Here are the top 3 cool facts about your cat's brain that will make you appreciate your cat even more!
We all know that cats are smart. But how smart are they? And how similar cat and human brains really are?
Cat brains and human brains are anatomically quite similar!
While the relative size of cat brains is smaller than humans, according to researchers at Tufts University, the physical structure of the brains of humans and cats is similar. Our brains and our feline's brain have similar two lobes (or cerebral cortices). Human and cats also have folds or crevices which increase the brains activity and makes it more complex. Similar to humans, cats have designated regions in their brains that are in charge of complex tasks such as eating, playing, looking for food etc. Humans have these brain regions too! Finally, cats' brains are more complex than dog brains containing more than twice(!) the number of nerve cells! Sorry dog lovers!
Cats memory is pretty impressive
Cats have excellent memory, both short and long term. Some research in cats shows that they can retain memories for as long as 10 years (that's 56 years in human years!). But, just like humans, age does take a toll on a cat's memory and they lose some of these memories with time. Short term memory in cats is also pretty impressive. Cats can remember short term tasks (such as food searching and location) for about 16 hours, this is compared with 10 hours in dogs. So whatever you do with your cat, take into account that they will remember it FOREVER!
Just like us, cats observe and learn
We've all watched our cats focus intensely on things we do. While we know that cats are naturally curious, they are actually watching us so they can learn new things. In young cats, kittens learn by watching their moms how to hunt, etc and even groom themselves. Thanks to their long term memory they can retain the information and get pretty good at these tasks. We've all seen vidoe's of cats opening doors, turning light switches on and off. Now you know that they use you as their teacher!
Being a cat owner is so much fun! But, it also comes with tons of responsibility. Caring for food and litter is only the beginning. One of our duties as cat owners is to make sure our feline friends are healthy and happy! FeLV and FIV are two deadly infections. They can transfer from one cat to another. Learn more about these infections visit our home page catdx.com