kitten each. I promise it will bring luck. Live and help live.